Welke God in Nederland?

Samenvatting

This article critically reviews the concept of religion underlying the research God in the Netherlands. This research is conducted every ten years in the Netherlands. The research was first conducted in 1966, when the Netherlands were still predominantly Christian. Since then, the Netherlands became more secular: (Christian) religious beliefs and institutions declined. The question that is central in the 2024 edition is: what holds Dutch society together, given the decline of Christian religiosity? It argues that civil religion connects Dutch people today. Indeed, Christianity, more precisely, Protestantism, functioned as a public religion already in the Dutch Republic. However, I argue that we need to understand civil religion in connection with white Christian nationalism.