Flexible Catholicism, Religion and the Church: The Italian Case

Religions

关键词: Catholicism;    Italy;    beliefs;    religious belonging;    church;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rel4010001

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

What is taking place in the religious field in some Western societies not only seems to reflect a crisis situation or irreversible decline in the church and dominant religious institutions. More than might be imagined, advanced modernity offers opportunities for traditional religions, even within a context fraught with contradictions and ambivalence. An example of this is represented by Italy, which is still today characterized by widespread affiliation to Catholicism, despite the increase in religious pluralism and undisputed secularization in the customs of the population. Comparing surveys carried out in 1994 and 2007 on a sample of the Italian population, the paper presents a version of religious modernity that has emerged both on the individual religious front and in the way religion is considered in the public sphere.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.