{"id":3739,"date":"2016-05-17T15:36:52","date_gmt":"2016-05-17T14:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/?p=52993"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:13","slug":"shit-happens-how-religious-nones-from-rotterdam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/05\/17\/shit-happens-how-religious-nones-from-rotterdam\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Shit happens\u2019: How religious nones from Rotterdam deal with the pointlessness of existence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMark van Wijk<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

If Desiderius Erasmus were to step down from his pedestal to see what happened to religious life in Rotterdam, his surprise would probably make his bonnet fall right off his head. Faith is rapidly leaving the Netherlands<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course, secularisation already began when Eighteenth Century Enlightenment thinkers placed Reason above \u2013 apparently unreasonable \u2013 faith. The idea was that man should not navigate on assumptions, but solely on empirical facts. But while traditional religions \u2013like Christianity and Islam \u2013 were mostly replaced by all sorts of spirituality, plain disbelief is becoming a more and more popular option. Nowadays, over 25\u00a0percent of the Dutch population claims not to believe in anything supernatural at all.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018After ages of solid belief and decades of secularisation, the Netherlands seems to have entered the age of doubt\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBas Blokker, NRC journalist\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

According to Bas Blokker, journalist for the Dutch newspaper NRC, scepticism is today\u2019s norm: \u201cAfter ages of solid belief and decades of secularisation, the Netherlands seems to have entered the age of doubt\u201d. When Erasmus made his effort to reshape Catholic belief into a more individualist, humanist form, it was certainly not his aim to generate disbelief or doubt (in stark contrast to his later colleague, Spinoza). Because doesn\u2019t a lack of faith leave one with rather little existential footing?<\/p>\n

Those who do not believe in a higher power or some form of energy are usually categorised as atheists. But in practice, many of them do have a more or less articulated belief that there must be \u2018something\u2019 that goes beyond our senses. That\u2019s why we label those that believe neither in a Higher Plan, nor in a metaphysical energy, \u2018religious nones\u2019. They have a scientific attitude towards the world. According to the scientific system, people are the product of all kinds of meaningless coincidences, and as a result, they have to live without a supernatural roof above their heads that protects them from the chaos and arbitrariness of the cosmos. The eleven Rotterdam-based religious nones that we interviewed for an on-going cultural-sociological research about non-religious meaning-making in the year 2016, illustrate that it is nonetheless possible to find lust for life precisely within its purposelessness, nullity and finiteness.<\/p>\n

Liberating<\/h3>

It might be hard to keep existential angst at bay when you depart from the nihilist idea that your life is finite and inherently pointless. Leo (35, Rotterdam-West) subscribes to that logic: \u201cIf you don\u2019t believe in a religion at all, you might say: my life is totally pointless, I\u2019m here now, I won\u2019t be here later. So what am I doing here, really?\u201d Bruno (34, living in the centre of Rotterdam) is not always comfortable with this purposelessness: \u201cIt just sometimes makes me cynical about all kinds of things, about the big things you have to do in life, about love, about work. If I inflate that idea too much in my head, if I really think for too long about the point of it all, yeah, I have to conclude: nothing really matters, nothing really makes sense\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018It\u2019s just a very liberating thought. If nothing matters, you can do anything you like.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t'Bruno'\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

How lovely. Still, there is an alternative to this disenchanted view. The cynical conclusion arises from life\u2019s lack of direction, but remarkably, this same lack of direction is also its antidote. This is related to a frequently heard objection among the Rotterdam religious nones against religion of the dualistic type, whose adherents believe in a supernatural being that transcends and controls the world. The absolute truths this being \u2013 God \u2013 has to offer are perceived as posing limits on the individual.<\/p>\n

Related to how sociologist Niklas Luhman describes contingency, namely \u201cnothing is necessary, nothing is impossible, so everything is possible\u201d, the undetermined character of life turns existence into a playground with little rules and consequences. Bruno therefore immediately continues his story with this other side of the coin: \u201cIt\u2019s just a very liberating thought. If nothing matters, you can do anything you like. When I\u2019m afraid to do something or am uncertain about it, that thought can be the little push to think: who cares! It doesn\u2019t make sense anyway. It doesn\u2019t make a difference whether I succeed or not\u201d.<\/p>\n

Positive twist<\/h3>

A pessimistic framing of the purposelessness of life can therefore smoothly co-exist alongside a positive one, as they are two sides of the same coin. Meaning-making is seen as an active process, something you have to and \u2013 as a result of meaninglessness \u2013 can do yourself. Whatever you choose does not change the fact that life is inherently pointless. That\u2019s why the religious nones try to assume an optimistic attitude as much as they can. As Timon (69, Rotterdam-West) explains: \u201cThere isn\u2019t some sort of cause of that meaningfulness. That lies in yourself. You give life meaning. You choose to find it meaningful. You can make it as interesting as you want. I want that\u201d.<\/p>\n

