The Netherlands Must Recover Again from a Secular Nation
June 21st

Life is Downplayed Due to Abortion and Euthanasia, and the Punishment for Discrimination is Doubled

In the Netherlands, the Equal Treatment Act was implemented in 1994, prohibiting discrimination based on religion, belief, political opinion, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation (heterosexual or homosexual), and marital status. As this law underwent amendments, the 2020 revision of the Criminal Code doubled the maximum sentence for crimes related to violence, hate, and discrimination. As a result, Christian schools can no longer expel homosexual students or teachers, and government officials can no longer refuse to allow same-sex marriages based on their personal beliefs.

Abortion has been legal in the Netherlands since 1984 and is permitted only if the fetus is unable to survive outside the mother’s body. Most abortions occur within 22 weeks of pregnancy. In 2012, 4,061 teenagers underwent surgery, including 142 girls under the age of 15. About 91.7% of abortions were performed in abortion clinics rather than hospitals. Over half of the cases took place before 7 weeks of pregnancy, while 19% occurred after 12 weeks. On average, there are 8.5 abortions per 1,000 women aged 14-44.

The Netherlands legalized prostitution in 2000, and Amsterdam has a red light district. It was also the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001, following the introduction of a partner registration system in 1998. Between 2001 and 2011, 14,813 same-sex couples were married, while 761,010 heterosexual marriages took place, making same-sex marriages account for 1.95% of all marriages.
In 2002, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide were legally defined and introduced in both the Netherlands and Belgium. The number of euthanasia cases in Belgium increased from 24 in 2002 to 2,656 in 2019, while in the Netherlands, the cases rose from 1,882 to 6,361 over the same period. In 2020, the Netherlands recorded a historic high of 6,938 euthanasia cases, accounting for 4.3% of total annual deaths, a 9% increase from 2019.

The Netherlands, once a Christian Nation, Now Has More Non-Religious People

Of the 17.33 million people in the Netherlands, 46.9% identify as Christian (16% Protestant, 27% Catholic), while 42.6% are non-religious, 7.8% are Muslim, and 1.7% are Hindu. Evangelical Christians make up 4% of the population, approximately 730,000 people. The Reformation led to the rapid growth of Protestantism, which later divided into the Dutch Reformed Church and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands.

However, a 2017 census revealed that among people aged 15 and older, 51% identified as non-religious, surpassing the 49% who reported having a religion. The Dutch Bureau of Statistics confirmed that this was the first time in history that the number of non-religious people outnumbered the religious in the Netherlands. In 2016, the percentage of religious vs. non-religious people was evenly split at 50% each, while in 2012, 54% of respondents still identified as religious.
Furthermore, only 16% of the population regularly attend religious services at least once a month in churches, mosques, or synagogues. This figure declined from 37% in 1971 to 17% in 2012, and further dropped to 16% in 2017. Among them, 10% attended religious activities weekly, while 3% attended 2-3 times a month, and 3% attended once a month.
At the end of the 19th century, about 60% of Dutch citizens were active Protestant Christians, and the Netherlands was traditionally considered a Christian country. However, by 2019, 1,400 church buildings (over 20% of the 6,900 registered churches) were being repurposed for secular use rather than serving as places of worship. The primary reason for this transformation is the declining number of Christians.

In 2011, a Dutch railway worker, Mikel Aziz, was prohibited by a court ruling from wearing a cross necklace while in uniform. Such a ruling would have been unimaginable in the Netherlands’ Christian past. Additionally, in a survey conducted by a Dutch Evangelical Christian newspaper, 64% of respondents reported experiencing hostility or intolerance against Christians, a drastic reversal from 2001, when 64% said they had not experienced such discrimination.

In 2019, the U.S. Christian Post reported that hundreds of Dutch Christian leaders signed the Nashville Declaration, which affirms traditional Christian beliefs on marriage and sexuality. However, the Dutch prosecutor’s office launched an investigation following the publication of the declaration. Dutch News stated, “The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. However, a large fundamentalist Christian community opposing same-sex marriage still exists.”
The Nashville Declaration, first introduced at the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, in 2017, was drafted by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. It outlines evangelical Christian principles on marriage, gender, and sexual ethics. The declaration consists of 14 articles and was signed by over 24,000 Christian leaders worldwide, including John Piper, Dr. Mark Tooley, Professor Wayne Grudem, and Pastor John MacArthur.

》Prayer Points

1.While the Dutch Equal Treatment Act claims to comprehensively prohibit discrimination, it ironically discriminates against the unborn and terminally ill by downplaying their right to life. Let us pray that the Dutch people will recognize and repent of these falsehoods and injustices. Additionally, legalizing prostitution does not reduce the suffering of those exploited through human trafficking or other circumstances. Let us pray that all the hidden darkness that has strayed from the Bible in the Netherlands will be exposed, and that every soul will turn back to God and receive salvation.

11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.(Romans 13:11-14,NIV)

2. The Dutch Church, which was once revived through the gospel during the Reformation in the 16th century, has made many laws opposing God by idolizing human rights and has fallen into deep self-centeredness since the 20th century. Let us pray that this reality will be fully exposed. May the Reformed Church in the Netherlands be renewed daily by the Word of the Gospel, denying itself, taking up the cross, and following the Lord to attain true salvation and victory.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.(Matthew 16:24-27,NIV)

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