In 2023 roughly half of the Dutch population did not identify with any religious denomination. Of the religious population, the largest number of people at 17 percent identified themselves as Roman Catholics. That is particularly interesting, as the dominating church in the Netherlands since the Reformation had been the Protestant church. According to the source, approximately 13 percent of the Dutch population considered themselves a member of the three main protestant churches, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. The category 'other' includes not only the smaller protestant churches, but also religions that are newer to the Netherlands, such as Buddhism and Hinduism. According to this statistic, Muslims made up six percent of the population in the Netherlands.

Between 2010 and 2024 in the Netherlands, the percentage of people who do not identify with any religion increased from 45 percent to 56 percent. The largest religious group in 2024 was the Roman Catholic group, with 17 percent of Dutch people identifying as Roman Catholic. In 2024, 14 percent of the Dutch population considered themselves a member of the three main protestant churches, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. The percentage of people who identify as Muslim has remained the same at five percent over the years. Do the people who identify with a religion always participate? The percentage of people in the Netherlands who participate in a religion is not necessarily the same as that of people who identify with a religion. The most prominent religious group, the Roman Catholics, only saw a participation of three percent, the same as those identifying with the Protestant Church, despite only six percent identifying with that denomination. The highest participation rate is in the group 'other' with four percent, despite only 10 percent identifying in those religions. It shows, therefore, that some religions see significantly higher participation rates despite a lower percentage identifying with it. Does the percentage of Muslims in the Netherlands align with the perceived percentage of Muslims? In 2018, the Dutch population believed that 20 percent of the population was Muslim, even though only five percent were Muslim. This overestimation of the Muslim population is in line with the rest of Europe. Germany, for example, predicted a Muslim population of 21 percent while the actual Muslim population was four percent. In Belgium, residents believed that 27 percent of the population was Muslim, while in reality, it was only five percent.

This statistic displays the distribution of the population of the Caribbean Netherlands in 2021, by religion. It shows that the largest share of the population was Roman Catholic, at nearly 50 percent. Next to that, the largest groups were the Methodists (7.6 percent) and the Adventists (7.4 percent). In contrast, only 0.2 percent of the population in the Caribbean Netherlands was Muslim.

This statistic shows the religious participation in the Netherlands in 2021, by frequency. It shows that the large majority of the Dutch population (83 percent) rarely or never visited a religious service or meeting in 2021. Eight percent of the Dutch population participated in religious services or meetings at least once a week.

The SOCON 1985 survey, formally titled "Religion in Dutch Society 85," was designed to document and analyze religious and secular attitudes in the Netherlands. The survey's core objective was to explore how religious beliefs, particularly those oriented toward Christianity, influence values, opinions, attitudes, and behaviors within various secular contexts. It aimed to assess the social relevance of religious and secular attitudes across a range of themes, including religion, value systems, labor, education, family and welfare state, ethnocentrism, politics, ecology, and health.

This large-scale national survey involved multiple themes organized into two main questionnaires, each distributed to separate samples. The study sought to address both continuity and changes in Dutch society's cultural and religious landscapes, providing a detailed examination of secularization, de-pillarization (the breakdown of religious or ideological communities), and social value transformations in 1985.

Researchers intended for the survey data to support analyses by academics on the intersection of religious beliefs and secular societal values, enabling insights into the cultural integration of religious and non-religious attitudes in the Dutch population.

This statistic shows the religious participation in the Netherlands in 2021, by gender and frequency. It shows that in 2021, 82 percent of the female population in the Netherlands rarely or never attended a religious service/meeting.

Trend study on changes in general opinions, values and beliefs and attitudes of the Dutch population. The survey contains variables from the International Social Survey Programme.Work / leisure / religion / religious issues / religion parents / church attendance / politics / political activities / satisfaction with current politics / relation politics and religion / most important issues in the Netherlands / crime and punishment / role of elderly in society / abortion / unwed mothers / environmental issues / happiness / trust of r. in several aspects of society / worries about money, health, politics, family, the future / opinions on, and satisfaction with: income, social security, welfare / role of husband and wife in family / trust in science / volunteer work Background variables: basic characteristics / household characteristics / occupation/employment / income / education / organizational membership.The data- and documentation files of this dataset can be downloaded via the option Data Files.

