Keywords

These passages from official Swiss government sources reflect the obvious historical importance of Christian religion in institutional affairs in Switzerland. This case study seeks to briefly describe the possible impacts of the two major historical religions (Protestants and Catholics) on Switzerland’s institutions, and thus on the country’s prosperity.

Switzerland is the world’s oldest democratic nation-state, the oldest federal state in Europe and the world’s most competitive country (World Economic Forum, 2016, 2017). By international standards, its institutional structure is exceptionally well-organised. Such outstanding characteristics are worthy of admiration considering the challenges facing an ethnically, linguistically, socioeconomically, and religiously diverse society. Moreover, such social divisions do not necessarily all cluster territorially (Gruner as cited in Obinger, 2009, p. 180). The following sections consider the roots of prosperity and Christian religion in Switzerland.

1 Religious Roots of Swiss Prosperity

Obinger’s (2009) detailed historical study concludes “that religion is indeed important for explaining the developmental trajectory of the Swiss welfare state …” (p. 177). It also extends significantly beyond Weber’s (1905) understanding of Protestant rationality and hard work suggested by the FDFA (2018) (see citation at the beginning of this chapter). For Obinger (2009), religion has impacted Swiss social policy in complex and indirect ways. He identifies at least two channels of influence: first, the country’s heterogeneous religious make-up, and thus its denominational divide, which has profoundly impacted state and institution building in Swiss society. Secondly, Switzerland’s party system reflects the impact of religion on public policy in the “complexion of the federal government” (Obinger, 2009, p. 177). Both channels concern the strong religious tensions that dominated the modern Swiss state and nation-building from the outset. In this light, the next sections analyse some historical institutional changes and several variations concerning the country’s religious distribution.

2 Roman Catholics and Protestants in Switzerland

While Switzerland has traditionally been religiously diverse, Reformed Protestantism has predominated since the Protestant Reformation (Baumann & Stolz, 2009). However, since the 1970s Roman Catholicism has been the predominant religious denomination (see initial FDFA citation). Figure 18.1 maps Switzerland’s denominations nearly two centuries after the beginning of the Protestant Reformation (sixteenth century).

Fig. 18.1
A map of Switzerland with the following cities labeled. Zurich, Lucerne, Bern, Chur, Fribourg, Lausanne, Geneva, and Sion. The legends read, reformed, Roman Catholic, mixed denominations, mostly reformed, and mostly Roman Catholic.

Denominations in Switzerland (1700) (adapted from Montandon, Gilbert, & Altermatt 1991 as cited in Baumann & Stolz, 2009, p. 100); used with permission. Author’s translation of the French original

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The dark grey areas represent those regions where Roman Catholicism persisted after the Protestant Reformation. Notably, they correspond mainly to the central cantons of Lucerne and its environs, Fribourg, north-western Bern (present-day Jura), and the southern cantons of Valais and Ticino. The bright grey areas represent the Reformed cantons. These are Zürich, Bern, and Basel (i.e. today’s German-speaking region), and Lausanne and Geneva in the French-speaking part. The striped and mid-grey areas represent mixed regions, some more Roman Catholic, others more Protestant. Today’s cantons of St. Gallen and Grisons were fairly diverse.

This religious landscape was the result of successive wars between Roman Catholics and Protestants during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Until the nineteenth century, religion meant state religion. Changing denomination or marrying across denominational boundaries involved losing one’s citizenship and led to banishment. Therefore, Protestants and Catholics lived as “clearly defined political entities” (Head-König, 2017, p. 24). Moreover, such traditional denominational divides have determined the major trends and cultural characteristics of Switzerland’s cantons to this day (Baumann & Stolz, 2009, p. 49).

