Dynamics of Religious Involvement of the Population of European Countries

Abstract

Despite the general tendency towards secularization in the modern world, the institute of religion still has an important role in the social and state development of society.
Using the data of the European Social Survey (2008–2016) and the methodic for measuring religious involvement (S. Salnikova), which is based on relevant indicators of religiosity (J. Billiet), the authors analyzed the level and character of religiosity in a number of European countries. The level of religiosity is an indicator of subjective institutional belonging to particular religion or denomination; under the character of religiosity, we mean the division of the variable religious involvement, which is divided into the cohort of those belonging to the main, modal and marginal types of religious involvement (these are types of in-church religious belonging), cultural type (this is a religious and cultural identification), and non-church types (in the 1st and 2nd generation).
It is revealed that the dynamics of institutional religiosity is characteristic of most countries, and in case of its absence, processes related to the character of religiosity are dynamic. Exception is Poland. Regardless of the general level of religiosity, the analysis of data in 15 European countries reveals such tendencies in religious changes as stability (Poland, France, Belgium, Estonia, Czech Republic), strengthening of institutional religiosity (Germany, Slovenia, Sweden) or its marginalization or strengthening of secular influences (Portugal , Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Finland, Norway). Reducing the level of religiosity in many countries is due to an increase in the non-church cohorts in the 1st and / or 2nd generations.