{"id":5543,"date":"2017-12-31T12:05:06","date_gmt":"2017-12-31T12:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.communitymediaresearch.it\/?p=5543"},"modified":"2026-01-19T18:47:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T17:47:49","slug":"5543-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/2017\/12\/31\/5543-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Northeast: Catholics decline, 33% indifferent"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Christmas holidays trigger in the first instance, in the media discourse, a well-established mechanism: how will households spend on gifts, food and holidays? How will consumption go? Not only because of the difficulties of the last decade, Christmas is counted among the indicators of economic trends. The religious dimension of the festivity, and not always, is declined in family intimacy, in private, or confined to the communities of believers. Yet religiosity, like political ideology, constituted a universe of values for people. A set of norms that helped guide the actions of individuals. It allowed the construction of a common sense with which to identify and conform. It offered a purpose, a shared goal for building society and its future. In other words, religiosity and ideologies were the narratives of the communities that (and how) they were to be built.<\/p>\n

The use of verbs in the past tense is not accidental. Because these pillars have long since lost their value. The religious dimension is shot through with deep tensions, and not just today. Back in the early 1960s, sociologist Sabino Acquaviva pointed to an \"eclipse of the sacred\" in our societies and the fading of the transcendent in people's everyday lives. The common horizon of religious values of reference has gradually been replaced by their individual declination, which today we would call tailor-made<\/em>where everyone carves out their own religious morals in a kind of do-it-yourself manner.<\/p>\n

Community Media Research has addressed some of the issues on the religious orientations of Northeasterners. In general, society shows clear signs of erosion of the dimension of the sacred. Assertions of religious affiliation tell us that the majority still declare themselves to be Catholic (60.7%), but with profound territorial differences: if the Veneto (68.3%) and Trentino and Alto Adige (65.8%) people recognise themselves in this definition, much less so do Friulians and Giulians (33.3%). Widely in the minority are those who belong to other religious families (from Muslims to Buddhists, from Jews to other Christians or non-Christians: a total of 6.6%). By contrast, one third (32.7%) do not feel they belong to any religious denomination.<\/p>\n

So far, therefore, the North East would generally appear to be a territory populated by Catholics. However, if we compare what has been observed at a national level with the results of a research conducted by Garelli, Guizzardi and Pace (Mulino) in 2000, we can observe that since then Catholics have decreased by a good 19.2 percentage points, when they were then estimated at 79.2%. This shift, however, rather than benefiting other religious groups, goes to feed the area of non-membership: 33.4%, against 18.8% in 2000. Thus, Catholic religiosity still involves a large segment of society, but it is progressively shrinking. Not to the advantage of other religious cultures, but rather to a sort of limbo. A further reflection of the lessening of religious affiliation can be seen in the attendance at religious rites and services. The \"assiduous\" (attending every Sunday) in the North East are 15.1%, down by a good 15.7 percentage points compared to 2010 (they were 30.8%), especially in Trentino Alto Adige (-22.9). Both the 'occasional' (attending only on certain occasions or at least once a month: 61.9%, up from 49.8% in 2010) grew, especially among the Trentino and Alto Adige (+30.3). Both those who never attend (23.0%, it was 19.4% in 2010), especially in Friuli Venezia Giulia (+16.6). Thus, a decrease in the sense of belonging is followed by a lower degree of participation in the rites of religious communities.<\/p>\n

It is then interesting to observe how even within the different religious families the two dimensions (belonging and participation) are not so obvious. Among Catholics, only 39.4% attend rituals assiduously, a higher proportion than those belonging to other religious groups (26.2%). Catholics, therefore, appear to be more faithful, but it is a (large) minority who consistently participate in community moments. The erosive processes of transcendence in people's daily lives can be grasped by analysing those who believe they have a spiritual life and believe in a supernatural entity. In both cases we obtain that a large minority recognise themselves in the two dimensions: 46.5% feel they have a spiritual life of their own, 48.5% are religious. With the Veneto people emphasising transcendental orientations far more than their fellow countrymen in the other two regions.<\/p>\n

Summing up these two statements, we identify four profiles of spirituality and religiosity. The prevailing group are the \"believers\" (45.8%) who state that they have a spiritual and religious life, more widespread among adults (over 55 years old: 43.4%) and in particular among the Veneto people (51.3%). The opposite characteristics are found in the 'materialists' (38.5%) who are the second group, present among 40 year olds (64.5%), much more than among young people (up to 24 years: 44.5%), and in Friuli Venezia Giulia (67.1%). Between these two groups, we meet those who have a 'subjective spirituality' (11.5%), but do not recognise any higher entity. And, vice versa, those who have a religious affiliation inspired by customs: 'cultural religiosity' (4.2%). It should be emphasised that half of Catholics (51.1%) belong to the group of 'believers' and 29.0% to the group of 'materialists'.<\/p>\n

The processes of secularisation continue their march in our societies unabated. The loss of intensity of the dimension of the sacred gives way to a growing materiality of the individual and in relationships, as Pope Francis himself has repeatedly denounced. And yet, the phenomenon of the eclipse (of the sacred) adumbrates how the dark side hides another reality, which we struggle to see. In this sense, the religious and spiritual pluralism that emerged from the survey is also indicative of a search for the loss of the traditional horizon of values. It is a new question of meaning for the era of transformations we are going through. Which calls for a great work of discernment.<\/p>\n