Valori religiosi e appartenenze territoriali

This contribution is included in a volume which reports the outcomes of a survey co-financed by the Ministry of University and Scientific Research about “Valori, identità regionali, appartenenza nazionale”, accomplished across six italian regions by means of 2800 face to face interviews to 18-74 years old respondents, drawn from the Electoral Registers. The essay considers the religious values and connect them with the territorial belongings, in order to find out if religion is still a prominent factor for the connection of the social context. The most interesting results underline aspects which partially disavow the first hypotheses. It is noticed, indeed, that religious identity strengthens the social ties, but just on a local and national level. The worldwide belonging, which the Catholic universalistic dimension should encourage, is stronger across the non-believers than across the believers. However, the survey underlines also that the differences between religious and non-religious people tend to disappear in the face of some deep necessities, such as that of giving a meaning and a purpose to their own life, thus highlighting the basic equality of the human beings from the standpoint of ethical propension.