Modern Dutch society is known as one of the most secular on Earth. The Netherlands is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a capital in Amsterdam. Until the 20th century, the country was predominantly Christian. However, in recent years the number of religionists in the Netherlands has declined significantly. Currently, about 67% of the Dutch do not speak of their religious affiliation. Their number is expected to increase to 72% in 2020. However, agnosticism and atheism are still sometimes regarded as conflicting concepts. Despite this, it can be said that there are adherents of various religious beliefs in the country, therefore it is of interest what faith is most prevalent in the Netherlands.
Atheism
It should be seen as a belief that there is no God. Atheism began to develop in 1880, but became widespread in 1960, when the popularity of other major religions began to decline. The Netherlands is one of the most non-religious countries in the world, and only 32.2% of its population officially speak of their religious beliefs. According to a study conducted in 2015, 63% of the Dutch believed that religion does more harm than good in the country.
Agnosticism or vague Christianity
Agnosticism is the belief that the existence of God cannot be confirmed or defined within the framework of all mankind. 27% of the population of the Netherlands are agnostics, most of them are classified as strong agnostics.
Roman Catholic Christianity
Practiced in the Netherlands, it is part of a worldwide Catholic church led by the pope. It is the largest religious group in the country, although its number of believers is declining. In 2006, Sunday's attendance of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands fell from 1.2 million to its current level of 200,000. Historically, members of the Catholic Church were sometimes discriminated against, often considered second-class citizens. The government even banned this belief in the Netherlands in 1580, although it was subsequently restored.
Protestantism
The Protestant Religion in the Netherlands (PKN) was founded in 2004 as a merger of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Reformed Churches. Most adherents of this faith in the Netherlands are in the northern parts of the country, in contrast to the south, where most Catholics live. Like the ecumenical church, PKN supports the Apostles of the Nicene and Athanasian denominations. They also observe Holy Communion and the Luther Catechism.
Islam
This is another belief in the Netherlands, which is relatively new here. Most Muslims belong to the Sunni sect, some of them are Shiites. Most of them are immigrants, especially from the former Dutch colonies. In the 1990s, the country opened its borders to refugees from war-torn countries such as Bosnia, Somalia, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other religious groups present in the country include Baha'is, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism.
Religious freedom and tolerance in the Netherlands
Religious freedom is a fundamental right in the Netherlands. However, the government is always ready to use its legal force in case a problem arises regarding issues of faith. Studies conducted by sociologists have allowed to determine which religion in the Netherlands is the most common:
- adherents of atheism identified themselves as 41.0% of the population;
- 26.8% consider themselves agnostic or undecided;
- supporters of Roman Catholic Christianity - 11.7%;
- the number of members of the Protestant church was 8.6%;
- the number of Muslims - 5.8%;
- the number of representatives of other forms or faiths of Christianity - 4.1%;
- adherents of such religions in the Netherlands as Baha'is, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and other beliefs accounted for 2.0% of the country's population.