This study was conducted in 1966 in the Netherlands among a sample of the adult population. Respondents' attitudes toward freedom of political expression, views on the social welfare laws, and opinions about political alienation, political parties, and the party system were elicited. The respondents were also asked about the power structure in society, with specific references to the royal family, religion, and politics. Additional questions referred to members of parliament, the role of women, and politics in the mass media. Demographic data include sex, age, level of education, subscriptions to print media, marital status, party affiliation, religion, and church membership.

Life course and life situation of the Dutch population. Family of origin, educational career, labor market career, family formation, residential career, income, religion, values, leisure time behavior, cultural and material consumption, life satisfaction, health.
Longitudinal survey.

Also available in EASY: Familie-enquête Nederlandse bevolking / Family Survey Dutch Population 1992-1993, 1998, 2000 and 2009

This statistic displays the religiously unaffiliated population in the Netherlands in 2017, by upbringing. 48 percent of the respondents participating in this survey said to consider themselves as religiously unaffiliated. Of these people, 40 percent was also raised unaffiliated. On the other hand, 50 percent of the unaffiliated said they were baptized.

This data collection contains voting information from percentagized election returns for each of the nine general elections to the Lower House (Tweede Kamer) of the Dutch Parliament in the period 1888-1917, as well as information on religious composition for all of the 100 municipalities of the Netherlands. Variables computed from the basic election statistics on the basis of a left-right dimension of the political parties provide information on the number and percentage of votes cast for the Conservatives, the Liberals, the Radicals, the Social-Democrats, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, the Catholics, and the other left-wing and right-wing parties. Additional variables provide information on age, the number of registered voters, and the total number of votes cast. Religious variables provide information on the percentage of the population associated with specific denominations, such as the Dutch Reformed Church, the Wallon Church, the New Lutheran Church, the Remonstrant Church, the Mennonite Church, the Christian Reformed Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Old Roman Catholic Church, the Jewish religion, and other churches and sects, including those with no religious association.

This study includes data on regional level for nine Western European countries: election returns, occupation categories, religion, population.

Data from the Netherlands.

This data set is part of the following publication:Jetten, M. (2018). Knowledge of interaction styles and dimensions of interpretation in interreligious adult education. An empirical study of the effects of a hermeneutic-communicative curriculum. Radboud University. Münster: LIT Verlag.This book reports on an evaluation study of a curriculum on interreligious dialogue among Christian and Muslims adults in the Netherlands. It was organized as a PhD-project between 2007 and 2013 at the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies of Radboud University, financed by Stichting Nieuwegen.The primary aim of this research is to explain the contribution of a curriculum to knowledge of interaction styles and hermeneutic distinctions that are used to express and interpret the views on religious phenomena of adherents from different religious traditions. We consider knowledge of communication and interpretation conditional for mutual understanding between adherents of different religious traditions. We refer to this as hermeneutic-communicative learning. The focus of this dissertation is not solely religious phenomena, but the way that participants express and interpret these phenomena. Hence, the research goal of this study is: explaining the contribution of a hermeneutic-communicative curriculum using the method of mediated learning to the acquisition of knowledge of interaction styles and dimensions for interpreting religious phenomena.This study uses a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test, based on two non-equivalent groups (“untreated non-equivalent control group design with pre-test and post-test”, Cook & Campbell 1979, 103-129). To study the effects of participation in our curriculum, we distinguish two research groups, an experimental group that participates in the intervention, and a control group that does not participate. In both groups a pre-test and a post-test is held, respectively before and after the intervention.Our research population are Christian and Muslim adults in the Netherlands who are interested in interreligious meetings. To be able to reliably estimate the characteristics of the research population, we required a sample of at least 400 respondents in total, with 200 participants in the experimental group and 200 in the control group. Regarding the experimental group, we aimed at 20 curriculum locations, each with about twelve participants, making sure that respondent still feel secure to exchange religious beliefs and practices in a personal and informal way. We sought a group distribution of at least a third Christians or a third Muslims at each location. Regarding religion, the relative number of Christians in the control group appeared to be higher than in the experimental group. Therefore, in the analyses, we randomly reduced the number of Christians in the control group by 40%, by deleting the third and fifth of each five Christian respondents in the control group. This resulted in a total number of 260 respondents in the experimental group and 132 respondents in the control group.Part of this research project of Radboud University is the material for an interreligious course. It has been developed for Christian and Muslim adults with interest in interreligious communication. Participants get acquainted with a practical method that eases interreligious dialogue, focused at both enriching one’s own religious identity as well as getting familiar with the religion of the other. Focus is learning to communicate from the personal perspective, applied to substantive themes from Christianity and Islam.You are welcome to re-use and adjust all available curriculum materials and guidance sheets. Feel free to use part of the material, split up the material in separate units, or adjust to materials to your own needs, as long as you respect the copyright. Please refer to this dataset and the aforementioned publication.The data set contains various types of files, which are further explained in the read me first file.- Read me first file- Data files (SPSS files)- Documentation on the data set (methodology and measuring instruments)- Documentation on the interreligious curriculum (including the full program and guidance sheets for educators)

