Religion in Belgium
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A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, considered more religious than the Brussels or Wallonia regions in Belgium, showed 55% of its inhabitants to call themselves religious while 36% admit believing that God created the world.[1].
Roman Catholicism is Belgium's majority religion, but by 2004 weekly Sunday church attendance has dropped to about 4 to 8% depending on the source. Other religions widely practiced in Belgium are Islam (3.5%), Protestantism and Judaism (both less than 1%). The Belgian law officially recognizes these, with two recognized denominations for the Protestants (Protestants and Anglicans), as well as the secular organizations (Dutch: vrijzinnige levensbeschouwelijke organisaties, French: organisations laïques).
Religion was one of the differences between the Roman Catholic south and the Protestant north of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which eventually broke up in 1830 when the south seceded to form Belgium.
Since 1830, Catholicism has had also an important role in Belgium's politics. One example is the so-called "school wars" ("guerres scolaires" in French) between liberals and Catholics which took place between 1879 and 1884 for the first one and between 1954 and 1958 for the second one. Another important controversy happened in 1990 when the Catholic and very religious King Baudouin I refused to officially sign off the bill liberalising Belgium's abortion laws, which had previously been approved by parliament: Prime Minister Wilfried Martens had been asked by the King to find a solution, which resulted in having Baudouin declared temporarily unfit to fulfill his constitutional duties.
Hinduism and Buddhism also have followers in Belgium.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Inquiry by 'Vepec', 'Vereniging voor Promotie en Communicatie' (Organisation for Promotion and Communication), published in Knack magazine 22 Nov 2006 p.14 [The Dutch language term 'gelovig' is in the text translated as 'religious', more precisely it is a very common word for believing in particular in any kind of God in a monotheistic sense, and/or in some afterlife].
[edit] External links
- Hinduism vs. Buddhism in the West: the Belgian case by Koenraad Elst (2004)
- Namaskar - Hindu Association of Brussels, Belgium
- the Hindu Forum of Belgium, comprised of about 20 organisations fights Swastika ban
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