THE RISE OF POSTMATERIALIST VALUES AND CHANGING RELIGIOUS ORIENTATIONS, GENDER ROLES AND SEXUAL NORMS

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between Materialist and Postmaterialist values, and attitudes towards religious and social norms as well as behavioral indicators in industrial societies. It focusses on the question whether Postmaterialist values-indicated through a greater emphasis on such goals as self-<xpression, quality of life and belongingare related to a decline of traditional orientations. The empirical part is based on the data of a unique cross-national dataset, the World Values Survey 1981-1982, which compares religious and moral beliefs of populations of sixteen countries with various political, cultural and ethnic characteristics. It also takes into account behavioral indicators related to these norms, e.g. birth and divorce rates in these countries. According to the results, Postmaterialist values are closely related to a decline of traditional values. There also exist strong linkages between individual-level values and the actual behavior of the peoples in the given societies. But besides their detachment from traditional religion, Postmaterialists are significantly more likely than Materialists to spend time thinking about the meaning of life and, thus, may even have more potential interest in religion.