Search

This article discusses how practitioners of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) in Dutch primary schools look at the relationship between IRE and citizenship education (CE). To what extent do they believe it is possible and desirable for IRE to contribute to CE? What would an integration of IRE and CE look like, and where do they see potential tensions between IRE and CE? In two extensive focus group discussions, with identity coordinators and experienced IRE teachers, the relationships between IRE and four citizenship dimensions, namely, identity, legal status, participation, and rights, were discussed. Qualitative content analysis of these discussions reveals that the integration of IRE with CE is desirable and possible, but in varying degrees based on the level of different citizenship dimensions. The extent of integration of IRE and CE also depends on the interpretations of Islamic key concepts. IRE and CE were also found to face similar challenges in seeking to achieve integration: both struggle with exclusive interpretations of Islam and citizenship.

This study explores attitudes towards the poor among Christian and Muslim secondary school students in Indonesia. Are there significant differences between Muslims and Christians with regard to these attitudes and, if any, how could they be explained? The authors argue that there is little reason to expect differences based on religious affiliation alone, because both Christianity and Islam pay special attention to poverty alleviation and economic justice in teachings and moral guidelines. However, specific religious beliefs and practices could still result in different attitudes towards the poor among Muslims and Christians. This study investigates to what extent beliefs such as attitudes towards religious plurality, fundamentalism, religious salience and religious practices are related with attitudes towards the poor. The potential differential effects of non-religious factors like socio-economic status, social dominance orientation, bonding and bridging social capital, compassion and school activities are also taken into account.

Contains fulltext : 205938.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Like other Western countries, in the Netherlands women continue to demonstrate higher levels of religiosity than men. In this article, we set out to explain this Dutch religious gender gap regarding belief in God, prayer and church attendance. Using high quality survey data (LISS 2015), a comprehensive model is built combining social and psychological differences between Dutch men and women. These gender differences are operationalized where they are most strongly experienced, i.e. within personal relationships. We find that the gender gaps within Dutch relationships regarding belief in God and prayer can be explained by gendered religious socialization and gendered mental health dependency - and for belief in God additionally by the gendered level of agreeableness. For the gender gap regarding church attendance, gendered religious socialization explains the religious gender gap. 35 p.

Contains fulltext : 208076.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) The rise of conservative religion in the West threatens the enduring positive contribution of religion to civil society, if conservative churches, as often assumed, indeed generate more bonding than bridging social capital. Against this background, this study explores the civic engagement of evangelicals in the Netherlands. Two research questions are addressed: (1) To what extent are Dutch evangelicals more involved in religious than non-religious volunteering as compared to mainline Christians and non-church members? and (2) Which decisive factors determine the religious and non-religious volunteering of Dutch evangelicals as compared to mainline Christians and non-church members? Results show that these orthodox Christians are more involved in religious than in non-religious volunteering. Their religious volunteering is determined by their church attendance, Bible reading and social embeddedness in their congregation, while their non-religious volunteering is impeded by their mono-religious orientation and social embeddedness in their congregation and by the volunteering of their parents. 14 p.

Background: Today the Dutch religious landscape is characterized by two opposite trends. On the one hand, there is a massive and dominant trend of religious disaffiliation which mostly affects the Roman Catholic Church and the mainline Protestant churches, while on the other hand the Netherlands also witnesses the emergence of several independent, evangelical congregations of near megachurch size.Purpose: Against the background of these opposite trends, this paper focuses on the second trend and tries to explain why some people join an evangelical congregation.Methods: For this purpose, quantitative data gathered among the audiences of six thriving evangelical congregations are analyzed in view of the following research questions: (1) What was the previous religious affiliation of the people who switched or converted to one of the six participating evangelical congregations? and (2) Which factors induced the switch or conversion to these congregations?Results: Results of bivariate and multivariate analyses show that these congregations attract both mainline and orthodox Protestant switchers as well as a significant number of secular converts, whose decision to join these evangelical congregations is induced by early socialization experiences, their intrinsic religious orientation and the switching of their partner. Closer scrutiny into the background of the apparent secular converts reveals, however, that several of these converts are probably re-affiliates. Although these secular converts indicated to be a religious none in their early teens, their conversion to evangelicalism is in part still induced by certain, early religious socialization experiences.Conclusions and Implications: This insight puts the alleged success of these evangelical congregations in more perspective. It shows that their success is more a matter of circulating, religious believers and not so much a matter of successfully reaching out to the unchurched. In all likelihood, then, thriving evangelical congregations will remain an exception in secular societies like the Netherlands and evangelical church growth in no way marks a break with the ongoing trend of religious disaffiliation.