This statistic displays the religiously unaffiliated population share in the Netherlands in 2017, by conviction. Roughly 50 percent of the Dutch respondents participating in this survey said to be religiously unaffiliated. Of this 48 percent, nearly 15 percent of the participants described themselves as atheist. Three percent said to be agnostic and over 30 percent considered themselves as "nothing in particular".

Life course and life situation of the Dutch population: family of origin, educational career, labor market career, family formation, income, religion, values, leisure time behavior, cultural and material consumption, health, parental socialization, social participation, pro-social behavior, media preferences. National stratified sample of Dutch speaking population of the Netherlands, 18-70 years old. Survey data with structured face-to-face interviews + self-completion questionnaire (primary respondents and spouses/partners).

Also available in EASY: Familie-enquête Nederlandse bevolking / Family Survey Dutch Population 1992-1993, 1998, 2000 and 2003.

Trend study on changes in general opinions and attitudes of the Dutch population regarding a wide range of topics.r.'s opinion on the role of the government concerning redivision of income, environment, trade and industry, housing, education, arts, children's day-care centres, welfare / knowledge of basic science / trust in science, traditional and alternative medicine / r.'s opinion on environmental protection, cars, industry, chemicals, insecticides, nuclear plants, pollution of surface water, climate change, GM food in relation to the environment / willingness to pay higher prices or taxes, or lower standard of living to protect environment / does the Dutch government, industry do enough to protect the environment / environment vs economic growth / opinion on probability of major nuclear disaster in 5 years / does r. recycle glass, metal, plastic paper etc. / does r. sometimes not use car to protect environment / concerning the environment: membership of organization, signed a petition, donated money, participated in a demonstration / religiosity / destiny / inequality / r.'s opinion on economic situation, unemployment, government spending, benefits / does r. worry about finance, politics, health, family, the future / opinion on welfare provisions, income differences / r.'s opinion on (employee, student) participation (medezeggenschap) at factories, universities, schools, municipality and province / should people be allowed to demonstrate, strike, occupy buildings / freedom of speach, freedom to write, freedom of religion for different groups / r.'s religion, how often visit church, church member, how strict / most important in life / r.'s opinion on immigrants, working mothers, crime and punishment, soft drugs, capital punishment, forced treatment of drug addicts, free hard drugs for addicts, treatment of sex offenders, immigrants / r.'s opinion on people and society in general, leadership / would vote if elections now / political affiliation / interested, trust in politics / member of political party / most important issues in politics / opinion on government Netherlands and many of its policy issues / income / type of household / education / work, how many hours, unpaid work.

This statistic displays the results of a survey of opinions concerning the impact of declining Christian influence in Dutch society in the Netherlands in 2018. The survey outcome suggest that over half of the Dutch population saw the declining influence of the Christian religion on society as neither a strength nor a threat. Meanwhile, just over a fifth of respondents saw the decline of the impact of Christianity in society as a strength, while the share of people surveyed who saw this as a threat was slightly higher, at 23 percent.

