ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses an occurrence after liquidation: the church loses control. It is an historical-sociological account of a religious practice moving outside the religious field. The profoundly secular Dutch system for public mental health care is partly rooted in ecclesial practices. Roman Catholic and, to a lesser extent, Protestant centers for family affairs and problems of living were among the constituting organizations, next to bureaus for specialized child care and institutes for out-patient psychiatry and psychotherapy. The Christian centers were originally established in order to make pastoral care, often regarding sexual issues, more accessible and professional. The expansion and reform of the care of souls produced a vast field where mental hygiene could be promoted. During the early 1960s, this movement started to institutionalize in a system for out-patient mental health care, while the link with church renewal faded. The churches had co-produced a system that tended to operate autonomously, free from ecclesial ties.
