Explanations for Individual Secularization: Exploring the Effects of Life Course Events on Religious Decline in the Netherlands Between 2009 and 2020.

This article examines the decline of individual religiosity in the Netherlands between 2009 and 2020, focusing on the effects of ten specific life course events alongside cohort and period effects. Using high-quality panel data from nearly 7,000 Dutch individuals with over 41,000 observations, the study finds that while certain life events—such as completing education, getting married or divorced, starting to cohabit, and changes in income—have measurable impacts on religiosity, these effects are generally smaller than the broader influences of cohort membership and historical period. Notably, increased education among young adults is associated with decreased belief in God and religious attendance, while marriage tends to increase attendance but may decrease belief in God among middle-aged individuals. The findings suggest that secularization in the Netherlands is primarily driven by societal-level cohort and period dynamics linked to modernization, rather than individual life course changes.