Juventude e religião: dinâmicas religiosas dos estudantes da região metropolitana de Fortaleza

Abstract

This study aims to understand how young students from high schools in Fortaleza and its metropolitan region experience, label, and consume religion. In this research, religion is understood as a system of beliefs and practices related to the sacred, which contributes to the construction of religious identities among youth. The main findings indicate that young people have been experiencing religion in an increasingly individualized manner—either through the growth of those who identify as having no religion, or through the ongoing process of religious deinstitutionalization. Furthermore, the study highlights how these students express their religiosity within the school environment, revealing new forms of engagement and negotiation with the sacred in this space. The research also discusses Brazilian religious pluralism, the phenomenon of religious intolerance amidst modern transformations, and the role of the school within contemporary religious dynamics. The methodology employed was qualitative research, involving the production of statistical data through online questionnaires, interpreted in light of Weberian interpretive sociology. Based on the categories of religion, youth, and education, it was possible to understand youth religiosities in a relational manner. By the end of the study, a diverse picture of youth religious identities and their interactions with the social world was constructed.