The Characteristics of the Religiosity of Youth in Slovakia Today

Abstract

This paper discusses the current characteristics of the religiosity of young people in Slovakia based on data that were obtained in a survey as part of the research project “Perspectives of the Development of Religiosity in Slovakia”, carried out in 2017–2020. The data presented in the article pertain to several areas related to the religious lives of young people. Firstly, data on general changes in the respondents’ religiosity (such as a weakening or a strengthening) are presented, followed by data on the causes that the respondents consider having influenced these changes. Secondly, since many of the respondents claimed factors related to receiving a lot of information as such causes, the article presents data to determine to what extent the respondents paid attention to religious media in Slovakia (newspaper, radio, television, and websites). Lastly, we present the data on the respondents’ attitudes towards the moral acceptance of some themes that are religiously controversial or politically divisive in Slovak society today. We then discuss the indications that emerge from the data on the religiosity of young people in Slovakia today, overall concluding that there is often an occurrence among Slovak youth of claiming an affiliation to an official church/confession/religious institution while developing and acting on individual religious opinions or beliefs.