Return of the Faith

"A secular world without religion would be a dreary place", writes Perttu Häkkinen, columnist of Helsingin Sanomat. After his column from two weeks ago, in which he critiqued some inequitys of the Papal institution Häkkinen got some hotheaded feedback from reader's that accused him a bitter protestan and anti-faith. "A world without mystery, and sounds like a dreary place, so I have not felt the need to get rid of religions.", he writes and goes on to explaining the situation of his current home country, the Netherlands, which has been claimed one of the most secular western countries. 

My favorite part of his column is the end, which goes like this:

"Religion and religiosity are therefore are not going anywhere from here, they have just transformed, and the post-secular Holland must now adjust to their long shot visit. Separation between the Church and the state did not mean the end of the celebration, but that the guests will be dividing to many different after partys.
After a long time there are prayer breaks and places at workplaces, and the Christians and Islamic fundamentalists shouting in the media. At the same time a quarter of one million white Dutch are sitting in their living rooms chasing enlightenment.

The most pressing question of the post-secular era lies in how the secular and spiritual people really find a common language, of which both parties understand.

Because believe it or not, God has returned to Holland."

Translation my own,

read the original column in Finnish from here