A religiosidade juvenil nas duas últimas décadas

In this communication I pretend to address the Portuguese youth religiosity, focusing Catholicism, by its dominance in Portuguese religious field. First, I will examine the evolution of religion (beliefs, practices, and attitudes) of Portuguese youth (15-24) in the last twenty years, based on data from the European Values Study (EVS) of 1990 and 2008. Secondly, I will try to explain the changes observed. From the data analysis, it is concluded that the Portuguese youngster tends to believe and to recompose more, but to practise and to follow less Catholic norms. Beliefs have increased, while practices and positive attitudes to Catholic norms have regressed. At the same time, the non-Catholic beliefs grow, demonstrating their plasticity, which is consistent with the theory of individualisation. It is difficult to disentangle the direct effect of each variable or which are the most important variables in religious evolution. Will be religious socialisation, mainly through family? Will be leisure, essentially through new technologies, sexuality, or consumption? Anyway, all contribute in some way for understanding this evolution.