In a context of social crisis, derived from the economic, climatic, and health crisis, polarization, and especially affective polarization, emerges as a key issue for understanding social complexity and the challenges for coexistence. We start from the premise that in this scenario of affective polarization, positional issues are of a moral nature, where historically religious communities have played a role as main providers of moral discourses. Currently, however, in a context of secularization and religious plurality, such as Catalonia, we question the role of religious communities and moral entrepreneurs as agents of polarization, or conversely, of dialogue and the construction of consensus spaces on positional issues related to religion, gender, and health. Specifically, we focus on the trans law, euthanasia, abortion, and covid vaccination. Therefore, it is about forecasting and assessing the scope of religious communities and moral entrepreneurs in moral issues of public interest. To do this, we adopt a methodology that combines two research techniques: Big Data analysis of social networks and in-depth qualitative interviews. The project aims to have a social and political impact, including the holding of participatory seminars with involved actors and the development of dissemination materials.
Project information
Principal Investigators: Maria del Mar Griera Llonch and Rosa Martinez-Cuadros
Funded by: General Directorate of Religious Affairs, Government of Catalonia
Dates: July 2023 – October 2024
Team:
Rafael Cazarin
Joseba García Martín
Gabriela Irrazábal
Martín Couto
Romina Martínez
Rosa Martínez
Mar Griera