Dutch church leaders have signed a petition against the “exploitation of Christianity” by populist politicians ahead of next week’s parliamentary elections.
“Whether votes go to left or right, the Church will always steer its own course,” said the petition, signed by Bishop Gerard de Korte of Den Bosch along with dozens of Catholic and Protestant theologians and clerics.
“The Church isn’t a political party, nor is any political party a Church,” the petition said. “We have a separation between church and state – since if the two sit together on anyone’s lap, we get a political and religious dictatorship which serves, not God or the people, but only those in power.”
