Fewer people in the Netherlands consider themselves to be Christian, but Christian migrants form an increasingly important group, according to a new report on religion in the Netherlands by the government’s socio-cultural think-tank SCP.

The SCP found the number of people who consider themselves to be members of a religious community has fallen from 43% in 2002, to 31% in 2016, the year on which report is based.

At the same time, young church members are more motivated and are more likely to describe themselves as believers in God, the Bible and life after death without any restrictions. In addition, the Netherlands is now home to some one million Christian immigrants – about the same number as Muslims, the SCP said.

‘Migrant churches play an important role in integration,’ the SCP said. ‘They offer all sorts of types of support, such as language lessons and help with finding a job. Christian migrants are often astonished, and sometimes disappointed, at the secular nature of Dutch society.’

This report is the second in a series of three about religion and spirituality in the Netherlands. The first looked at Islam and found that rising tensions between population groups and a growing feeling of exclusion, had made religion more important to young Muslims