The church in the Dutch religious market () Since 1900 the number of church members has decreased heavily in the Netherlands. In 1899 still 98 percent of Dutch residents were members of a church, whereas in 2008 only 42 percent of this percentage were left.1 Church attendance among Dutch residents is even lower: in 2006 only 16 percent of the Dutch residents went to church frequently.2 Since the number of church communities also decreased, many church buildings had to close down. These developments are considered important and even problematic in theology, the discipline that studies the whole field of Christianity. This text examines the decrease in church membership by looking at the origins, the current situation and possible solutions. In the 1960s the steepest decline in church membership occurred, the reason of which is a major shift that took place in Dutch society: from pillarization to de-pillarization.3 Pillarization can be defined as "the segmentation of society in religious and secular blocs and subcultures".4 In the Netherlands these blocs or 'pillars' coordinated the daily, religious and social life. A Dutch protestant, for example, went to a protestant church, bought his bread at a protestant bakery, was a member of the protestant labor union, voted for the protestant political party and listened to a protestant radio station. In short, all fragments of life were united and coordinated by the 'pillar' someone belonged to. The Pillarization of society ended In the 1960s because of three developments, each of which undermined the control of the 'pillars' over their followers. First, because the welfare state grew rapidly, people were no longer dependent on their pillar. Second, because an increase of scale occurred, the ideological isolation of the pillars was undermined. Third, since secularization emerged, people were no longer bound religiously to their pillar.5 As a result of these developments pillars lost their importance or even ceased to exist, this process is called 'de-pillarization'. The process of de-pillarization has had several outcomes on societal and individual level , the most important of which is individualization.6 In the era of pillarization all fragments of life were united and coordinated by the 'pillars', as the example of the Dutch protestant shows. When these pillars lost their influence or ceased to exist, people acquired more decision freedom but at the same time they had to make all decisions on their own, having only their individual preferences as guideline.7 The same holds for religion, becoming a private affair instead of a necessary condition for the order of society.8 Furthermore, the 'privatization of religion' implies that the choice of religion as well as the way in which religion is practiced has become subject to personal preferences.9 Individualization and privatization of religion have changed the nature of religion in two ways. Firstly, because choices are now made on the basis of personal preferences, religious organizations have to compete with each other in order to fit these preferences best. Secondly, people no longer commit themselves to religion as a whole, rather they build their own religions from different religious elements.10 Using words like competitors and products, the Dutch religious field is often described as a market system.11 The fact that since the occurrence of this market system church membership decreased shows that churches have not been able to adapt themselves to this market situation. By contrast, other religions, such as Buddhism and New Age, have emerged since this market system occurred.12 It seems therefore appropriate to say that these other religions form the 'unpaid bill' of the churches. 13 If churches today want to enlarge their market share, their only option is to take this market situation into serious consideration and to adapt themselves to it. What is needed therefore are products that are attractive at this religious market, which is characterized by individualization and privatization. These religious products should have an orientation towards the religious domain, since people do not expect religious organizations to give guidelines in other domains, such as career or social life. 14 Operating on a religious market therefore means being limited to religious products. These products, however, can take various forms, some of which will be discussed in the following paragraph. An example of a religious product is to offer a course which teaches the basic principles of Christian faith. Because Christianity is the largest religion in the world, people might be interested in its basic teachings, stories and rituals. Another example is to offer a place where people can find rest, come to themselves and where they can pray. In addition to this product, churches could offer the help of a professional pastor or priest at such a place who can stand by if necessary. An important feature of this product is that every individual can practice his or her own religion in the way he or she wants to practice it. Another, quite different product is to offer a community. A community might have great value for the individual especially in the field of religion. The point is that many questions can arise from religions which are not easily answered, such as questions to the origin of life, to the suffering of mankind, to life after death and to the existence of God. Although religion has become a private affair, these question might be too hard to be dealt with alone. In a church community people can meet others dealing with the same questions and together possible answers can be sought, evaluated and discussed. Here again a professional in the field of religion might help in finding answers to these questions. Although it might appear strange to speak of a market situation, products and competitors in relation to churches in the Netherlands, it has become a reality in the Dutch religious situation. The outcomes of de-pillarization, individualization and privatization of religion, have clearly been important in the change to a religious market. On the one hand this has led to a decreasing number of church members and less influence position; on the other hand it gives new opportunities for churches to acquire their own position in the religious market by offering good products. If churches embrace this market situation, they not only keep themselves from disappearing but also offer great value to the individual with his or her religion. 1 Centraal bureau voor Statistiek, Religie aan het begin van de 21e eeuw, Den Haag 2009, 7 2 G. Dekker & H.C. Stoffels, Godsdienst en Samenleving. Een Introductie in de Godsdienstsociologie, Kampen 2009, 127 3 Religie aan het begin van de 21e eeuw, 7 4 P. Dekker & P. Ester, "Depillarization, Deconfessionalization, and De-Ideologization: Empirical Trends in Dutch Society 1958-1992" in: Review of Religious Research, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Jun., 1996), 325 5 E.H. Bax, Modernization and cleavage in Dutch society. A study of long term economic and social change, Groningen 1988, 236 & G. Driessen & F. van Der Slik, "Religion, Denomination, and Education in The Netherlands: Cognitive and Noncognitive Outcomes After an Era of Secularization." In: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 40, No 4 (2001), 562 6 Dekker & Stoffels (2009), 111 7 Dekker & Stoffels (2009), 109 8 Dekker & Stoffels (2009), 131 9 Dekker & Stoffels (2009), 136 10 R.R. Ganzevoort, de hand van God en andere verhalen.Praktische theologie als hermeneutiek van de geleefde religie¸ Inaugrele rede, Amsterdam, 2005, 10 11 Dekker & Stoffels (2009), 131 12 Dekker & Stoffels (2009), 206 13 Dekker & Stoffels (2009), 206 14 L. Halman, "Individualism in Individualized Society? Results from the European Values Surveys", in: International journey of comparative sociology, Vol. 37 no 3-4 (1996), 197