La dutch culture It is diverse, reflecting regional differences as well as foreign influences thanks to the merchant and exploring the spirit of the Dutch and the influx of immigrants.
Holland and the Dutch have played an important role for centuries as a liberal and tolerant cultural center, with the Dutch Golden Age regarded as the zenith.
Language
The main language is Dutch, while Frisian is also a recognized language and is used by the government of the province of Friesland.
Several dialects of Lower Saxon (Nedersaksisch in Dutch) are spoken in much of the North and East and are recognized by the Netherlands as regional languages according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Another Dutch dialect granted regional language status is Limburgish, which is spoken in the southeastern province of Limburg. However, both Low Saxon and Limburgish Dutch spread across the Dutch-German border and belong to a continuous Low Dutch German of the Common Dialect.
Religion
Calvinism became the theological system in Holland during the Dutch revolt in the Eighty Years War. Other religions were tolerated, but they could not practice their religion in public.
The Netherlands is today one of the most secularized countries in Europe. An estimated 49,6% of the population call themselves non-religious. The rest are 27% Catholic, 15,7% Protestant, and 5,3% Muslim (CBS data 2005, 2007).
In earlier times, Protestantism was the largest religion in Holland, but there has always been a high percentage of Roman Catholics, who were strongly predominant in the southern provinces, but also quite present in the northern ones.
However, during the last century the older Protestant churches have been in decline. Islam has begun to carve out a niche and mosques are being built. Holland is also home to a significant Hindu minority, mostly made up of immigrants who came from the former Suriname colony after its independence.
There is also a small group of Jews (40.000) living in the country with the majority settling in Amsterdam.