Nowadays, people show various forms of religious commitment. To better understand this heterogeneity, it is necessary to analyze the factors that predict that commitment. For this purpose, the paper raises the question of whether and how such commitment is predicted by (a) the character of the religious institution to which the individual belongs; (b) individual characteristics, such as intelligence and attitude toward religion; and (c) social environment, such as one’s religious upbringing in the family home. According to logistic regression analysis, it is predominantly religious belonging and religious socialization in the family home that predict religious commitment. Religious socialization is by far the most effective predictor when the difference between marginal and slight religious commitment is regarded. The predictive power of religious belonging depends on the particular religious tradition, as being Muslim has a bigger effect on religious commitment than being Protestant or Catholic. Individual characteristics, however, have no impact on how an individual engages with religion.
Zusammenfassung Oft klafft zwischen exegetischen Erkenntnissen und bibeldidaktischer Beschäftigung mit den Texten der Bibel ein breiter Graben. Der Artikel zeigt, wie sich dieser mit Hilfe des mimetischen Ansatzes überwinden lässt, indem Kinder und Jugendliche zu „Nachahmerinnen“ und „Nachahmern,“, sei es von Sprach- und Denkformen, Büchern, Figuren etc. der Bibel werden. Nach der theologischen Fundierung wird dies exemplarisch an Gleichnissen sowie an weiteren Textbeispielen (Hiob, JohEv) konkretisiert.
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