Religiously unaffiliated youth in Europe: shifting remnants of belief and practice in contexts of diffused religion and cohort decline

José P. Coutinho, Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
20 Downloads

Abstract

This study investigates the remnants and dynamics of religious beliefs and practices among religiously unaffiliated youth in Europe, comparing them with the older unaffiliated as well as with the religiously affiliated. Using EVS 2017–2021 data to test contrasting hypotheses of diffused religion and cohort replacement, the study draws three main conclusions. First, youth believe more on average and older age groups believe less when it comes to eschatological beliefs among both the unaffiliated and the affiliated. Second, youth practice less and older age groups practice more on average among both the unaffiliated and the affiliated. Third, the gaps in levels of religious beliefs and practices remain between the religiously unaffiliated and the religiously affiliated among younger populations, but this gap is now narrower for religious practices. Results confirm both hypotheses (diffused religion and cohort replacement) depending on the dimensions of religiosity at study.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)406-428
Number of pages23
JournalJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion
Volume63
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2024

Keywords

  • Europe
  • Affiliated
  • Age groups
  • Cohort replacement
  • Diffused religion
  • Unaffiliated
  • Youth

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Religiously unaffiliated youth in Europe: shifting remnants of belief and practice in contexts of diffused religion and cohort decline'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this