3 Federalism and Liberalism

In political terms, Catholic-Conservatives have traditionally been federalist. This antecedent originated in the same founding document of the Confederacy, the Federal Charter of 1291 between the communes of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden (Catholic cantons until today) (Comité pour une Nouvelle Histoire de la Suisse, 2006). Liberals have been anti-clerical and centralist-oriented, and sided with the Protestant endeavour to overthrow the ancient order from the 1830s onward (Gould as cited in Obinger, 2009, p. 180). Liberal ideology inherently involved an attack on the Roman Catholic Church-State and its preponderant role in education and other areas of society (p. 180).

In 1848, the Swiss Federal State resulted from a late religious war (Gruner, 1977; Obinger, 2009, p. 180). Protestants emerged victorious from this denominational inter-cantonal civil war (Sonderbund), which meant that Protestants and non-denominational liberals were largely responsible for writing the Federal Constitution of 1848 (Obinger, 2009). Moreover, they have also dominated federal power until recently. By contrast, Roman Catholics have mostly been a political minority (not numerically) (Campiche & De Rham, 1977, p. 86; Girod, 1977). Social Democrats and Christian (Catholics) Democrats together held the government majority from 1959 to 2004. However, the existence of a significant and robust Catholic Democracy is barely evident (Linder as cited in Haenni, 2009).

According to Obinger (2009), the 1848 Constitution, whose liberal principles were largely preserved up until the introduction of the revised federal constitution of 1999), was imposed by the liberals (Freisinn) against the will of Catholic-Conservative forces. Federalism “was a compromise between the more centralist-oriented Liberals and the federalist Catholic-Conservatives” (Kölz as cited in Obinger, 2009, p. 180). Consequently, the Federal Constitution realises core liberal ideas such as “people’s sovereignty, secularism, and the creation of a national market through the removal of trade barriers between the cantons” (Obinger, 2009, p. 180). Also, the creation of the Swiss Federal Constitution and state organisation involved a bottom-up process influenced chiefly by and borrowing from the “liberal constitutions that emerged at the cantonal level from 1830 onward” (Kölz as cited in Obinger, 2009, p. 180).

Furthermore, the Swiss Federal Constitution used United States federalism as a blueprint (p. 180). This circumstance is linked to American Protestantism. In the USA, a minority dissenting Protestant view of a separated church and state became dominant in the Constitution and federalism (Miller, 2012). Similarly, in Switzerland, the demand for a strict separation of church and state was also rooted in Protestantism (Haenni, 2009). In the Swiss Confederation, “the free, reformed, nonconformist, dissenting currents of Protestantism have played an influential role” in the country’s institutions (Manow, 2004, p. 5; Manow & van Kersbergen, 2009).

Swiss liberalism for its part forced the transition from a loose confederation to a federal state and also sought to impose various ideas of the French Revolution (Rosenberg as cited in Haenni, 2009). However, liberal religious ideals (mainly Protestant) have also shaped the freedoms consecrated in the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Constitutional preamble invoking God (cited above) indicates an obviously religious influence rather than a secular (laïque) one (Zeugin, 2006, p. 14).

4 Economic Backwardness of the Roman Catholic Periphery

Following the 1848 Constitution, Swiss Roman Catholics perceived the liberal centralist government as a threat to traditional Catholic norms and way of life. Federalism provided local autonomy and an institutional shelter, and thus enabled preserving the privileges and influence of the Roman Church-State in Catholic regions. As a result, Catholics concentrated in rural areas where they maintained their traditions, created a Catholic counterculture at the cantonal level against modernisation, industrialisation, government centralisation, and secularisation. They mostly remained firmly attached to the ancient order and opposed developments in science and technology (Obinger, 2009, p. 190). Moreover, the Catholic periphery “reinforced antimodernist and anti-centralist attitudes” due to its economic backwardness and dependency on the more industrialised liberal centres (Altermatt as cited in Obinger, 2009, p. 190).

4.1 Education in Roman Catholic Cantons

Under the Federal Constitution of 1848, the cantons enjoyed almost exclusive jurisdiction in education and welfare, among other matters. Catholics exploited such local policies of autonomy to protect the strong influence of the Roman Catholic Church-State on education and marital affairs (Obinger, 2009, pp. 190–191).

