The Davidsfonds is a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 organisation in Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 with the purpose of promoting the Flemish

Flemish people

The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...

 culture in the areas of literature, history and art.

The Davidsfonds was founded in Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

, Belgium on 15 January 1875, with the motto

Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...

 Voor Godsdienst, taal en volk (E: For religion, language and people). It was named after canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 and professor Jean-Baptist David

Jean-Baptist David

Jean-Baptist David was a canon and professor Dutch and history at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.Jean-Baptist David was born in the Belgian city of Lier...

. Together with the Vermeylenfonds

Vermeylenfonds

The Vermeylenfonds is a non-profit Flemish cultural socialist organization. The Vermeylenfonds was founded in 1945, in Brussels with the aim of studying and of continuing the work of August Vermeylen...

 (socialist) and the Willemsfonds

Willemsfonds

The Willemsfonds, named after Jan Frans Willems, is a non-profit cultural organization founded in the 19th century to promote Flemish culture and language in Belgium. In order to achieve this goal, the organization encouraged Flemish folk song, organized linguistic games and published inexpensive...

 (liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

), it promoted the Flemish culture, resulting in a growing feeling of Flemish identity.

In the 20th century, the activities of the Davidsfonds, Vermeylenfonds and Willemsfonds reflected a divided society, based upon political ideology. Called "pillarization" (Dutch: verzuiling), Catholic, socialist, and liberal interests formed parallel organizations (political parties

Political Parties

Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...

, trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

s, bank

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

s, newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

s, cultural, and social circles) to promote their interests. While sometimes leading to wasteful re-duplication the pillars also supported each other (e.g., in labor strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

s) when it furthered their own interests.

As of 2005, the organization had 60,000 members and 575 divisions. It organizes cultural activities and publishes a magazine and books.