Attitudes toward religious pluralism

This indicator provides an observation of attitudes towards various opinions surrounding the co-existence of different religions. Reluctance towards different funerary practices or a lack of knowledge about religious pluralism can lead to isolation and even to the segregation of religious groups or communities.

Regardless of their migration status, seven out of ten people in Switzerland are of the opinion that all religious or spiritual communities should be allowed to practice their own funerary rites. However, it was observed that the percentage of people open to the practising of these rites is significantly lower in the population without a migration background than in the population with a migration background (67% compared with 75%). When considering attitudes by generation, the second generation stands apart from the first generation due to its tendentially higher rate of openness.

Just over a fifth (22%) of the population is not keen on the idea of people being able to practise these rites. This unwillingness is significantly higher in the population without a migration background than in the population with a migration background (26% compared with 14%), regardless of the generation to which they belong.

People with a migration background are more likely to hold no opinion (11%) than those with no migration background (7%). However, the confidence intervals make it impossible to establish a statistically significant difference between generations.

Irrespective of major regions, the majority of people were well-disposed towards people being able to practise their own rites, as the lowest percentage was 67%. Lake Geneva region and Ticino stood out significantly from the other regions by holding the highest positive reactions to the possibility of practising one’s own rites (75% and 78% respectively).

When considering the positive attitudes of the different groups, significant differences can be observed between people with no migration background and first-generation migrants in the Lake Geneva region, Espace Mittelland and Ticino. The percentage of people who rather or completely agree with the statement put to them is highest among those from the first generation at 78%, 76% and 82% respectively, whereas the percentages among people with no migration background is 72% in Lake Geneva region, 64% in Espace Mittelland and 76% in Ticino. In the other major regions, confidence intervals make it impossible to demonstrate a statistically significant difference between the population without a migration background and those with a migration background by different generations.

It was observed that the percentage of people reluctant to accept the right to practise all funerary rites was significantly higher in the population without a migration background (26%) than among people from different generations (14%) in almost all the major regions, with the exception of Ticino. In this canton, confidence intervals made it impossible to conduct a differentiated analysis of the groups.

Most people (almost eight out of ten) share the view that all children should receive some general education about all major world religions. The variations between the different groups are not significant.

In Switzerland, 16.3% of persons do not hold this opinion. They are represented more significantly in the population without a migration background (18%) than among first-generation migrants (13%). The confidence intervals do not allow a comparison to be made with the second generation. People who expressed no opinion were more numerous in the population with a migration background from the first generation, i.e. 7% (the difference between people with no migration background and those from the second or subsequent generations is not statistically significant).

At regional level, only Central Switzerland shows a significant difference between people from the different groups who agree with the statement that children should be educated about all major world religions. This percentage is greater among second-generation migrants (97%) than among people with no migration background (75%). In the other major regions, although there are no significant differences between the groups, a trend towards such differences can be observed. In the population without a migration background and among first-generation migrants, the percentage of people who agree with the statement tends to be higher in the Zurich region (86%).

Espace Mittelland shows significant differences between people belonging to the various groups, in particular between those with no migration background and first-generation migrants, who disagree with the idea that children should receive general education about all major world religions. In the other major regions, no significant differences between the groups were observed. Within the groups, Zurich is the major region with the lowest percentage of people who disagree with the statement.