Religious formation in the Franciscan youth movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Throughout history, the Franciscan Order has played a significant role in preserving the national and religious identity of Croats in BIH. In this research, we tried to assess to what extent one part of it, i.e. the Franciscan youth of BIH, contributes to the religious formation of young people in the context of the current social situation. The work is based on research conducted among nearly three thousand members of the Franciscan youth of BIH. The aim of the research was to analyze the sociodemographic structure of the members, to examine their motivation for joining the Franciscan youth, to evaluate the formation and religious practice, to investigate the previous experience and to recognize potential fruits in personal religious life. Members of the Franciscan youth could freely and anonymously access the digital survey through April 2024. Out of three thousand of members of the Franciscan youth of BiH, 820 respondents filled out the survey, which makes up a sample of 27.3%. The results of the research showed that the family, although the leading factor, does not occupy the dominant place in the acquisition of religious formation among the respondents. Furthermore, although the majority of respondents comes from a rural environment, their parents do not usually have a lower level of education. Respondents in this research are somewhat more traditional in their understanding and acceptance of religion and more closed to public testimony compared to respondents from other research.