She was a liberal, leftist and progressive minister. As a staunch humanist, she preached tolerance and was both vegetarian and an anti-militarist. Zernike believed in the connection of religion, art and society, and would have her followers use art books to guide their discussions on faith. She visited museums with her congregation, and established a church choir and a drama society. All the while, she continued her work on her thesis On Historical Materialist and Social Democratic Ethics. Following the death of her husband, the artist Jan Mankes, she moved to Rotterdam where she became the pastor for the Dutch Protestant Union. The Rijksmuseum collection contains several portraits of Zernike by Mankes.
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