Religion and Religiosity

Clear and precise definitions serve as arguments against an empiricist approach. Even if variables referring to religiosity have become rare in most data sets, their unreflected use has to be avoided to meet scientific requirements. Indicators of religiosity must be valid and reliable. Therefore, chapter 3 defines “religion” (3.1.1) and “religiosity” (3.1.2) and explains the multi-dimensional concept of religiosity. The second section deals with developments and factors that contribute to explaining diverging levels of religious vitality between the countries studied (3.2). The contexts within which religiosity takes place differ strongly. Therefore, it is important to compare them. The third section (3.3) reviews some studies analyzing the correlation between religiosity and fertility.