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The Dutch are the native inhabitants of the Netherlands . During the 5th Century this region was populated by Franks and Saxons from Lower Saxony . The Dutch therefore are regarded as a Germanic People . HISTORY The Dutch people are historically affiliated to all West Germanic peoples, such as the English and German peoples, and less so to North Germanic peoples ( Danes , Norwegians , Swedes and Icelanders ). Ethnic affiliation is strongest between the Dutch people and the Flemish and Frisian peoples. The Dutch and the Flemish share the same language, the subdivisions of which have little to do with the state border established in 1648. Flemish culture has in the past had a strong influence on Dutch culture. The regional affiliations across the border are still strong. The Frisian People , who speak their own language and today live mainly in Friesland (a province of the Netherlands), have had some influence on Dutch culture, especially in Holland proper. In the 16th century a clear cultural split developed between the Dutch regions and the other of Lower Saxony and the Frankish Rhineland . RELIGION Until the 1960s, which saw the rise of a growing influx of non-Western immigrants and rapidly increasing secularisation, the Dutch population could be separated into three religious groups: Roman Catholics , Dutch Reformed ( Calvinist ) and members of the Christian Reformed Church ( Neo-Calvinist ) (the last being a separation from the Dutch Reformed Church). For a long time, the three religious groups were living separately from each other in their own communities; this was called ''verzuiling'' . The communities had their own schools, their own shops and their own media, among other things. Most Roman Catholics in the Netherlands - up until today - mostly live in the two southern provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg , as well as in the eastern part of the province of Overijssel and in parts of Noord-Holland . Members of the Christian Reformed Church live up until today mostly in the so-called Bible Belt , which runs from the province of Zeeland in the southwest, through the southern part of the province of Zuid-Holland , through Utrecht , the Veluwe (located in the province of Gelderland ) and the western part of Overijssel . The numbers of Dutch Reformed have fallen sharply since the 1960s, but tend to live spread over all the provinces "above the rivers" (the provinces north of the rivers Rhine , Waal and Meuse ). Nowadays, a large part of the Dutch population is Agnostic or Atheist (some 40% say they do not belong to any church). There is also a small Jewish community, and the last couple of years have seen a rise of converts to Islam , as well as to a various number of Evangelical movements and New Age movements. SEE ALSO |