Abstract (eng)
Starting out from current discussions on the definition of religiousness, this master’s thesis explores how the concept is measured empirically. I chose quantitative items of the European Value Study as an example to analyze inherent ideas about religiousness in surveys and ask first by which attributes and dimensions religiousness is measured and second, how these attributes and dimensions have changed in the past thirty years. By way of thematic analysis existing topics have been identified, characterized and systematically assigned to themes and dimensions of religiousness. Overall, four dimensions (affiliation, lifeworld [Lebenswelt], contents and boundaries) and fifteen themes have been identified. Their thematic characteristics and change over time imply a transformation of (measured) religiousness which is defined by increasing instability, increasing individualization and blurred boundaries of religious positions. These results may contribute to the ongoing theoretical discussions in the sociology of religion as well as to reflections on the methodological practices in the social sciences.