{"id":1268,"date":"2016-12-19T10:42:03","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T09:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=63743\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:06","slug":"rotterdam-religiestad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/12\/19\/rotterdam-religiestad\/","title":{"rendered":"Rotterdam, city of faiths"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kristen Dolkosaribu.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

One person kneels in the direction of Mecca to pray, the other meditates every day, while a third sings psalms in church on Sunday morning. In Rotterdam, you can find faith in all shapes and sizes. EUR students show their place of worship.<\/p>\n

\u2018For me it\u2019s all about Jesus\u2019<\/h3>

Kristen Doloksaribu (25,\u00a0<\/strong>Arbitration and Business Law master programme)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI felt rather lost when I moved from Jakarta to the Netherlands two months ago. A big city like this; a new degree programme; I didn\u2019t know anyone and didn\u2019t speak the language. My faith was the only thing I could rely on. The Scots International Church in the city centre has given me tremendous support. It\u2019s an international church based on Christian tenets. Everyone\u2019s welcome. They have English services, which I found very comforting. And the way in which they talk about the Bible suits me very well. It\u2019s a bit conventional and relaxed at the same time. For me, going to church is all about Jesus. He gives me strength and hope. I believe I\u2019m on this Earth for a reason. I was awarded a scholarship to study here. I know I\u2019m not smarter than the rest, so there must be some other reason. To find out, the only thing I can do is work even harder, pray and do my very best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018All the pieces of the puzzle fell in place\u2019<\/h3>
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Eric Sramo.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Erik Sramo (26<\/strong>, HRM master programme)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI had already been introduced to Buddhism as a secondary school student in Slovakia. And now, it\u2019s three years since I first went to the Diamond Way Buddhism centre in Kralingen-Crooswijk. Their way of thinking, this world view \u2013 it all aligned very closely with how I look at things. All the pieces of the puzzle fell in place. I have always been interested in psychology as a science. And Buddhism connects seamlessly with this interest. Most people call it a religion, but actually it isn\u2019t. It\u2019s more akin to science. Buddha once said: \u2018Don\u2019t take my word for it \u2013 simply because a Buddha tells you so \u2013 examine it yourself.\u2019 I try to meditate every day and after that, I apply the lessons in my daily life. By increasing the distance between myself and my disruptive emotions and thoughts, for example. And this is going better and better. My ultimate objective is enlightenment, an absolute liberation from distracting impressions \u2013 so that you are completely in the here and now, fearless and full of bliss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I can\u2019t imagine a life without religion\u2019<\/h3>
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Sara Brouwer.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Sara Brouwer-Woudenberg (33,\u00a0<\/strong>Health Care Management pre-master programme)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201dAt the fundamental level, I see Christianity as love. Love for myself, for others, for my profession. I can\u2019t imagine what it\u2019s like to lead a life without love \u2013 and thus without God. I\u2019m a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, and I attend the Ontmoetingskerk in Rotterdam-Zevenkamp. Here, I can \u2018recharge\u2019 and reflect. I was baptised in this church, I attended services for children and teenagers, did my confession of faith and got married. And now I\u2019m holding children\u2019s services here myself. In short, I was raised in the faith from an early age. Which makes it difficult to determine whether it\u2019s nurture or nature. Would I follow a different religion if I was born in some other part of the world? This occasionally gives rise to some interesting internal debates. I\u2019m sure in my faith, however. In addition to studying, I also work in care. You see the most amazing things there. When I see how some people deal with a serious disease, and win or lose the fight, this actually strengthens me in my belief.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Everything in life has a reason\u2019<\/h3>
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\u00d6znur Senyurt.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u00d6znur Senyurt (20<\/strong>, Law and Psychology bachelor programmes) <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy faith makes me stronger, emotionally speaking. When something bad happens, I know it has a reason. Like everything in life. This makes me surer of my ground. Everything that happens to me has formed me into the person I am today. The same way my faith has helped shape my identity. You can\u2019t see me separate from it. In secondary school, when I didn\u2019t wear a headscarf yet, and looked very Dutch, I found it difficult to share my true thoughts. I\u2019m a lot more confident when I wear a headscarf \u2013 making it easier for me to say that I won\u2019t be going to a party where they serve alcohol, for example. In the past, I wanted to become a public prosecutor, but you\u2019re not allowed to if you wear a headscarf. Still, this wasn\u2019t a difficult choice to make: my faith is a lot more important than a dream. Some people think a headscarf is a form of oppression. To me, that\u2019s a very bizarre thought, since I chose to wear it myself. My headscarf is a symbol of my freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Saturday evening, we drink a few beers; Sunday morning, we\u2019re in church\u2019<\/h3>
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Gerrit Jan Hagens.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Gerrit Jan Hagens (23, Public Administration bachelor programme) <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFaith keeps me on my toes and focussed. Am I sure I\u2019m not being a hypocrite about something, is my faith sincere, can I justify what I\u2019m up to? I\u2019m a member of a Liberated Reformed Church, a Christian denomination. While the name sounds strict, we\u2019re actually relatively lenient. I watch TV like everyone else and go to a bar when I feel like it. But I do go to the church in Delfshaven every Sunday. And a lot of other students go too, although occasionally with a hangover from the night before. I\u2019m a member of a Christian student association. We have just as much fun as any other association. It\u2019s a good way for me to combine my time as a student with my faith. People\u2018s faith often gets watered down when they move into their own room in the big city. All these new things coming at you from every direction, and you\u2019re less focussed. That\u2019s what happened to me too. Until I started missing something, and went in search of a place that I could return to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018My family are still Hindu, which remains difficult\u2019<\/h3>
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Tania Bhulai.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Tania Bhulai (27, bachelor Bedrijfskunde)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy case is rather special. I\u2019m from Suriname and was raised a Hindu, but I converted to Christianity. I was baptised and I\u2019ve joined the Pilgrim Fathers\u2019 Church in Delfshaven. When I moved to the Netherlands for my studies, I got a Christian boyfriend. He used to read in the Bible, and his stories about Jesus and God really touched me. Then came a difficult period in my life. Things weren\u2019t going well in my studies and I became ill \u2013 so ill even that I ended up in hospital and became paralysed in both legs. Two friends visited me in hospital to pray for me. I\u2019m far too down-to-earth for that sort of thing, but it really worked and I was walking again shortly after. The God of the Bible is very simple and pure. He was there for me when I had no one to turn to. My family are still Hindu. This makes things quite complicated, particularly during festivals. Which means I skip those, but it remains difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the special about religion<\/h2>