Although secularization in terms of religious disaffiliation and a decrease of church attendance is progressing steadily in the Netherlands, several evangelical and Pentecostal churches still thrive or are, at least, far less affected by the secularizing forces in Dutch society. Against this background, this project aims to come to a more in-depth understanding of this specific group of more orthodox, committed believers. For this purpose, an extensive online survey was held among 1.100 Dutch Protestants who self-identify as evangelical. The data thus gathered concern the socio-demographic background of these evangelical Protestants, the various ways they are involved in their religious communities, their religious beliefs and orientations and their moral and political convictions.
This information will be used to answer the following research questions:
- How do contemporary Dutch evangelicals relate to a faith community, which religious practices do they perform, what are their core religious beliefs and political and moral convictions and how do they position themselves relative to secular Dutch society?
- What is the religious history of contemporary Dutch evangelicals in terms of disaffiliation, re-affiliation and religious switching?
- Which sub-groups can be distinguished among contemporary Dutch evangelicals based on their self-understanding, sources of authority and religious beliefs?
- What is typical of the social profile of contemporary Dutch evangelicals in terms of their political and moral convictions and socio-economic status in comparison with the social profile of the Dutch population?
- What is typical of the religious and social profile of contemporary Dutch evangelicals in comparison with evangelicals in Europe and the US.
