Jak se v České republice vlastně měří náboženství?

Abstract

This descriptive study analyzes resources used to study religion and the character of religion- related variables. Its main purpose is to identify how researchers use these variables in studies published throughout the past twenty years, mainly in the period between 2000 and 2013. During our analysis of religion-related research papers, we established that researchers used 72 different religion-related variables and 17 data sources. As for the sources, the 2008 ISSP represents the dominant data source and is followed by the 1999 ISSP, the Czech DIN survey (the third most frequently used survey), the 1999 EVS, and the 2008 EVS as the fifth most frequently used survey. Other data sources are used only exceptionally. As for individual variables, the following include the most frequently used: declared religiosity, attendance at religious services and belief in something, followed by a group of variables measuring religious socialization. Other variables are used with a lower frequency, such as religious practice in adulthood, religious homogamy, level of orthodoxy, sympathy to Churches and religions, importance of Church and others. The results of our analysis show that the above variables are used in a rather stereotypic way, which brings us to the following conclusion: in the Czech environment, there may be a need to carry out a targeted survey focusing on issues that have, until now, been associated mainly with qualitative research, such as religious memory, malfunctioning in the transfer of traditional religiosity between generations, revitalization, religious communities, etc.