Leeway is not only provided by the arbitrariness of the symbolic order, but also by the coincidental nature of the material order. That specifically you are here is just dumb luck from the perspective of the religious nones: the chances that that particular ovum and that particular sperm cell found each other, are practically zero percent. So now that you\u2019re here, you better enjoy life, according to Maria (33, Rotterdam-West): \u201cI do not think that life really has a purpose, as we are here because of all kinds of coincidences. So let\u2019s then at least make sure that it\u2019s bearable, and perhaps even nice and fun\u201d.<\/p>\n

In sharp contrast with the spiritual adage \u2018coincidence doesn\u2019t exist\u2019 and the Christian concept of predestination<\/a>, the foundation of the religious none is disorder. However, these non-believers agree that one event is universal and inevitable: death. And while being might be essentially void, non-being is, of course, the greatest void. This is from time to time experienced as a grim prospect by some respondents, but above all as extremely important and useful. \u201cIt\u2019s part of it all\u201d, says Leo, \u201cbecause if nobody dies, life is even more meaningless than it already is. Then you don\u2019t have the need to do anything at all anymore\u201d. For Steven (24, Rotterdam-South), a hereafter is \u201creally the most depressing thought ever. The idea that it always continues sounds terrible to me. If that were the case, nobody would do anything, you\u2019d just stay in bed. I find it very important, in order to make things, that I always realize: I\u2019m growing older, I\u2019ll have to work hard for that.\u201d Death gives life urgency, or, as Steven laughingly continues in millennial lingo: \u201ca kind of ultimate deadline\u201d.<\/p>\n

Doing good<\/h3>

In short, where religion offers a fixed worldview with a more or less outlined path for the individual, the scientifically disposed religious none feels rather unguided. A chaotic and uncertain basis, perhaps, but this issue is drowned out by the possibility of freedom to make choices and to shape one\u2019s own lifeworld. The prospect of death functions as a motivator to get started with that right away, before it is too late. Still, this attitude appears quite nihilistic: will these religious nones become miserable cynics at worst, and egoistic hedonists that do whatever they feel like, at the cost of others if necessary, at best?<\/p>\n

The latter, too, is unnecessary, according to the nones. They often care deeply about other people, animals and nature. \u201cIt\u2019s not as if I live without norms\u201d, says Maria, \u201con the contrary, I am very sensitive to injustice. Now that we\u2019re here, I think it would be nice if we try to live a decent life\u201d. In addition, there is pleasure to be gained from being nice: \u201cit feels good, it feels better than being unkind\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\tThe prospect of death functions as a motivator to get started with that right away, before it is too late\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

But the feeling of powerlessness against large-scale processes can lead to a lack of willingness to dedicate oneself to big societal issues. While Leo was once concerned about such matters, he indicates to \u201cnow concern myself more with helping the people close to me, rather than people in Africa\u201d. Bruno likewise underlines his preference for doing good in a smaller circle: \u201cSimply with the people around you, the things you like to do, without harming others\u201d. Perhaps they are not the most fervent do-gooders, but we certainly cannot conclude from these cases that religion leads to moral decline.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018When someone becomes very angry, I can find that really funny. That someone takes something really seriously, while it all doesn\u2019t matter. Without humour, I wouldn\u2019t be able to cope\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t'Bruno'\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The folly of pointlessness<\/h3>

Given the conviction of the nones that all aspects of existence are relative in the eyes of the interviewees, their attitudes towards life are consequently mainly characterized by relativism. They therefore claim that we should not take ourselves too seriously. \u201cCome on!\u201d says Timon, \u201cyou\u2019re not that important. If you think things are really directed against you, then I think, yeah, who do you think you are? Why should the world bother! You don\u2019t really matter\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cShit happens\u201d, says Nicole (67, Rotterdam-West) laconically. Humour is the Nones\u2019 weapon of choice for putting matters in perspective: during the interviews, the most morbid comments were often accompanied by laughter. This points to an ironic wink-and-nod to existence that resolves the apparent paradox of a search for meaning in meaninglessness. Bruno: \u201cWhen someone becomes very angry, I can find that really funny. That someone takes something really seriously, while it all doesn\u2019t matter. Without humour, I wouldn\u2019t be able to cope\u201d.<\/p>\n

And with that conclusion, Erasmus can rest easily after all. For here we do find a striking parallel with his famous satirical essay on the Catholic Church and other European traditions. Without an absurdist attitude, Erasmus also thought it would be impossible to deal with the nonsense of life. The attitude of the religious nones can thus be seen as a kind of song of praise to the absurdity of existence.<\/p>\n

The names of the respondents are fictitious; the editors know their real names.<\/em><\/p>\n

More in the series about Erasmus and Rotterdam<\/h2>