An example of that misunderstanding: the discussion about keeping places of worship open during the lockdowns, says Huijnk. “You saw misunderstanding from secularists about the need for believers to ‘just’ go to church or mosque during the lockdown. People who are not religious do not understand very well what that means for people who are religious.”
And another example is the wearing of headscarves in public functions. “It is difficult for some non-believers to imagine what wearing or taking off a headscarf means to some Muslim women.”
There are indeed new forms of “religious intolerance” in the Netherlands, says religious scientist Pooyan Tamimi Arab. “But we should also not exaggerate the mutual understanding of the past,” he emphasizes. “For Queen Wilhelmina it was a question of whether the Catholics were loyal to the Netherlands. It is not the case that the Dutch were much more tolerant decades ago than they are now.”
According to Huijnk, there is a task for the government to reduce mutual frictions and tensions, for example through education. “Of course there is a focus on understanding sexual and gender diversity, but there could also be more focus on religious differences between people.” Understanding religion is indeed important for combating friction, Tamimi Arab agrees. “That means: don’t judge right away, but make the effort to understand others.”
Looking for meaning yourself
Another consequence of secularization is that more people are now looking for meaning themselves. “Those who want to give meaning to life can rely less on the old religious institutions,” says Tamimi Arab. And that brings problems, he says.
“For example: when someone dies, what should you do if you don’t believe in anything? How do you organize that? We’re constantly working on that, figuring that out in new ways.” According to the SCP, mental problems, such as burnouts, are lurking.
“I see that young people are looking for a place where they can come home,” says Van Krimpen. “Where they don’t have to perform or be the perfect self where that is sometimes the case on social media. To a place and the belief in a God who says: ‘You are good the way you are’. And that is a rebellious message in this day and age.”
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