Believing and/or belonging? The complex relationship between family, religion and civil society
Presented by Sally Power, WISERD
This seminar explores the ‘trinity’ of family, religion and civil society. We know that religious affiliation is closely associated with civic engagement. We also know that religious affiliation has traditionally been passed down within families, but that their capacity to do this has been weakened by increasing secularisation – a weakening which is likely to have important implications for civil society. These implications might be particularly pronounced for Wales, which, over the last one hundred years, has gone from being the most religious country in the UK to the least religious.
Drawing on survey and interview data from our ESRC WISERD Civil Society Centre project on ‘Intergenerational Transmission of Civic Virtues’, this seminar addresses the following questions:
· To what extent does religion act as a conduit between families and civil society?
· How successful – or otherwise – have our families been in ‘passing down’ their faith to younger generations?
· What is it about religious affiliation – believing and/or belonging – that fosters civic engagement?