Families and Religion

Why has every generation since the 1950s become less religious?

This comparative study examines the transmission of religion in families in Germany, Italy, Hungary, Finland and Canada. The authors rely on the widely shared argument that religious change can primarily be understood as an intergenerational process. Based on a mixed-methods design, the book investigates the question of how, when exactly and under what conditions the following generations become less religious than the previous ones. From the perspective of familial and historical generations, the authors examine the significance of (religious) socialization for the transmission of (non-)religious worldviews, affiliation, practice, and identity. According to a central finding, religious change takes place primarily in the phase of adolescence against the background of the respective social context.

Auteur
Dr. Linda Hennig ist wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Centrum für Religion und Moderne der Universität Münster. Olaf Müller works as researcher at the Institute of Sociology and the Cluster of Excellence »Religion and Politics« at the University of Münster. His research focuses on sociology of religion, political culture, and social change.