The transmission of religion across generations
International researchers discuss reasons for the decline of religion
At the conference of the Cluster of Excellence "The transmission of religion across generations: transfer, loss and re-formation of religion", which will be held from 17 to 18 May 2018 in Münster, internationally renowned researchers will address the question of the decline of religion. The empirical finding that ecclesiastical religiosity and practice has been steadily declining since the 1960s is, as such, undisputed. As great as the agreement regarding this finding is, little consensus exists concerning its explanation: Do these findings indicate a decline, a change of religion or even the rise of “no-religion”? In any case, there is a research gap: We don‘t know how the passing on or losing of faith takes place across generations. The current state of research is unable to explain why and how this occurs: There has been little research into why some families are able and willing to pass on their beliefs and values to ensuing generations and why others are not.
The conference aims to address this research gap, and tries to understand the mechanisms that lie behind these cohort differences. We want to explore the following questions: How are values, norms, and patterns of interpretation passed on between the generations within families? How does religiosity change through the process of passing on?