History of religion in the Netherlands forbidden to hold religious processions in all provinces except for Noord Brabant and Limburg. The Netherlands was ruled by a liberal Calvinist elite, which dominated the bureaucracy and the Dutch Reformed Church, leading to splits. In 1834, led by Rev. Hendrik de Cock, a group seceded from the Dutch Reformed Church in what was known as the "Afscheiding". Roughly fifty years later, in 1886, another group of orthodox Calvinists, led by Abraham Kuyper, split from the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1892, they founded the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, one of the major neo-Calvinist denominations. Kuyper also organized a whole
Abraham Kuyper was also heavily involved in foreign policy, giving him the nickname "Minister of Foreign Travels". In 1905, his ARP lost the elections and was confined to opposition. Between 1905 and 1907, Kuyper made a grand tour around the Mediterranean. In 1907, Kuyper became honorary doctor at the Delft University of Technology. In 1907, he was re-elected chair of the ARP, a post which he would hold to his death in 1920. In 1907, Kuyper wanted to return to parliament. In a by-election in Sneek he needed the support of the local CHU. They refused him support. This led to a