A Statistical Research of Religious Views of Young People in Ukraine and the Rest of the World

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the current tendencies in the change of religious views of young people by selected countries of the world, as well as to analyze such views among the student youth of Ukraine on the basis of the carried out survey. It is defined that on a global scale there are significant changes in the structure of believers and in the distribution of the population of countries according to beliefs. A large number of both adults and young people refuse religiosity. This tendency is observed in America and many European countries. Especially among young people it becomes popular to be an atheist. The decrease in religiosity also means a decrease in the frequency of visits to religious institutions and practicing prayers. On the other hand, there are countries with a very high level of believers. These are, first of all, religious centers such as Italy and Israel. It is prognosticated that the fertility rate of women of different religions and the age distribution of religious groups will undergo radical changes. The increase in the birth rate among Muslims will lead to the fact that the number of Muslims in the world in 30 years will approach the number of Christians. At this, the number of adherents of other religions will begin to decline, and their average age will grow rapidly. The analysis, carried out in the course of the research of the views of student youth of Ukraine, showed that most of them are believers and orthodox. At the same time, religions and cults that have been popularized by films and TV series are becoming popular. It is determined that most parents of students are also believers and orthodox. Still, the number of believing parents is greater than the number of believing students. It is determined that the majority of students choose the religion of both parents, which indicates the significant influence of parents on the religious views of students. It is defined that believing students have fewer bad habits, and they are much more likely to participate in charitable projects and events.