Why Do Churches Become Empty, While New Age Grows? Secularization and Religious Change in the Netherlands

Abstract

Research from the Netherlands has pointed out that the increased popularity of New Age since the 1960s by no means compensates for the dramatic decline of the Christian churches. From a theoretical point of view, however, it is more important to study why those remarkably divergent developments have occurred in the first place. This article does this by analyzing survey data collected among the Dutch population at large in 1998, focusing on a comparison of the young and the elderly. It is concluded, first, that there are no indications that the decline of the Christian tradition has been caused by a process of rationalization. Second, the decline of the Christian tradition and the growth of nonreligiosity as well as New Age are caused by increased levels of moral individualism (individualization). Implications for the sociological analysis of cultural and religious change are discussed.If we have to make one element of modernization central to understanding the nature of modern religion, it would be that which explains the rise of the sect, the tolerance at the heart of the denomination, and the amorphous nature of the cult: individualism. (Bruce 1995:428)

New Spirituality and Social Engagement

“…Carrette and King (2004) note how commercialized forms of 'spirituality' or 'capitalist spirituality' are attempting to take over 'the cultural space traditionally inhabited by 'the religions' (4). Other authors do not see a 'spiritual revolution' because of the simultaneous and larger rise of non-religiosity (Barker, 2008;Houtman and Mascini, 2002) or because the term 'spirituality' is used in too broad a sense (Popp-Baier, 2010), e.g., for activities that should be counted as leisure (Voas and Bruce, 2007). Therefore, in this discussion, much depends on what is counted as being part of contemporary 'spirituality'.…”

“…Obviously, in practice, the boundaries are not so sharp. As we saw in chapter 3, there are people who are attracted to both new spirituality and traditional religion (Houtman and Mascini, 2002), in the churches (Hanegraaff, 1997) as well as outside (Berghuijs, Pieper, and Bakker, 2013a). If we could identify such a group, would these people distinguish themselves in some way from the groups we have studied up till now in their social engagement?…”

Balans en toekomst van de sociologie

“…De afkalving van de christelijke traditie sinds de jaren zestig is namelijk gepaard gegaan met een aanzienlijke verspreiding van post-traditionele vormen van religie. Dit maakt duidelijk dat modernisering bepaalde typen religie juist de wind in de zeilen geeft in plaats van ze te ondermijnen (Houtman en Mascini, 2002).…”

God changes people: modes of authentication in Evangelical conversion narratives

“…As many other scholars have observed, religion in Europe has changed remarkably since the 1960s (Houtman and Mancini 2002;Houtman and Aupers 2007;Schmeets and van Mensvoort 2015). In Dutch society, as in other European countries, religion is no longer prescribed by tradition and obligation but is rather based on choice and personal needs (Davie 1994).…”