Conférence de Dingemann WIERTZ, PhD, Lecturer in Social Science University College London
Ma 12 décembre 2023
16:15 - 18:00
En présentiel : Salle 5033
A distance par Zoom
Dans le cadre du Colloque de recherche ISSR "Enquêter en sciences sociales des religions : psychologie de la religion, sociologie des religions, sciences sociales des migrations"
En collaboration avec LIVES UNIL Swiss Center of Expertise in Life Course Research
Summary of the talk
What are the broader societal consequences when involvement in organized religion declines? In this talk, I will reflect upon this question, looking at the case of civic engagement in the United States, as a country with a rich civic tradition where secularization has only taken off recently. The first part of the talk is descriptive, mapping out how religious declines have unfolded across American states and considering whether variation in this regard may help explain disparate trends in civic engagement observed across states. The second part of the talk descends to the individual level and attempts to causally address how people who were brought up religiously but later left organized religion remain influenced by their religious upbringing. Since most “religious nones” in the United States still grew up religiously, a better understanding of such legacy effects is essential for appraising the mark that religious declines may leave on wider society.