Perception of the Encyclical Ut unum sint amongst Slovak Youth

Abstract

The presented sociological study emerges from the area of sociology of religion that would like to describe and explain religious reality. Its main goal is to present John Paul II’s encyclical Ut unum sint and its reception among Slovak youth. The study is divided into two parts. The introduction includes a short outline of the main reflections that appear in the encyclical Ut unum sint and some experiences connected with ecumenism in Slovakia — strongly dependent on specific people, priests or parishes. The first part presents the main tasks of Christian churches from the point of view of studied young people (e.g. charity, humanity, education or ecumenism). The second part sheds light on the possible differences between the chosen categories of the analyzed representatives of youth, particularly with regard to ecumenism. To that end independent variables were chosen: sex, place of residence, number of siblings, performance at school, attitude to religious faith, religious practices, and religious affiliation. The study is based in particular on the author’s own sociological research conducted at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century.