Buiten kerk en moskee

in secular countries like the Netherlands, especially, more readily form the view that life is
only meaningful if the individual themselves gives meaning to it.
No increase in modern-day spirituality in the last decade
Chapter 3 looked in more depth at modern-day spirituals in the Netherlands. What are the
core ideas within this modern-day spiritual milieu? One of them is self-realisation and
working on one’s own spiritual development, something akin to drawing on one’s innermost
self as a source of guiding knowledge. A holistic view of the world and humanity is
another core idea, as is going through mystical experiences, often via a strong connection
with nature. Other fundamental elements of the modern-day spiritual milieu are a focus
on searching and eclecticism. The interest in paranormal phenomena is a relatively separate
element within this. The differences between the attractiveness of these dimensions
of modern-day spirituality are generally not great, and this is true for 2020 and 2009.
Is modern-day spirituality concentrated in certain sections of the population, and can any
shifts in this be observed? Modern-day spirituality exerts a greater attraction on certain
groups in the population than others, though the differences are not large. Women are
more engaged concerning all kinds of aspects associated with modern-day spirituality.
Older people are also more sympathetic to varying items on the spiritual menu (and in this
group, the same thing in fact applies for the established religions). Most aspects of modern-day
spirituality tend to be concentrated in urban settings (something that does not
apply to the traditional religions). Representatives of the liberal professions and freelancers
relatively often endorse modern-day spiritual notions (and religious or church-based
notions less).
In addition to the religiously affiliated and religiously organised Netherlands, and the section
of the population who are explicitly non-religious, a third sphere has evolved and
gradually expanded, whose members often prefer to describe themselves as spiritual
rather than religious. However, the assumption that this might be an autonomous ideological
circuit needs to be put into context. Data from three studies show clearly that the
boundaries between Christian faith and modern-day spirituality are often porous in all
kinds of ways. Believing in a spiritual power or identity plays a role in modern-day spiritual
circles outside the church sphere, too, as does a belief in the existence of life after death.
Conversely, spirituality and inner experiences play a prominent role in the Christian tradition.
Agnostics and atheists derive less meaning from life than those who follow traditional
religions and modern-day spirituals
Chapter 4 takes a closer look at agnostics and atheists. How large are these groups? What
is their attitude to religion and how do they deal with ideological questions and issues of
meaningfulness? The number of agnostics and atheists in the Netherlands has grown
strongly in the last decade. In parallel with this, the importance of religion for society has
diminished, although this decline appears to be stabilising in recent years. Support for government
subsidies to maintain church buildings actually increased rather than declined
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