The Role of Religion in Society, and Its Relation to the Attitudes Towards Human Rights in Chile

Abstract

Among the various issues involved in the relationship between religion and human rights, there is one that seems essential to the relationship between religion and politics; and more specifically, to the understanding of the role of religion in the public sphere. In this study, we investigate Chilean youth’s perception of the role of religion in the public sphere, as well as the possible relation between this perception and the practices of and attitudes shown towards human rights. We will also look at the variations this relationship might have, depending on the religious identities of the youth who participated in our survey. Incorporating exploratory research, our aim is to analyse the empirical data that we collect in order to raise questions and theoretical proposals that can be used in comparative studies, within the framework of the Research Project ‘Religion and Human Rights’.

This article is structured as follows: (1) Exploration of the problem: brief theoretical discussions are presented of religion and the public sphere, and of the current Chilean context regarding this subject. (2) Presentation of the research questions and the conceptual model that will be used for data analysis. (3) Explaining the methodology used for data collection. (4) Presenting the overall empirical data. (5) Presenting the empirical data as it relates to each of the research questions. (6) Finally, offering some interpretative reflections and general conclusions based on the results.

For their contributions, we would like to thank Carla Vásquez, student at the School of Psychology of the Pontificia Universidad Catòlica; Catalina Cerda, postgraduate student at the Faculty of Theology; and Charlotte Pichuante, librarian.