Modernizzazione e differenze di genere nella religiosità: il caso italiano

Abstract

The intention of this study based on analysis of the series of European Value Study (1990, 1999, 2009 and 2018) is to investigate, using a comparative, diachronic approach, the relationship between modernization and the gender gap in religiosity in Italy. In line with the theoretical perspective which valorizes the role of culture in explaining this relationship, our hypothesis is that the most modernized areas demonstrate a more contained gender gap. We expect that differences of religiosity between men and women are more contained in the country’s north-central zones – characterized by higher levels of modernization – compared with the south. Furthermore, since the distance between the levels of modernization in the two areas has not increased noticeably over the last three decades, we could be forgiven for expecting that the difference between them in the religious field would not reveal important changes. To our surprise, the findings of the analyses offer but limited support to our hypothesis.