Church and mosque attendance in decline

Wednesday 29 July 2009

Although around half of the population consider themselves religious, only one in five regularly attended a religious service in the period from 2004 to 2008. This is a considerable decrease compared to preceding years, reports the national statistics office CBS on Wednesday.

The biggest decline in attendance is among Muslims, says the CBS. Some 35% of Muslims went to a mosque at least once a month in the period 2004 to 2008 compared to 47% in 1998 and 1999. Of the total Dutch population 5% are Muslims (825,000 people).

Church attendance among Catholics also fell in the same period, down to 23% from 31%, but the figure for Protestants remains stable, the CBS says.

© DutchNews.nl

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