CID and ISN meet on secularization

The Contactraad voor Interreligieuze Dialoog (CID) of the Rooms-Katholieke Kerkprovincie in Nederland met with the Islamitische Stichting Nederland / Hollanda Diyanet Vakfi (ISN) at the ISN headquarters in Den Haag on 14 October 2026. The meeting was part of a series of meetings between the ISN and the CID.

Tolga Cetinkaya, imam and voorzitter of ISN jongeren, led the session on the value of faith in current society. He noted that mobile phone use and the pressures of a performance society make it difficult to connect young people to the mosque, though some young people seek Islam to fill a spiritual void.

Bishop Herman Woorts, the referent for interreligious dialogue for the Bisschoppenconferentie, noted that while fewer parents are having their children baptized, more young people and adults are joining the Church. He stated that these new believers often seek connection through values and rituals, which brings the question of how to provide them with good guidance.