Despite the secularisation in terms of religious secularisation and decline in church attendance that is steadily progressing in the Netherlands, there are also several evangelical and Pentecostal churches that are thriving, or at least much less affected by the secularising forces in Dutch society. Against this background, this project aims to gain more insight into this specific group of more orthodox, devout believers. For this purpose, an extensive online survey was conducted among 1,100 Dutch Protestants who identify themselves as evangelical. The data thus collected cover the socio-demographic background of these evangelical Protestants, the different ways in which they are involved in their faith 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, what religious practices do they carry out, what are their core religious beliefs and political and moral convictions, and how do they position themselves in relation to secular Dutch society?
- What is the religious history of contemporary Dutch evangelicals in terms of detachment, re-attachment and religious conversion?
- What subgroups can we distinguish within 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 beliefs and socio-economic status compared to the social profile of the Dutch population?
- What is typical of the religious and social profile of contemporary Dutch evangelicals compared to evangelicals in Europe and the US?
