Abstract
The current trend of secularization seems to be leading to a gradual withdrawal of religion from public spaces. However, in an increasingly internationalized world, it is becoming more and more important to study the roles of religion and religiosity and their potential in relation to dialogue and social conflicts and tensions. Education is a vital field within which to address this religious issue and create an educational dialogue in order to promote coexistence. By following a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study, based on a quasi-experimental methodology with a social–analytical character, our aim is to assess the existing connections between religion, interrelation and opinion in Spanish children and adolescents. Special attention is paid to the interaction between age and beliefs. We carried out our study with the use of a questionnaire distributed to eleven secondary schools, with students aged between 11 and 16 years old, in three regions of southern Spain (Andalusia, Ceuta, and Melilla) characterized by high religious diversity and multiculturalism. The multivariate analysis carried out in this study identifies the effects of variance on the influence of age and religion, highlighting the interaction between the two. It is observed that the youngest students are those who express their opinions about religion the least, while those belonging to younger age groups and majority religions are those who express a greater religious coexistence, with Muslims externalizing their religious condition the most.
Highlights
In most European countries, it has long been assumed that increasing secularization would lead to a gradual withdrawal of religion from the public sphere
Significant differences are shown in terms of the expression of opinions about religion, where students in the younger age range (12–13 years) are those who express their opinions about religion the least, while Muslims in the higher age range (15–16 years) are more opinionated with regard to religion, expressing their views more openly
In relation to the results obtained in the fourth factor, where perceptions about religion and values are analyzed, the results indicate that the students consider that religion and values differ according to the different religions and age groups
Summary
In most European countries, it has long been assumed that increasing secularization would lead to a gradual withdrawal of religion from the public sphere. This trend has been reversed over the course of the last decade as religion has once again come to the public’s attention. Both in Europe and internationally, we are witnessing a revitalization of religion in both the individual and public spheres, both in dialogues between people of different religions and in the context of social tension and conflict (Weisse 2011). The idea of a whole formed by a single creed and by a single religious authority has long since been a thing of the past, transforming into ‘beliefs otherwise’
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