More than half of all Dutch people are not affiliated to a religious group. That is the first time, according to research by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on Monday.

More than half of all Dutch people are not affiliated to a religious group. That is the first time, according to research by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on Monday.

In 2016, half of the Dutch called themselves religious. Four years before, 54 percent counted as a religious group and not a minority.

According to Statistics Netherlands, almost a quarter of Dutch people are Roman Catholic. One in seven is Protestant and one in twenty is Muslim. The remaining 6 percent count themselves to the other beliefs, such as Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism.

More than three quarters of all Dutch people rarely or never visit a church, mosque, synagogue or temple. Catholics in particular turn their backs on it. Reformed people go to a house of worship most often. The visit to houses of prayer is stable among Protestants and Muslims.

The research also shows that older people are more faithful than young people and also that women are more concerned with religion than men.

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