Reasonably Faithful: believing in a secular world 
During the G20 Interfaith Forum in Salt Lake City, religious leaders, academics, and policymakers from various countries and faith traditions gathered to reflect on peace, connection, and the role of religion in our society. These initiatives receive remarkably little attention in the Flemish press, while religious conflicts and derailments are usually extensively highlighted. That...
What happens when scientists investigate how members of a faith community live? Several American universities and research institutions have delved into that question over the past decades. Their findings about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are remarkable. And they tell us something more important than how religious we are: what...
Churches are emptying, but the questions for which people once went to church have remained: what is a good life, how do I deal with guilt, loss, and death, and what may I hope for? Science explains how the world works, not what I should do with it. These persistent questions can be read as a human invention or as a reference to a source outside ourselves. I choose the latter, and explain...
Christian nationalism is dangerous, but the answer is not less faith in public debate. The line is between convincing and dominating, and that line applies to everyone, including my own church.
A new UGent study shows that religious and explicitly areligious applicants have less chance of a job interview — not because they are judged worse, but because recruiters fear that colleagues and clients would prefer not to work with them. As an entrepreneur and bishop, I recognize that pattern from my own experience, and I advocate for finally taking religion as seriously as other...
Is Gen Z massively returning to church? The numbers show otherwise, but something else is at play. There is no mass revival, but a reinterpretation: the group of young believers is smaller, but experiences faith much more consciously, individually, and visibly in society. This makes faith gradually a normal topic in public discourse again.
Whoever chooses 'she at home, he the business' is nowadays quickly labeled 'tradwife' - with the implication that our church might have something to do with it. This piece investigates what is true about that: research into happy religious women, what faith does to men, and the role of fathers in transmitting faith - including the question of whether this is not a placebo. No plea for one model...
Bart Eeckhout relegates all faith to the corner of silence, especially when it comes to morality. The failure of authorities should not be taken as an argument against everyone's faith.
As a young man, Etienne Vermeersch joined the Jesuits and left the church with an image of God that left no room for his sharpest questions. Slavery in the sacred texts and the problem of evil remain insoluble within that image of God. The restored gospel starts from different premises: agency as old as God, and opposition as a condition for a...
Science measures, but does not value – yet the abortion debate often resorts to facts and majorities instead of moral questions. Faith does belong at the table, provided it speaks with reasons and not with authority. Only then can we face the deepest question: what is a human being worth?
Around euthanasia, the same two words always come up: brave and wise. But who says the courage is always on that side of the table? I argue that those who continue to fight and live should also be called brave, without cornering anyone else.
A second study shows that AI not only remains silent about religion but actively steers it. At the same time, Pope Leo XIV and an apostle of my own church warn about the same blind spot. My proposal: literally bring faith traditions to the table of those who build AI.
Religious symbols in public spaces do not have to divide us — they can be the beginning of a real encounter. A strong conviction does not make you narrower, but broader.
Three radio presenters smash religious images and don't see the problem — until a journalist asks one simple question. An honest look at why Christians in Flanders no longer guard their own boundaries, and what happens if you let that slide for too long. With a plea for the healthy middle ground: strong enough to laugh, but clear enough to state what you stand for.
Religious education remains something that can bring enormous value. Dismissing this could lead to regrettable results.
In contrast to Stephen Fry's view, a world without any suffering would ultimately deprive us of our humanity and turn us into unwitting extras in a kind of 'Matrix' existence. True growth and freedom of choice arise precisely from life's resistance, where we do not seek a god who takes away the storm, but the strength to navigate through it.
2026 is the year we must take control back into our own hands. We already have the blueprint. This way, we decide for ourselves what kind of world we want to live in. My wishes and blessings for 2026.
The enormous pressure to perform and the culture of 'everything must be done' lead to increasing burnouts among people in their thirties and and even mayors. Besides rest, I believe that the spiritual power of serving others offers an essential solution. By dedicating oneself to 'ministry', the focus shifts from personal achievements to charity, which helps to truly recover mentally.
For years, it seemed as if a clever scientist had to be an atheist, but thinkers like Philip Goff show that those times are over. He clearly sees a cosmic purpose, but just misses that one puzzle piece to understand who is behind it. It's time we stop pretending that science and religion are enemies, because they actually tell the same story.
The 'Light the World' Giving Machines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have raised nearly $50 million for global charity since 2017. This year (2025), the machines are in a record number of 126 cities in 21 countries, including nine new countries. The question remains why this successful and pure charitable initiative faces closed doors in our country...
Reasonably Faithful: believing in a secular world 
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