Are Catholics still different? Catholicism, political attitudes and party attachments in Switzerland, 1970–95

Abstract

This article is concerned with the political attitudes and the party attachments of Swiss Catholics between 1970 and 1995. Do Catholics still have distinct political orientations or have the differences between Catholics and non-Catholics withered away in the process of secularisation? A re-analysis of several surveys indicates that Catholics are indeed still different politically from the overall Swiss population. But these differences between Catholics and nonCatholics are relatively small and have almost disappeared in the last 30 years. However, the data also suggests that while the confessional cleavage has lost most of its significance, it is increasingly superseded by a religious one.

The Impact of Religion on Voting Behaviour – A Multilevel Approach for Switzerland

“…Traditionally, the denominational divide between Catholics and Protestants was the most important factor. Nowadays, it is rather the difference in religiosity (measured by church attendance) that matters, especially between religious and non‐religious people (Geissbühler ; Lachat , ; Trechsel ). The latter group is consistently rising in the last years .…”

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“…In der Wahlforschung wird in den letzten Jahren ebenfalls die Zunahme der Bedeutung der Religiosität im Vergleich zur Konfession betont (Dalton 2006: 158ff. ;Geissbühler 1999;Wolf 1996). Dies alles deutet darauf hin, dass ein Effekt der katholischen politischen Kultur vor allem dann zu erwarten ist, wenn sie mit einer ausgesprochenen Religiosität gepaart wird.…”

The political economy of Kulturkampf: evidence from imperial Prussia and republican Turkey

“…The distinction between collectivism and individualism does not capture only differential responses to commercial ethics violations, but also differential commitments to social welfare and the church as an institution. La Porta et al (1997) indicate that vertically organized religions such as Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Islam are more prone to underdevelopment, while Geissbuehler (2007) observes a higher propensity of Catholicism in Switzerland toward political mobilization for social welfare, lower identification levels with the Nazi party, family and community values and an overall anti-capitalist stance.…”