Beyond Living Together in Fragments: Muslims, Religious Diversity and Religious Identity in the Netherlands

The subject of this paper is the question of whether the Netherlands, in the past and at present, can be characterized as a mono-religious or as a religiously diverse society. After defining the concept of “religious diversity” in this paper, a brief overview of the religious situation in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages, the Dutch Golden Age (1600–1700) and the years following World War II will provide an answer to this question. Attention will also be paid in passing to the concept of (religious) “tolerance”. The question of what is the situation in the Netherlands will be dealt with on the basis of three questions from the introduction: (1) How much religious diversity can a society take? (2) What is the impact of religious diversity? (3) How do the Dutch people react to an increase in religious diversity? Are they right to consider religious diversity as the consequence of immigration, which they primarily associate with Muslims? As afterthought I will argue for accepting religious pluralism in circumstances of religious diversity.