Between Distanced Church Religiosity and Intensive Personal Religiosity: Religious Changes in Croatian Society from 1999 to 2018

Abstract

This paper analyses religious changes in Croatian society based
on the results of three waves of the European Values Study
research, done in Croatia in 1999, 2008 and 2018. The paper
explains changes in religiosity according to two sociological
dimensions: Church religiosity and personal religiosity. The
results show the continuation of a slight decline of Church
religiosity, already registered by the 2008 research data, and in
particular in relation to church attendance and the public role of
the Church, while personal religiosity has remained relatively
stable. In addition, these two dimensions of religiosity are
analysed in relation to basic sociodemographic characteristics
and political orientation. Women, persons with lower education,
whose parents are less educated and who are from smaller
settlements are more inclined to both Church and personal
religiosity. Church and personal religiosity are not only
connected with the right-wing political orientation, but this
connection has been on the rise in the analysed period.