One in three Dutch do not believe in God; secularisation continues

Religious involvement has declined steadily in recent years. In 2017, for the first time, more than half of the Dutch population aged 15 years or older did not identify themselves as belonging to a church or philosophical group. In 2020, this percentage was 55 per cent.

Churches in the Netherlands saw their memberships decline. In 2020, 19.8 per cent of the population were members of the Roman Catholic Church. In 2019, the percentage was still 20.1. Protestants also decreased, from 14.8 in 2019 to 14.4 per cent in 2020. In contrast, the number of Muslims increased: from 5.0 to 5.2 per cent.

Religious service

The proportion of Dutch people aged 15 or over who regularly attend religious services has also declined further, according to Statistics Netherlands. In 2012, 17 per cent of over-15s regularly attended a service, dropping to 13 per cent by 2020.

Of the Dutch who regularly attend a service, 8 per cent did so weekly in 2020, 3 per cent several times a month, and 2 per cent once a month. Out of them, 5 per cent went less than once a month, 82 per cent rarely or never went to a service.

Existence of God

The Dutch do not agree on the existence of a God. One in three say they do not believe in God, while almost a quarter (24 per cent) are very certain about the existence of God. The rest say they do not know or have doubts. Of this last group, 15 per cent say they do not know if there is a God, 6 per cent sometimes believe in God and sometimes not, and 8 per cent say they believe in God but still have doubts. Finally, 15 per cent say they do not believe in a God who deals with people personally, but they do believe in some higher power.

Among Catholics, 8 per cent do not believe in God. This percentage is limited to 1 among Protestants and Muslims. One in three Catholics believes "without a doubt" that there is a God. Among Protestants, 61 per cent believe almost twice as much, and among Muslims, 92 per cent say they believe without a doubt.

Of the Dutch people who do not belong to a religious group, 56 per cent are convinced that there is no God. The other 44 per cent keep open the possibility that there is a God.