Socio-religious Study \u27Religion and Morality in Croatia\u27. Partial Report

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the religious beliefs and moral attitudes of the population in Croatia, with special regard 10 new religious movements. It is the first empirical study of its kind covering the whole population of Croatia. The head researcher is professor Marijan Valković, chair of Moral theology and Social Teaching of the Church at the Faculty of Catholic Theology (Zagreb University), with collaborators from the same Faculty and from other academic and scientific institutions (both theologians and social scientists). The research is to be completed in a three-year period (ending in the year 2000). So far the basic half of the research has been achieved. It is a representative survey on the basis of a questionnaire with 71 carefully formulated questions with 331 variables and a sample of 1245 Croatian citizens, covering all the social strata of the population. Beside detailed questions and answers related tο various aspects of religion and morality on the whole, there is a special concern for Catholic Church problems in Croatia (clergy-laity, the moral debate...), for marriage and family life, for social issues, for ethnic, interreligious and confessional relations. Since the end of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of former Yugoslavia and the establishment of the independent Republic of Croatia it was reasonably presumed that there may be changes in moral and religious attitudes also in Croatia, obviously combined with the cultural and social transformations in West Europe and in the world. The war of aggresion against Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina (1991-1995) deepened the religions and moral problems and dilemmas. All this required an empirical study. According to our survey, 89,7% of the interviewed citizens declare themselves as »Catholics«, although with different degrees of identification and of meaning. The results of the research give important insights on the changes in the traditional image of the Church and of religious life in Croatia. The main results of the research done so far are published in this issue of Bogoslovska smotra (1998, No. 4). It includes general introduction, sociological remarks, tables with statistical scores and some of the commentaries (aspects of religiosity in Croatia, laity in the Church, »alternative« religious movements, the abortion debate...). The remaining commentaries will be published in the following issues of Bogoslovska smotra. Currently the research in course is devoted to four selected categories of the population: secondary school youth, university students, intellectuals and — convicts. Two of these additional minor surveys are already under way. For the final research year is planned a comprehensive study of the whole research and the publication of its results with appropriate comments and conclusions