Ietsism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ietsism (Dutch “ietsisme” - "Somethingism") is a Dutch language term for a range of beliefs held by people who, on the one hand, inwardly suspect that there is “More between Heaven and Earth” than we know about, but on the other hand do not subscribe to the established belief system, dogma or view of the nature of God offered by any particular religion. The nearest English language equivalent term is Agnostic spiritualism.
The name derives from the Dutch equivalent of the question: "Do you believe in the conventional 'Christian' God?", a typical 'ietsist' answer being "No, but there must be something".
An opinion poll conducted by the Dutch daily newspaper “Trouw” in October 2004 indicated that some 40% of its readership felt broadly this way.
The term became known in the Netherlands after the atheist political columnist Ronald Plasterk (who has since become the Minister of Education, Culture and Science) used it in a feature for the television programme “Buitenhof” ("outer court"). But the term possibly existed already.
In contrast to traditional agnostics who often hold a sceptical view (i.e. “Do not believe what one cannot know”), “ietsists” take a less dismissive viewpoint along the lines of “There is maybe much more than we can know”. It is a form of religious liberalism or non-denominationalism. The interpretation of it can range between the Judeo/Christian/Islamic conception of a God as a force that exists outside the world, to a position similar to the Buddhist "world view" with collective spiritual power existing within the world.
In October 2005, the word “ietsisme” was included in the 14th edition of the Dutch Language Dictionary 'Dikke Van Dale', but has also recently begun to circulate among English-speakers as a loanword.