Trend study on changes in general opinions and attitudes of the Dutch population regarding a wide range of topics. The international part of the survey is part of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP).National part (oral interview): time spent on voluntary work or helping sick, handicapped / social contacts / egoism - altruism / life satisfaction / prosperity: in this country, in own family, in future, government cares enough / economic change / unemployment change / economic crisis / most important political issues / role of government: economic planning, government intervention, public services / tax system / level of government spending / evaluation of private income / expected and preferred changes in levels of income and of social benefits /satisfaction with social benefits system / evaluation of laws regarding welfare provisions: AOW, ABW, WW, AWW, WAO, AAW, ZW / abuse of social benefits / differences in income, ownership / religious beliefs / role of religion / knowledge of and affinity with several religious-philosophic movements / opinions on: working mothers, divorce, ideal number of children, intentional childlessness / single parenthood, unmarried parenthood, in vitro fertilisation, parent-child relations, permissiveness / advice in case of problems of friend or neighbours / alternative medical treatment / superstition / alternative spiritual movements / criminality / justice / safety / victim of vandalism, theft, assault / fear / punishment / opinions on: punishment versus re-socialization, social benefits, gender roles, treatment of drug addicts, social equality, soft drugs, death penalty, women's emancipation, income differences / left-right self rating / conservatism versus progressiveness / sense of political efficacy / political activities, protest / opinion leadership / environment / pollution / separate collection of waste / ecology / environment mindedness / role of industry, agriculture, private households and government in ecological problems / discrimination / foreigners / immigrants / racism /immigrants / asylum seekers / social integration of foreigners / evaluation of importance of public services / evaluation of several domains of government policy / satisfaction with government / most important domestic problems. International part ( self administered questionnaire ): women, work and children / gender roles within the family / marriage /parenthood / maternity leave / day-care / legal abortion / sexuality: premarital, extramarital, at young age, homosexuality, sexual harassment at work.The data- and documentation files of this dataset can be downloaded via the option Data Files.

Trend study on changes in general opinions and attitudes of the Dutch population regarding a wide range of topics.Most important in the Netherlands / environmental issues / importance of all kind of social, cultural, medical and educational facilities offered by the government / satisfaction with living environment / contact with relatives and neighbours / general attitude towards people / following political programs on tv / reading political news / reading local news / prosperity in own country / prosperity in own family and expectations / opinion about future of mankind / values and beliefs / issues of public finance / mental and physical well-being / satisfaction with income / r.'s opinion about income differences / satisfaction with welfare facilities / religious issues / relationship between religion and politics / role of religious principles / most important in life / talking about politics at home / role of members of parliament / effects of voting / punishment for using softdrugs / abortion / death penalty / gender roles / financial care at old age / issues of municipal policy / opinion about present society and expectations / civil disobedience / issues of nationalism and globalization / attitude towards criminals / political issues, political behaviour / privacy / marriage, extra-marital affairs, raising children / neighbours from a different race / preferred policy of government / expectations about income, social welfare benefits / social security / alternative social security system - 'ministelsel' / participation national, global, municipal level / satisfaction with life / crime issues / alternative punishment / attitude towards foreigners / child care / duty of government concerning treatment of addicts / free drugs for addicts / r.'s opinion about single women wanting a child / in vitro fertilization / expectations during the next 12 months concerning economic situation and unemployment / change of minimum income / unemployment benefit / judgement about number of foreigners / preferred income-level of various professional groups / tasks of school and parents in matters concerning raising children / goal of politics / financial contribution of parents for education of children / volunteer work / medical issues, waiting lists for hospitals, price of medicine / artificial insemination / treatment handicapped babies / euthanasia / attitude towards European Union.Background variables: basic characteristics / place of birth / residence / household characteristics / occupation/employment / income/capital assets/ education/ social class / politics / religion / readership, mass media, and 'cultural' exposure/ organizational membership.The data- and documentation files of this dataset can be downloaded via the option Data Files.

Data derived from weekly public opinion polls in the Netherlands in 1985 concerning social and political issues. Samples were drawn from the Dutch population aged 18 years and older.

All data from the surveys held between 1962 and 2000 are available in the DANS data collections.

