Muslims in the Netherlands
Are 50-year old Muslims in the Netherlands more religious than their children?
This question is not easy to answer as there are several aspects to religion and faith. We often make a distinction between the three Bs in religion: Belonging, Belief and Behaviour. Belonging deals with the issue as to whether someone feels he or she is a Muslim. We do not detect much difference between older and younger Muslims, as being a Muslim is very important to most. The aspect of Belief shows more differences as adolescents are often more inclined to attach a more personal meaning to their faith. With regard to Behaviour, there appear to be hardly any generational differences when it comes to joining the Ramadan or eating halal food. But older Muslims are more active in praying and visiting the mosque. In short, older Muslims are a little more religious than their children but this does not apply to all aspects of their faith. Moreover, there are young Muslims who have become increasingly more religious and are relatively rigorous when it comes to religious theory.