Religious Freedom and Citizenship: Comparative research of Croatia and Italy

This research explores the sphere of Religious Freedom and Citizenship, particularly focusing on the patterns of attitudes in Croatia and Italy towards these two concepts. The methodology of this research forms part of a quantitative comparative approach, with specific use of a questionnaire as a research instrument. This research is based on a convenience sample of young students attending the University of Zagreb in Croatia and the University of Padova, in Italy. The questionnaire was submitted to 603 students in Croatia and 714 students in Italy, collecting 1317 questionnaires in total, which form part of our data analysis. We focus the analysis of this research on three main aspects – linkage between Religious Freedom and Citizenship; State-religious relations and the affect on the protection of Religious Freedom; and, exploration of the interrelation of religious and national identities by looking at the role of religion in the sphere of national identities. Within the framework of theoretical and empirical observations, we search for the differences between young students in Croatia and young students in Italy. Following this, we firstly explore whether and how attitudes toward Citizenship and citizens’ rights are reflected in attitudes toward Religious Freedom. Secondly, we analyse in which way certain state-religious models are linked to attitudes toward the protection of Religious Freedom. Lastly, we examine the identification of participants with national culture and dominant religion, and how the patterns of this relation reflect in the views on Religious Freedom, specifically searching for the differences between Croatian and Italian samples. Therefore, this research emphasises the following questions: • What is the linkage between attitudes toward ‘Citizenship and Citizens’ rights’ and attitudes toward various aspects of ‘Religious Freedom’ in Croatia and Italy? • How do attitudes toward ‘Citizenship and Citizens’ rights affect attitudes toward ‘Religious Freedom’ in Croatia and Italy? • How certain preferred ‘State-religious models’ (neutrality, support, control) are linked to the attitudes on the level of Religious Freedom protections in Croatia and Italy? • What is the effect of ‘Socio-cultural attitude toward religion’ on attitudes concerning the protection of Religious Freedoms? • What are the patterns of identification with national culture and dominant religion, and how the role of religion is perceived in Croatia and Italy? • Is identification with national culture and dominant religion reflected in attitudes toward ‘Religious Freedom’?