International study on the lifeworld identities of non-denominational people

Around a third of the population of the Federal Republic of Germany does not belong to any church or other religious community, and the trend is rising. However, more detailed findings on which ideological views and value-related orientations are widespread in the group of non-denominational people have hardly been available to date. For the first time, an international study entitled “Non-denominational identities”, which was developed by four renowned academics, is now addressing this issue in more detail. An online survey aimed at non-denominational people was recently published. The study, led by psychologist Tatjana Schnell (University of Innsbruck), is being carried out in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark. The survey for the scientific study aims to find out more precisely what shapes the lifeworld identities of non-denominational people in the five European countries. “What world views do they hold, what experiences do they have? Are there other, non-religious organizations to which they feel they belong? Our aim is to gain more knowledge about the diversity of our world views. This is the only way to ensure that the different concerns are heard appropriately in society,” says psychologist Tatjana Schnell, Associate Professor at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Innsbruck, on the purpose of the study. Schnell developed the study together with researchers Elpine de Boer (Leiden University), Peter La Cour (University of Copenhagen) and Hans Alma (University for Humanistic Studies, Utrecht). Frieder Otto Wolf, President of the Humanist Association of Germany, has welcomed the new study by the international research team. “It is very pleasing that the existence, relevance and interests of non-denominational citizens are also attracting increasing attention from academics and are being empirically investigated accordingly. It is particularly pleasing that this study is taking a comparative European approach and is embedded in long-term university research. For the HVD as an association that already offers a broad and diverse range of cultural, educational and social services to people who are far removed from church and religion, such new and more detailed findings are of course also important. For our practical humanism, which is aimed at people in all walks of life, reliable knowledge about non-denominational people is always valuable in order to further develop our range of services and support in a targeted manner,” says Frieder Otto Wolf. The results of the study entitled “Non-denominational identities” are currently scheduled to be presented in spring 2017. After answering the questionnaire, participants in the online survey have the opportunity to request a summary of the study results if they are interested.