While the Dutch state sets formal aims and requirements for all major school subjects, it remains neutral in view of religious and worldview education. This paper critically assesses this neutral position of the Dutch state and argues that the state should take more responsibility for the aim and content of religious and worldview education in school. To do this, this paper offers a description of the current position of religious and worldview education in the Dutch educational system and also shows that this position is no longer in accordance with the present-day Dutch religious landscape. By comparing the Dutch situation with the position of religious and worldview education in the educational systems of Denmark, England, Russia and Sweden this paper makes a nuanced plea for more state interference with religious and worldview education in school, while the paper at the same time warns for the danger of politicizing religious and worldview education or of ignoring the basic right of parents to opt for religious or worldview education for their children in conformity with their own convictions.

Why has the Netherlands witnessed such a strong process of secularization? This article examines this process very extensively. Based on modernization theory, it follows several social cultural developments in Dutch society over the last 50 years and distinguishes between effects on the individual level as well as on the level of society. We are able to do so because of rich data availability, derived from micro‐level longitudinal surveys (God in the Netherlands, Social and Cultural Developments in the Netherlands) enriched with macro‐level statistics (Statistics Netherlands). With this integrated approach, we provide explanatory insights into the transition of the Netherlands from a predominant Christian nation to a predominant secular nation. Our analysis clearly shows that macro‐level educational expansion has affected this process of secularization in the Netherlands, supplemented with the increase in social security, as a so‐called cohort effect. Moreover, the long‐term effect of Christian socialization is waning; Dutch people who were raised in a religious way increasingly lapse later in their life.

Contains fulltext : 201291.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) This study tries to find out why certain congregations in the Netherlands have a more committed membership than other congregations and, thus, are less affected by processes of religious disaffiliation. To do this, data gathered among members of six evangelical megachurches together with data from a national probability sample are analyzed to address two questions. First, to what extent are Dutch evangelicals more committed to their religious organization, in terms of money and time spent at church, than members of mainline churches in the Netherlands? And second, which decisive factors determine these instances of organizational commitment of Dutch evangelicals? Results show that evangelicals indeed spend more money on and time at church than mainline Christians. As regards the second question, it turns out that donating money is mainly determined by income, whereas time spent with church groups is mainly determined by the degree of embeddedness in socio-religious networks. 30 p.

RE in Russia has been recently introduced as a compulsory regular school subject during the last year of elementary school. The present study offers a critical analysis of the current practice of Russian RE by comparing it with RE in Sweden, Denmark and Britain. This analysis shows that Russian RE is ambivalent. Although it is based on a non-confessional religious studies approach, Russian RE also serves the interests of the Russian Orthodox Church, which aims to educate students into Orthodox Christianity, as well as the interests of the Russian state itself, which turns RE in a kind of citizenship education focusing on the patriotic upbringing of students.

Religious education (RE) has been recently introduced into the Russian educational system as a compulsory regular school subject. The present study offers a critical analysis of one of the most pop...

Contains fulltext : 204692.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) In many secular Western countries, women continue to demonstrate higher levels of religiosity than men. But why does this religious gender gap persist? In this research note, we set out to explain the religious gender gap in the Netherlands for three dimensions of religiosity: belief in God, frequency of prayer and frequency of church attendance. Using high quality national representative survey data from LISS (Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social sciences), an empirical model is built combining social and psychological determinants. We find that the experience of health restrictions, the personality trait conscientiousness and the gender orientation masculinity contribute to an explanation for the gender gap in the Netherlands regarding all three dimensions of religiosity. For belief in God and frequency of prayer, an additional psychological explanation comes from the gender orientation femininity. 28 p.

Towards non-confessional worldview education in a pillarized education system: a plea from the low countriesIn this article the claim is raised, that the pillarized education system of Belgium and the Netherlands interferes with the way the challenges of modern secular and plural society are addressed in worldview education in school. After a brief sketch of the education systems of both countries and the way worldview education is formally embedded in these systems, a critical analysis of the actual practice of worldview education in Belgium and the Netherlands reveals four major problems: it is organized along religious and ideological dividing lines, it is fragmented, it is no longer desired and its content is faded. Following this critical analysis, the authors make a plea for non-confessional worldview education for all pupils in all schools organized and supervised by the state.

