Latvian nones and Christians: their value profiles

Abstract

. The present study explores the values of Christians as compared to those of the „religious nones” unchurched or religiously indifferent part of the Latvian society. The content of the term ‘value’ is often overlooked and the actual values of those who identify with religious tradition have remained insufficiently studied in Latvia. The authors use the theory of basic human values developed by Shalom H. Schwartz and the data from a representative survey carried out in 2015 to measure and compare the values of various religious groups. The logistic regression analysis identifies that one’s religious affiliation have a significant impact on the higher order values of conservation and self-transcendence but No effect on one’s openness to changes or self-enhancement. Borrowing from Scott Page’s ideas on diversity, the authors conclude that various religious groups (including nones) within a religiously highly diverse society should inevitably become more similar by various measures including their value-orientations.