Dutch Unbelief

Richard Hollerman

Most of us know, perhaps, that unbelief is rampant in the continent of Europe. Although at one time, the continent was largely Catholic but this was changed by the Reformation, when Calvinism, Lutheranism, Catholicism, and a few of the Radical Reformation (Mennonites, etc.) came in. But during the last century, unbelief has gradually changed the makeup of the continent to where it can hardly be recognized today.

Perhaps it was the time of Charles Darwin in England that opened the floodgates of atheism into Europe, or it may have been the German rationalism that slowly gained ground, but it rapidly gained support in the succeeding centuries. The latest poll shows the vast changes in the continent to where it is vastly different from only 20 or 40 years ago!

We read this in the above poll:

Two-thirds of people in Netherlands have no religious faith. [The] Majority say church and state should be separate. Fewer than a third of Dutch people have a religious faith and nearly one in four describe themselves as atheists, according to the latest census of belief in the Netherlands. https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2016/03/two-thirds-of-people-in-netherlands-have-no-religious-faith/).

Did you pick this up? Fewer than one in three Dutch people have “religious faith” of any kind. And one in four of these citizens call themselves atheists. (This would be those who outright deny the existence of God, even though we know that there is no true atheist for all either accept God or deny Him (see Romans 1:16-32).

To show the radical shift in the population of the Netherlands, notice this additional comment:

The trend towards secularisation also saw a decline in the number of people describing themselves as spiritual, which dropped from 40% 10 years ago to 31%.

The number who believed in the existence of a higher power fell from 36% to 28% over the same period. Overall 25% of people identified themselves as Christian, while 5% were Muslim and 2% belonged to another faith group. (Ibid.)

This shows that about 31 percent (less than one in three)  call themselves “spiritual.” And only about one-fourth of the citizenry say that they believe in a “higher power” (God of some sort). Can you believe this! In light of this, we wonder how 25% could call themselves “Christian” although this would include Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, and cults. And a mere 5 percent were Muslims and 2 percent belong to some other group. Does it bother you that only from 25 to 30 percent believe in some sort of “higher power” (such as God)?

The survey went on to make this comment about Catholics: “Just 13% of Catholics believe in heaven and fewer than half believe that Jesus is the son of God. The trend was less pronounced among the Protestant congregations.” (Ibid.)

Doesn’t this shock you? Only 13 percent (about 1 in 8) believe in heaven, something that American “believers” would surely unanimously believe. Further, less than half (of Catholics?) believe that Jesus Christ is the “son of God” (however we conceive of this statement of belief). This suggests that at least some do believe that Jesus is God’s “Son” (however they understand this statement) but don’t believe in heaven! Quite amazing.

If this happens be the case in the Netherlands with the Dutch, what about the rest of Europe? We do know that some countries (such as the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Spain, and perhaps others) also have an extremely low belief in God and spiritual realities. We find this astounding! At one time, this same area was the very opposite. Many people were devoted to Roman Catholicism. Then, after the Reformation, there were a few other religions in the area. Yes, they were apostate and wrong, but they did believe in God. Not any more.

We find this amazing. These are countries known for their progressive ways, their scientific advancements, their educational systems, and the like. Yet they don’t even believe in God! Obviously, we must not assume that if someone does believe in the existence of Someone they call “God” that they are somehow right. Much less, we must not think that this would mean that they were truly saved. Not at all. Even the majority who do profess some belief in God are apostate. They have aberrant beliefs and lifestyles. They do not believe in the God of the Bible nor in Biblical morality. We’ve read that some places (such as Germany) actually ban home schooling and insist that the children be taught in government schools—with the vast amount of evil that this will mean.

Friends, we don’t know where you live.  It may be that you are Muslim, living in the Middle East; or are Hindu or Buddhist, living in the Far East; or are Communist, living in places like Russia or China. Thus, we find billions who are dominated by many different false teachings and believe the “lie” of evolution and atheism or various false religions. But if you live in Africa (the southern half of Africa), South America, or such places, it may be that you do believe in the existence of God. And if you live in America, it may be that you believe in God’s existence and perhaps you even go to “church.” Be thankful for the freedom that you have to live without this domination by false religions and rank unbelief! Use your freedom to share the good news about Christ Jesus and His way!

We are living in days of opportunity. By this I mean the ability to believe in God (in some countries), the freedom to share the truth of Christ Jesus, and the opportunity to buy and own a copy of God’s written Word (the Bible). Let us use this “religious freedom” that we may live openly for Christ now and proclaim the truth of God to others.

If you are living in America and similar countries, we know that more and more false doctrine is being promulgated and government restrictions are increasing. But to the extent of our ability, let us take advantage of the ability we have to believe and share the truth of God widely. These days may not last. May God help us in this important but monumental task!