Contains fulltext : 182827.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Evangelicals are generally considered culturally conservative regarding issues like abortion or homosexuality and sometimes also economically conservative regarding issues like tax reduction. But does this image also apply to Dutch evangelicals who live in a secular environment in which they constitute only a tiny fraction of the number of church members? This article explores the political attitudes of Dutch evangelicals with the help of two research questions: (1) Do Dutch evangelicals hold more conservative political attitudes on economic and cultural issues than Catholics, mainline Protestants and non-church members? and (2) Which decisive factors determine the supposed conservatism among Dutch evangelicals as compared to Catholics, mainline Protestants and non-church members? Analyses of survey data show that Dutch evangelicals are indeed culturally conservative, but more liberal in economic matters. In addition, results also show that their cultural conservatism is related to their religious convictions, while their economic attitudes are unrelated to religion. 30 p.

This article reflects on the place of RE in a pillarised education context, taking into account the fact of religious diversity and pluralisation among the school population on the one hand, and the freedom of religion and education of faith-based schools on the other. Particular attention will be given to Belgium and the Netherlands, which do not only have a comparable pillarised education model, but also have a quite similar religious landscape. After a brief historical sketch of the educational systems in both nations, attention will be given to the present situation and to the challenges of religious diversity and secularism in faith-based schools. In order to meet these challenges, recent developments concerning RE in Belgium and the Netherlands are discussed. In conclusion, we will outline some suggestions for the future of RE in faith-based schools in a pillarised education context.

Contains fulltext : 174176.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Dutch society is characterized by a high degree of religious dis-affiliation and non-affiliation and most religious communities are facing hard times in the Netherlands. But there are also exceptions. Against the contemporary current of ongoing secularization, some religious communities seem to thrive like never before and even attract new members. But why is that? Why do some religious communities succeed in retaining and also attracting new members while others fail? This article focuses on successful evangelical congregations in the Netherlands and tries to account for their relative success. On the basis of a subcultural identity theory, it is argued that the success of evangelical congregations is largely due to the fact that they offer protective umbrellas of conservative belief in an otherwise very secular context. This line of thought is substantiated with empirical findings from a current research project into thriving evangelical congregations in the Netherlands. The article closes with some theoretical reflections on the future of evangelicalism in contemporary Dutch society. 23 juni 2017 24 p.

Contains fulltext : 159907.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Following the earlier work of the Dutch political scientist Middendorp on conservative views among the Dutch population, this study tries to find out if there is still a relationship between conservatism and religion. Earlier research revealed that also church members became less conservative over time and that the gap between church members and non-church members is closing in this respect. Only orthodox Christians continued to hold more conservative views over time. A distinction which still exists today as the results of this study among evangelical Christians show. This group of orthodox Christians distinguishes itself from both mainline Christians and the secular Dutch not so much by having a conservative outlook on economic matters, but by upholding conservative views in pro life issues. 24 p.

Contains fulltext : 157505.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) During the last three decades Dutch church attendance rates dropped considerably, while the relative share of volunteers in non-religious organizations decreased at a slower rate. This is an unexpected development given the positive association between religious involvement and volunteering. In this article, we try to account for this development by addressing the following question: Why has a massive and ongoing decline of church attendance in the Netherlands not resulted in a similar drop in the relative number of volunteers in non-religious voluntary organizations? In view of this question, we wonder if the negative effect of declining church attendance on volunteering is perhaps counterbalanced by a positive effect of educational expansion. Our findings reveal that this is indeed the case, but these counterbalancing effects are only modest. 24 p.

Contrary to the ongoing trend of secularisation in the Netherlands, some religious congregations have instead experienced exceptional growth, and are currently reaching megachurch proportions. This paper focuses on one such thriving Dutch congregation, calledDoorbrekers(‘those who break through’), and sets out to account for its appeal and attractiveness by analysing sermons delivered by the pastors ofDoorbrekers; with the help of a topic list based on cultural-market and church-sect theory explanations for the emergence of megachurches. The intention is to answer the question of whether elements of both lines of explanation are present in the sermons delivered in this Dutch megachurch. Findings show that this is indeed partly the case. As it turns out, the sermons delivered inDoorbrekersoffer a unique blend of theological conservatism and a more modern emphasis on the individual. Thus, the conclusion is drawn thatDoorbrekersrepresents a new form of privatised and strict Protestantism, which seems to go rather well with certain developments in the Dutch religious landscape.