Живот у верски хомогеној или хетерогеној средини

Abstract

Various religions, their number and spread as well as interrelations have changed with time and have become more complex as society was developing and one political power replaced another. The richness of diversity like »a curse of small differences« led to the cultivation of tolerance in good times and waging of wars in vicious times. The paper presents the results of investigations on attitudes of secondary-school students in Serbia to religion and religious pluralism. 592 secondary-school students from 1st – 4th grades participated in the study. The results show that one half of respondents are tolerant and do not see any danger in other religions. Adolescents from religiously and ethnically homogeneous families, who find their nationality and religion important, are more inclined to believe that one is safer in a homogeneous environment. Orientation to universal categories, such as welfare, material security, humanity to all people and need to actively display love is connected with willingness to live together with others and different. Students having higher academic achievement are more open to diversity. Those having friends of different religion, or living in religiously mixed families, possess experience of living with others at both the levels of personal choice and present life in such environment.