Since the World War II, large waves of immigration have brought other religions to Amsterdam. Post-colonial settlers from the Caribbean, Suriname, and Indonesia, and workers from Morocco and Turkey laid the foundation for the current mix of faiths in the city.
A 2000 survey reports that about 60% of the city’s adult population were not affiliated with any church or other ideological or religious movement. Christianity has lost a huge bulk of professed members in the past few decades, but Amsterdam is still a spiritually lively place.
Christianity is still the largest religion in the city by population (17%), majority are Roman Catholics (10%). Islam, the second largest religion (14%), is becoming more and more popular and is expected to be the largest group in the next few years. Moroccans, Surinamese, and Turks contain a high percentage of people in Amsterdam who feel they are affiliated to a certain religion.
A Chinese Buddhist temple, the Fo Kuang Shan, opened in the Chinatown in 2000. It is the center of Chinese culture in the city. With this temple, Amsterdam has become the spot of the first authentic Buddhist temple in Western Europe. Also in 2000, the country opened its first purpose-built Hindu temple, giving followers of this religion their own place for religious meetings as well as for celebrating feast days.
In addition to standard religions, Amsterdam is also home to sects, new age gurus, and Salvationist movements. The Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, located on Bloemgracht, contains Europe’s largest collection of mystical and hermetic works.
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