<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Calvinism was the state religion in the Dutch Republic, though this does not mean that unity existed . Although the Netherlands was a tolerant nation compared to neighboring states, wealth and social status belonged almost exclusively to Protestants . The cities with a predominantly Catholic background, such as Utrecht and Gouda, did not enjoy the benefits of the Golden Age . As for the Protestant towns, unity of belief was also far from standard . In the beginning of the century bitter controversies between strict Calvinists and more permissive Protestants, known as Remonstrants, split the country . The Remonstrants denied predestination and championed freedom of conscience, while their more dogmatic adversaries (known as Contra - Remonstrants) gained a major victory at the Synod of Dort (1618--19). The variety of sects may well have worked to make religious intolerance impractical . </P> <P> Renaissance Humanism, of which Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466--1536) was an important advocate, had also gained a firm foothold and was partially responsible for a climate of tolerance . </P>

What did the dutch trade in the 1600s