Research Program: Empirical Research on Values and Religion
UPDATE of 05.05.2024
- Press release ASTAT: presentation of the results of the research project
- Publication “Sondaggio in Alto Adige: Spiritualità e sostenibilità 2023”
The aim of this biennial research program (2022-2023), which was funded by the Province of South Tyrol, was to investigate and better understand values, religion and spirituality in the Alpine region, but also in the rest of Europe, fostering a close cooperation between the humanities and social sciences.
In the English-speaking academic world, there is a lively dialogue between social sciences such as sociology and anthropology on the one hand and the classical humanities such as theology and philosophy on the other. This cooperation is firmly anchored institutionally at the Anglo-American faculties of religious studies. In Italy and Austria, as well as in other European countries, religious studies have tended so far to focus more on theoretical analysis rather than on empirical research.
This research program aimed to foster an ongoing dialogue between theoretical and empirical research and to offer a better understanding of values and religions, examining their role in modern societies through ethnographic research and sociological analysis.
This program had the following research areas:
