Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/960495
13 Yes No maltatoday SUNDAY 1 APRIL 2018 MaltaToday Survey THE secularisation drive of recent years does not appear to have alien- ated people from their Catholic roots, a MaltaToday survey has found. A whopping 93.9% of people still identify themselves as Catholic and any suggestion to remove Catholi- cism as the country's official religion is bound to encounter resistance. The survey found that 88.8% of peo- ple were against the removal from the Constitution of Catholicism as Mal- ta's official religion. An even stronger majority was against the removal of the crucifix from public buildings such as schools. Opposition to the constitutional change – suggested recently by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and unop- posed by the bishops – and the remov- al of the crucifix from public buildings runs uniformly across all age groups, all regions and is irrespective of politi- cal inclination. In a country that approved of di- vorce legislation with a strong major- ity in a 2011 referendum and intro- duced same-sex marriage last year, the survey results suggest that Cathol- icism could also be a cultural identity for many people, irrespective of how committed they are to the faith. The survey conducted between 21 and 27 March found that 3.9% of peo- ple identified themselves as atheist, with the next largest bloc being ad- herents of other Christian denomina- tions (1.3%). While Gozo registered a 100% Cath- olic subscription, the Northern Har- bour region had the 'lowest' adher- ence to the Catholic faith at 90.7%. The largest proportion of atheists live in the Northern and Northern Harbour regions, each with 5.8% of people who do not believe in God's existence. The Northern region is also home to the largest proportion of non-Catho- lic Christians with 2.4% of people ad- hering to other denominations. When asked whether they were practising members of their religion, 63.7% said Yes, while 22.3% con- sidered themselves lukewarm. Only 12.9% said they were non-practising. Maltese identity is still very much Catholic OVERALL 18-35 65+ Northern Northern Harbour PL PN Did not vote 6.4% 88.8% 8.1% 87.0% 89.1% 9.4% 84.5% 10.6% 85.3% 6.5% 88.8% 7.6% 86.8% 20.9% 75.3% Do you agree with removal of Catholicism from Constitution? (selected indicators) 0 Gozo Northern Northern Harbour PL PN Did not vote 18-35 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Catholic-Atheist divide (selected indicators) 93.9% 3.9% 1.3% 0.6% 0.3% Overall religious denomination Catholic Muslim Atheist Other Christian Agnostic Yes No Don't Know 18-35 81.9% 9.9% 4.4% 36-50 90.3% 4.1% 4.2% 51-65 96.8% 2.0% 0.6% 65+ 97.5% 2.5% 0.0% Gozo 97.6% 2.4% 0.0% Northern 84.4% 6.1% 4.9% N Harbour 92.0% 6.9% 0.0% S Eastern 87.4% 5.3% 6.4% S Harbour 91.8% 2.2% 3.4% Western 94.0% 5.0% 1.1% Voted PL 90.7% 3.6% 4.7% Voted PN 94.8% 3.9% 1.3% Voted AD 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% Did not vote 80.5% 9.5% 2.3% Yes No Don't Know 18-35 52.3% 32.8% 10.0% 36-50 61.2% 34.3% 2.5% 51-65 73.0% 19.8% 6.7% 65+ 79.2% 14.1% 6.7% Gozo 70.1% 15.7% 11.8% Northern 64.0% 24.7% 4.6% N Harbour 70.6% 23.6% 4.8% S Eastern 61.0% 30.6% 7.4% S Harbour 50.4% 37.2% 9.7% Western 75.8% 18.8% 5.5% Voted PL 43.3% 41.6% 11.7% Voted PN 89.6% 9.3% 1.0% Voted AD 67.6% 32.4% 0.0% Did not vote 67.0% 20.2% 10.5% Yes No Don't Know 18-35 60.7% 21.6% 13.1% 36-50 80.8% 9.0% 10.2% 51-65 81.6% 9.5% 8.3% 65+ 90.5% 4.9% 4.1% Gozo 81.4% 3.5% 15.1% Northern 76.5% 14.2% 5.3% N Harbour 74.2% 12.1% 12.3% S Eastern 73.5% 19.4% 6.1% S Harbour 76.7% 11.0% 9.7% Western 83.2% 8.7% 8.1% Voted PL 75.9% 12.1% 10.3% Voted PN 80.5% 11.3% 7.7% Voted AD 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% Did not vote 57.2% 22.5% 18.0% Overall trust 90.8% Least trusted by youths (9.9%), the Northern Harbour (6.9%), and non-voters (9.5%) Overall trust 65% Least trusted by youths (32%), Labour voters (41%) and Southern Harbour voters (37%) Overall trust 76% 81% of Gozitans trust him, as well as 76% and 80% of Labour and Nationalist voters respectively Non-answers and 'don't knows' have been removed in some the infographics, so results may not total 100%