Stadler (as cited in Head-König, 2017) mentions the difference between a conservative and a more liberal-radical Catholicism in what he calls “Catholic dualism”. Conservative Catholicism was prevalent in rural regions where the first sector (agriculture and livestock) was predominant (most Catholic cantons such as Valais, Ticino, Jura, and Schwyz). In contrast, liberal Catholicism emerged “in regions whose population tended to emancipate itself partially from the stronghold of the Church” (p. 28; e.g. in Lucerne, where counter-Reformation Jesuits had influenced the educational system).

Concerning the principal type of Catholicism in most Catholic cantons (conservative), Head-König (2017) refers to the socio-economic power of the Roman Church-State:

… rural Catholic societies were governed by and virtually saturated with religious precepts. The Church not only controlled church attendance, the observation of the numerous religious holidays, the obligation to participate in religious processions (Joris 1973, 94) and to receive Holy Communion at Easter, but also instructed adults not only on their moral shortcomings and sexual disorders, but also in respect of evening gatherings and evening schools (p. 45).

Head-König further dedicates a section of her discussion to “The Maintenance of Ignorance”. This term describes the strategies for keeping people ignorant as one of the most potent tools used by the Catholic Church-State to influence social behaviour. Such strategies were widely deployed in Catholic enclaves, at least until during the interwar period, and included: limiting contact with the outside world, both physically and intellectually; limiting access to information and to authorised literature; influencing the education system; overseeing emigration (Head-König, 2017, pp. 46–47).

5 Cultural Struggle (Kulturkampf)

The cultural struggle between Catholic-conservative and liberal anti-clerical forces erupted in Europe with the declaration of papal infallibility in 1870 and with the First Vatican Council of 1871. The Council opposed the separation of church and state, secularisation, and scientific progress (Linder, 2005, p. 37; Haenni, 2009, p. 38; Obinger, 2009, p. 181). At the time, the total revision of the 1874 Federal Constitution constituted a response to the strictures of the Vatican Council. It included denominational exemptions, which were directed particularly against the authoritarianism of the Roman Catholic Church. Among others, Kulturkampf measures sought to control Catholic religious education, Church appointments and properties. Consequently, the Catholic Church no longer enjoyed undisputed influence, not even in Catholic cantons (Head-König, 2017, p. 27). According to Gérard Pfulg, a Catholic author, amidst the Kulturkampf, Catholics were presented as civilisation enemies; they were reproached for their blind attachment to the Roman See, and their Swiss patriotism was, therefore doubted (Pfulg as cited in Schmid, 1981, p. 70).

The Kulturkampf was strongly felt in the Bernese Jura and in the region of Geneva (Hafner as cited in Schmid, 1981, p. 70). At the federal level, a critical example of the Kulturkampf was the banning of the—consistently loyal to the pope—Jesuit order in article 51 of the 1874 Constitution:

The order of the Jesuits and its affiliated societies shall not be accepted in any part of Switzerland. Their members are prohibited from exercising any office in the Church or at schools.Footnote 1

Historically, the Jesuit order has been associated with the Counter-Reformation and political intrigues (O’Malley, 1993). Several European and other countries (including Catholic Spain and Portugal) forced them into exile. Even Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Jesuit order from the Roman Catholic Church just before the French Revolution. However, the Jesuits managed to gradually re-establish themselves in the Church and in those countries from which they had been expelled. Switzerland lifted their ban in 1973 via a national referendum (Gilles-Attinger, 2002).

