Most Dutch feel socially connected without religion, study finds
As church membership continues to fall in the Netherlands, most Dutch residents still feel socially connected and trust others, even without religion, according to new findings from Radboud University Nijmegen and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Only 27 percent of Dutch people are currently members of a church or religious group—down from 32 percent in 2015. Despite this ongoing decline, researchers found no indication that social cohesion is weakening.
Instead of attending religious services, people are finding connection in other areas, including sports clubs and public rituals. The study shows that 75 percent of respondents feel united with fellow citizens during the annual Dodenherdenking (National Remembrance Day) on May 4.
The youngest generation surveyed—Gen Z—stood out for its relatively high openness to faith. Twenty-seven percent of Gen Z respondents identified as religious, compared to 22 percent in the generation above.
The results were featured in a Sunday broadcast of KRONCRV’s Kruispunt, filmed in Utrecht. The city is home to a wide range of Christian traditions and the iconic Dom Tower. Historian Maarten van Rossem, who does not believe in God, visited the Jacobikerk and spoke about the importance of church architecture. “Some churches are so beautiful that they almost make me religious,” he said.
Many respondents in the study shared that view. While they do not want churches to hold social power or receive public funding, they value the buildings for their cultural and symbolic meaning. The program also covered a celebration in Utrecht, where local Roman Catholic communities welcomed the relic of Saint Thomas Aquinas to the Catharina Cathedral.
The data comes from the 2025 edition of God in Nederland, a national study conducted every ten years since 1966. Researchers surveyed about 2,000 Dutch adults for the latest report, carried out by Radboud University in collaboration with the HDC Centre for Religious History at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
