Social cohesion in Switzerland under pressure
The majority of the Swiss population view the state of social cohesion in their country as either indifferent or negative. This was the result of a new representative survey conducted by the Centre for Religion, Economics and Politics (ZRWP) at the University of Lucerne.
Democratic societies are facing significant challenges. Rapid social change and multiple domestic crises are clashing with increasingly authoritarian global politics. In this context, the question of social cohesion is becoming ever more important. A recent pilot survey by the University of Lucerne offers the first representative insights into how social cohesion is perceived in Switzerland. The survey was conducted by Antonius Liedhegener, Professor of Politics and Religion at the ZRWP, and Dr Anastas Odermatt, sociologist of religion and research associate at the ZRWP, through DemoSCOPE with 1,104 respondents. The survey focuses on subjective assessments of current social cohesion compared to earlier times.
Mostly critical assessment of social cohesion
The results show that just under 40 per cent of the Swiss population rate social cohesion in Switzerland as positive (see red bars in the graph). A quarter of the population perceives social cohesion as “neither bad nor good”, while a third of respondents rate it negatively. In sharp contrast, the assessment of social cohesion for the time of their youth is much more positive (see blue bars). The responses concentrate here on the categories “rather good” and “good”. The perceived decline is therefore significant: while social cohesion in the past is predominantly rated as “good”, current assessments are dominated by indifferent and negative ratings. “The results of our pilot survey indicate that social cohesion in Switzerland is under pressure”, Antonius Liedhegener notes.
Cohesion equally rated across society
Remarkably, these perceptions are largely consistent across traditional socio-demographic factors such as age, gender or education level. Social cohesion, both for today and in the past, is rated similarly across all segments of the population. This finding highlights a broadly shared public perception of the quality of social cohesion in Switzerland.
Broader research context
The pilot survey marks an important step towards a planned larger study on the complex topic of social cohesion by the ZRWP of the University of Lucerne (see news release (in German) of 22 August 2024 on start-up funding). The aim of further research is to explore the causes and effects of social cohesion, as well as potential strategies to strengthen it in Switzerland. The ongoing research thus aims to address social cohesion as a key challenge for democratic societies. Its particular focus includes fostering knowledge exchange between science, society and politics.
Antonius Liedhegener, Anastas Odermatt
Social cohesion in Switzerland at risk? Pilot survey on the subjective assessment of social cohesion
Lucerne, 2024
