Studying Religiosity in Switzerland from a Longitudinal Survey: New Results from a New Methodological Approach

The study of changes in religious practice and affiliation over the long term has generally been approached using cross-sectional data from several surveys conducted at different points in time (Voas 2009; Voas and Chaves 2016). The use of longitudinal data, which follows the same individuals over time, allows distinguishing the age directly from the cohort effect. The Swiss Household Panel (SHP), launched in 1999, which annually surveys individuals randomly selected from the Swiss resident population, offers several interesting insights into the evolution of religious practices and beliefs in a Christian cultural context.

In our first paper (Monnot and Wernli 2023), we studied three indicators of religiosity over a 20-year period (1999 to 2018): religious affiliation, frequency of religious service attendance, and personal prayer, taking into account the socio-demographic characteristics of individuals. For the three religious indicators, a cohort effect is a key factor in explaining the decline of religiosity, younger individuals being less affiliated, practicing less often, and praying less than the older cohort. We also observe an effect of age or life cycle, especially on religious practice, and a period effect on the religious disaffiliation of individuals.

In a second series of analyses, based on four waves of SHP (2012, 2015, 2018, 2021), we measure personal attitudes towards different religious belongings (Christianity, Atheism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism). Our preliminary results also show a cohort effect on the feelings towards religions and atheism in general, but with different trends over time. Beside the cohort effect, we also note that religiosity plays a significant and positive role in attitudes towards the different religions. In addition, political position, life satisfaction, education, and political trust also have an effect on tolerance.