Religiös orientering och svensk politisk opinion

Abstract

Religious Orientation and Swedish Political Opinion. The objectiveis to analyze if religious orientation affects Swedish political opinion. To test for possible spurious correlation, demographic factors and ideological position are also included in the study. The study also tests the validity of functional theory and substantive theories regarding the correlation between religious orientation and political opinion. Data consists of a national mail survey (conducted by the SOM Institute at Göteborg University in 1999) to 5260 persons representing inhabitants in Sweden of age 15-80 years, of which a total of 67 percent (3503 persons) responded. The main conclusion is that religious orientations affect Swedish political opinion. Demographic factors and ideological position only explain a small amount of the significant correlation between religious orientation and political opinion. Functional theorysignificant correlation between religious orientation and political opinion. Functional theory is not supported by the empirical data, while substantive theories get strong support.