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Using Althaus-Reid’s Indecent Theology as a methodology, this article contributes to reflections on the contextuality and physical dimension of Dutch theology: its relation to the Protestant white (mostly male) bodies of its practitioners and its support of and contributions to colonial power and colonial racializing discourse. We do this in a context of a ‘return to decency’ in political discourse in which ‘our’ Calvinist roots are evoked to construct a ‘shared’ past. Using two case studies, we analyse how the in/decent is constructed in the Netherlands. As secularism is more ‘vanilla’ and Calvinism more indecent than is usually assumed, engagement with indecent texts and untidy roots of Calvinism is needed to re-member both the violent character of Calvinist hermeneutics, as well as its potential for indecent readings.

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Conversations on Dutch colonial heritage and its continuing influence are finally gaining momentum. It is important to also include the Bible and Christianity in the analyses. In this chapter, the role of Christian Scripture in the development of the ideology of Dutch colonialism, slavery, and Dutch national identity is explored. After the Dutch declared their independence over their Catholic Spanish rulers, the Republic as a Calvinist nation positioned itself within the biblical narrative. The Republic soon became a colonial power and colonial experiences, too, were understood through the framework of biblical interpretation. Existing supersessionist appropriations of biblical texts served as a model for colonial Christianity. The Dutch identified with biblical Israel. Initial worries that colonial activities and slave trade were against Scripture led to the development of a specific Calvinist defense of enslavement and colonialism. A central concern in the theological discussions on slavery and colonialism was Baptism. It was argued that all children in a Reformed household, including the enslaved, had to be given access to baptism. In the eyes of protestant Dutch slaveholders, being enslaved and being Christian became increasingly less compatible. As church authorities increasingly began to doubt the practice of baptism of enslaved people, baptism became an exclusive sacrament. Later however, an ideology of Christian slavery developed. In spite of decolonization, “genuine” Dutchness continues to be associated with Christianity and whiteness.