Missionaire ecclesiologie in een tijd van individualisering

Secularization in the Netherlands has been a two-stage process. The differentiation ofsociety (starting around 1800) diminished the influence of the large national church.However, in this first stage numerous new denominations emerged that could adaptperfectly to this new situation. This resulted in a pluralistic, predominantly vital ecclesiallandscape. In the 1960s a second stage of secularization started: individualization orsubjectivization. This affected all the churches, and caused a massive decline of institutionalreligiosity. Within this context the development of a missional ecclesiology is of crucial importance. All churches have to reflect on their position within a largely individualizedsociety. This reflection should take place on the basis of ecclesiological discussionsin the previous decades and might best be structured along three axes: private vs. public, consumption vs. sacrament, and community vs. institute.