engleski

Religiosity, Non-religiosity and some Values of the Youth

According to the results obtained from the religiousness indicators investigated, the young in Croatia today are much more religious than fifteen years ago. The increase was determined on all the dimensions observed, whereas the differences detected on the inter-dimensional level - from the most common confessional self-identification to the lest common compulsory religious practice - show that the young in that regard do not deviate from the older population. Thus, the traditional forms of religiosity predominate, while actual religiosity is less developed. Considering the socio-demographic indicators, the guidelines of their higher religiosity are, most of all, the result of the ambient and socialization, meaning a more traditional or more modern environment and lifestyle. The young are, to a considerable extent, religiously socialized through both the family and organized religious education, and raise (or are prepared to raise) their children in the same manner, they are motivated mostly by the need to sustain religion, but also by the positive edifying influence they recognize in religion. On the value level (as they obviously accept the Church and non-church beliefs at the same time) the young do not seem to perceive it is incompatible to consider themselves religious, and to have attitudes opposing the attitudes of their religion and the church in the field of sexuality and morals. The secular ideas and values are internalised and exist alongside the religious ones, which pints to a type of value relativism, that is, to the simultaneous maintenance of value orientations that on the theoretical level can be completely opposite. The historically present and widespread, traditional church religiosity in Croatia, the changed position of religion and the Church in society, the freedom to express religious beliefs, the institutional support of religious orientation concentrated precisely on the young population through confessional religious education in schools, and growing up in a society burdened by the tragic events of the war, with uneven social and political development, poverty and confusion, with narrow perspectives, especially for the young - these are the social co-ordinates of this increased religiosity. To the extent in which religiosity is part of the family and a wider cultural and national tradition, and of the incentives that in that regard have come, or still come, from the society and the Church, we could presume the stabilisation of youth's religious structure. But, at the same time this religious structure could face great challenges that it has already faced in the Western, modern (and post-modern?) societies.

religiosity, non-religiosity, youth, values, Croatia

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