Although religious belief represents the main reason people belong or do not belong to a specific church or religious society, it is not always the only reason, and increasingly there are other factors that affect this belonging. These factors include the attitude toward institutionalized religion, and a preference for the value of belongingness plays an important role as well. Both of these factors are also influenced by the wider context of personal attitudes to morality and solidarity. In our research, we assumed that the value of belongingness is a cornerstone that, in specific ways, binds all the other mentioned factors, and is likewise related to religious belief. To confirm this assumption, we conducted research using a widespread cross-sectional survey. In total, we received data from 5175 respondents (2204 men, 2957 women, and 16 of another gender). The data were collected in the Czech Republic, which can be considered a country with a wide spectrum of different religious beliefs. All hypothetical assumptions were confirmed as statistically significant, and the analysis of the inner structure of these relationships showed their complexity. Because of the high complexity of the examined phenomena, only the main findings are discussed in this paper. Our conclusions confirm the increasing number of people for whom belonging is more important or takes precedence over religious belief. These conclusions led us to several recommendations for religious institutions or societies.

The model of financial risk prediction we developed and present in our paper is based on the theoretical assumption that there exists a significant relationship between actual economic situation and values. This assumption confirmed by the research influences the potential risk in financial behaviour and it becomes actual especially in the case of changing life conditions. The concept of the model is based on data received from 3768 respondents questioned across the Czech Republic. Measured variables were indexed, and the cluster and factor analyses were used for multivariate analysis. The model is unique in the combination of personal values projected into six generalized value types and developed economic indexes clustered in four types of economic situations. The primary purpose of the model is to identify the anticipated personal financial risk of clients. The model has fundamental applications as a diagnostic or auto-diagnostic tool in social work, counselling, psychotherapy, and other helping professions, or as a research instrument leading to various hypotheses and to the enhancement of theories concerning economic behaviour.

The aim of this study was to analyze the dependence of personal economic situation on gender, age, education, occupational status, field of work or study, family situation, and number of children in the family. The research was designed as cross-sectional ex post facto. The survey examined data collected through a structured questionnaire completed and returned by a total of 5175 respondents aged 15+ selected from the general population of the Czech Republic. The statistical significance of hypotheses was tested using χ² statistics, and the adjusted residuals z in each cell were calculated. The impacts of socio-demographic factors on specific economic situation were recognized and statistically confirmed. Compared to women, men show higher financial knowledge, which benefits them significantly. Economic situation worsens with increasing age. As education increases, the level of vulnerability decreases, and the individual’s economic situation improves. Protective factors include cohabitation with a partner and having a complete family. People without children are in the best financial situation. The situation gradually worsens with the number of children, and families with five or more children are typically in a negative economic situation with a high level of vulnerability. The specific contribution of our research lies in the inclusion of potential financial risks in the identification of people at risk. We recognized a high-risk group of people—women in a positive economic situation with a high level of risk.