Master thesis | Theology and Religious Studies (Master)
open access
This thesis is concerned with the complexity of uncovering religiosity in the Netherlands, and focuses on the following questions: How to approach and find religiosity when the church does not...Show moreThis thesis is concerned with the complexity of uncovering religiosity in the Netherlands, and focuses on the following questions: How to approach and find religiosity when the church does not longer serve as a cliffhanger? What is the crucial aspect of religiosity when it is institutionally unaffiliated? I approach the questions by exploring the boundaries between religiosity and non-religiosity via the field of meaning-making. The information is mainly based on primary sources, provided by Dutch research reports about Dutch religiosity, and psychological research into meaning-making in Germany and Austria. The idea and aim is to gain insights into contemporary religiosity by learning more about ‘What drives people?’ and by discovering how people claim religious or non-religious identities (labels). Of course, the complex issue of defining religion is at a certain point unavoidable in the interface with discussing religiosity, and gets attention as well.Show less