Background variables:
Sex / age / religion / income / vote recall latest elections / party preference / level of education / union membership / professional status / < self > left-right rating / party alignment / province / degree of urbanization / weight factor.

Topical variables:
n8501: Elections of May 1986 / Voting intention / TV advertisement / Respondent's opinion about Rotary, Lions, Round Table, Odd Fellows / Purchasing power of minimum wages / Cruise missiles.
n8502: RSV affair.
n8504: Background of voting decision / Homosexual teachers and Christian schools / Respondent's opinion about: size of family, sexual freedom, making money, value of the United Nations for a better world.
n8506: Religious behaviour of Catholic respondents / Visit of the Pope / Position of the Catholic church in The Netherlands / Influence of "Rome" on behaviour of Dutch Catholics e.g. in cases of abortion, anti-conception.
n8507: Religious behaviour of Catholic respondents / Visit of the Pope / Position of the Catholic church in The Netherlands / Influence of "Rome" on behaviour of Dutch Catholics e.g. in cases of abortion, anti-conception.
n8508: RSV < Rijn-Schelde-Verolme > affair / Respondent's opinion about making money, working harder / Respect for authorities / Development of technology / Drugs.
n8510: TV acquaintance of several politicians / Scaling of qualities of politicians / Third TV network.
n8511: Background of voting decision / Computerization of public administration / Having a passport / Obligatory identity cards / Appreciation of TV commercials and magazine advertisement.
n8512: Acid rain / Causes and effects / Visiting a play, a museum, a concert, a cinema, a restaurant, other countries.
n8513: Voting intention elections 1986 / Commemoration of the Dead < of the Second World War > at the 4th of May and Liberation Day at the 5th of May.
n8514: Trust in political leaders / Car driving / Using safety belts / Maximum speed in traffic.
n8515: Voting intention at elections of 1986 / Preferred government coalition / Respondent's opinion about present government.
n8516: Respondent's experiences during 2nd World War / Opinions about resistance during 2nd World War / Expected attitudes during a next war / Effect of nuclear weapons / Necessity to celebrate liberation day / Interest in history of 2nd World War / Practicing several sports.
n8517: Cruise missiles / Subscribing the petition concerning cruise missiles / Membership of NATO / Influence of politics concerning cruise missiles on voting behaviour at next elections.
n8518: Readiness to change job / Preferred place of residence / Preferred family size / Preferred population development / Expectations concerning shorter working hours.
n8523: Star wars / Dutch participation in Star wars / Membership of NATO.
n8524: Cruise missiles / Nuclear energy / Subscribing the petition concerning cruise missiles / Membership of NATO / Drinking alcohol / Alcohol consumption.
n8526: Voting consequences for the 1986 elections, after fusion small leftist parties / Politics in the 1982-1986 government concerning economic restoration / FNV support of election campaign / Voting intention at the 1986 elections.
n8527: Respondent's voting intention at the elections of 1986 / Political party leaders.
n8528: Participation in sports / Topless recreation / Interest in Wimbledon and Tour de France / Sex before marriage / Which married women are happiest.
n8533: Following news about South-Africa / Having relatives in South Africa / Equal rights for all inhabitants of South Africa / Government measures against South Africa / Following news about Tamils in Sri Lanka, Protestants and Roman Catholics in Northern-Ireland, Conflicts in Zimbabwe, the Basques in Spain.
n8535: Membership of NATO / Government decision about cruise missiles / People's petition / Influence of government decision about cruise missiles on voting decision in 1986 / Importance of cruise missiles over other problems.
n8537: Membership of NATO / Government decision about cruise missiles / People's petition / Trust in various political leaders, advertisements and news magazines.
n8540: Membership of NATO / Placing cruise missiles on Dutch territories / Petition against cruise missiles.
n8543: Voting intention / Preferred leaders of D66, VVD and PvdA / Whether the governments latest decision about cruise missiles has to be carried out / Reasons accepting cruise missiles / Taking part in people's petition / Subscribing the petition concerning cruise missiles / Continuation of actions against stationing of cruise missiles.
n8544: Keeping pets /...