Influence of Religious Integration on Attitudes : a Comparative Analysis of European Countries

Abstract

A panoramic view of religion in Europe is sketched on the basis of an international sur- vey of religious attitudes (International Social Survey Programme, 1998). It is then shown that integration into a religious system (on a scale from "regular church-goer" to "no reli- gion") has significant effects on ethical and political attitudes (regarding sexual permissive- ness, men's and women's roles in society, abortion, civic morality, confidence in institutions, political orientation). Whatever the European country, integration into Catholi- cism or Protestantism corresponds to attitudes that are more traditional, conformist, and politically to the right. No clear difference may be observed between Catholics and Protes- tants, groups that today are culturally fairly close.