Youth, Religion, Socialization1. Changes in Youth Religiosity and Its Relationship to Denominational Education in Hungary
Youth, Religion, Socialization1. Changes in Youth Religiosity and Its Relationship to Denominational Education in Hungary

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explore the main characteristics of religious change among the Hungarian youth and to assess the impact of the denominational schools compared to that of the religious upbringing in the family on their religiosity. Previous empirical studies have found a considerable level of unchurching in Hungary affecting first and foremost the membership of the highly institutionalized traditional churches. Recent scholarly literature emphasizes the significance of age explaining secularization process by age-, cohort- as well as life-cycle effects, therefore pointing to the importance of socialization agents. Based on a secondary analysis of the databases of three waves of Hungarian national youth surveys (Ifjúság, 2000, 2008; Magyar Ifjúság, 2012), we compare the religious commitment and religious behaviour of consecutive cohorts studied in different rounds. By linear regression analysis we aim to scrutinize the significance and the extent to which religious upbringing and attending religious schools mattered in the development of youth religiosity. We show that while the considerable drop of religiosity is a result of both within- and inter-cohort changes, the impact of upbringing in a religious family is significantly stronger than that of attending a denominational school.

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