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Abstract
Comparative surveys suggest that generational replacement has negative implications for the future of religion in Europe. Using Greece as a critical case, it is argued here that focusing only on the aggregate levels of personal commitment can lead to such exaggerated pessimism. This note shifts empirical attention to show how religious authority remains relevant in society despite declining trends in individual religiosity. Preliminary findings are based on a multi-dimensional definition of religious change, which includes the scope of church authority in the public sphere. European Values Study (EVS) data from 1999 suggest that societal modernisation is not a uniformly negative influence on religion, at least when the investigation moves beyond levels of individual commitment.
Notes
NOTES
1. Note that the empirical documentation of the scope of religious authority can also take place at the societal (institutional differentiation) and organisational (internal secularisation) level.
2. A comparison of country averages from the ‘Catholic fringe’ is revealing (weight s017 applied). ‘Religious leaders should influence people's vote’: Italy 2.01; Portugal 1.98; Greece 1.95; Poland 1.72. 'Religious leaders should influence government’: Greece 2.33; Italy 2.23; Portugal 1.99; Poland 1.83.