6 Diplomatic Relations Between the Swiss Confederation and the Roman See

The Protestant Reformation had a lasting influence on Swiss politics, at home and abroad. Therefore, Swiss diplomatic relations with the Roman See have been fraught by tensions since the Protestant Reformation (Python, 1994, p. 478). The Swiss Federal Council ordered the papal nuncio in Lucerne to leave Switzerland in the Kulturkampf in 1873. A nuncio returned to Bern 50 years later. However, the Swiss Confederation remained without a diplomatic mission in the Vatican (Roman See) until 1991, when a non-resident special envoy was appointed. Then, since 2004, the Swiss government promoted this special envoy to a non-resident Ambassador to the Vatican (Roman See) (currently the Ambassador of Switzerland in Ljubljana, Slovenia) (Amrein, 2012; FDFA, 2018).

6.1 Cantonal Concordats

As the diplomatic relations between the Swiss Confederation and the Roman See were consistently fragile, the possibility of a Concordat at the federal level would have been inconceivable. However, valid agreements with the Roman Catholic Church-State exist at the cantonal level, especially on administrative matters concerning dioceses, bishops, and parishes. The following cantons and municipalities have such agreements: Cantons: Aargau (1828); Bern (1828, 1864); Fribourg (1924); St. Gallen (1845); Lucerne (1926); Thurgau (1828); Ticino (1884); Municipalities: Chur (1870); Basel (1884, 1968, 1978) (Corral & Petschen, 2004); (Corral, 2014).

6.2 Pontifical Swiss Guard

The pontifical Swiss Guard has existed since the Protestant Reformation (1506). It participated in military combats during the Italian wars and was briefly disbanded during the French Revolution. The current 100–110 “Defenders of the [Catholic] Church freedom” (according to their papal title of 1512) must be Swiss Catholic soldiers. Some even descend from Guard families (Python, 1994).

7 Current Confessional Ties in the Swiss Population

In Swiss politics, religion still plays a role at the institutional level. Examples include (1) the involvement of ecclesiastical institutions in education and social aspects, (2) the consultation of constitutional articles to the Churches before voting, (3) the military chaplaincy in the army (Campiche & De Rham, 1977, p. 85).

Regarding population distribution, the distribution of Roman Catholics and Protestants in the Swiss Confederation has long persisted. The mainly Protestant enclaves of 1700 (Fig. 18.1) have largely remained Protestant as Fig. 18.2 shows. The same generally applies to Roman Catholic enclaves.

Fig. 18.2
A map of Switzerland. The legends are in a foreign language. There are labels on the map such as V S, V D, S H, T G, and B E.

Denominations by Cantons (2000) (Stapferhaus Lenzburg 2006 as cited in Baumann & Stolz, 2007, p. 44). © 2007 transcript Verlag, Bielefeld. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License (Author’s translation of this figure’s legend: Protestantisch = Protestants; Römisch-katolisch = Roman Catholics; Andere Religionen = Other religions; Keine Zugehörigkeit = No affiliation; Absolute Zahlen = Absolute numbers; exklusive «Ohne Angabe» = excluding “not specified”)

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Nevertheless, analysing data trends during the twentieth century reveals drastic changes in population distribution. Table 18.1 shows demographic changes in the last two centuries for both Roman Catholics and Protestants. A sustained decrease in the Protestant population, a sustained increase of Roman Catholics, and particularly an increase of “other” (religions and non-religions) are evident.

Table 18.1 Changes in the demographic distribution of Protestants and Roman Catholics in Switzerland in the last two centuries (adapted from Head-König, 2017; FDFA, 2018; Federal Statistical Office, 2017)
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Although the majority of the Swiss population officially belonged to the two main churches (Catholic or Protestant) until 1960, early signs of secularisation had already manifested in 1900 in larger Swiss towns. Besides, secularisation affected both Catholics (in Basel, around only one third were practising members of the faith) and Protestants (in Zürich, only one in ten attended church on Sundays) (Head-König, 2017).

Subsequently, after the 1970s, not only did Roman Catholics outstrip Protestants in numbers, but the most important historical change in the last half-century was the profound “de-Christianisation” of Swiss society. Characteristic of this shift is a profound decrease in the proportion of both Catholics and Protestants in relation to the total number of inhabitants. This transformation was countered by an essential increase in secular groups (agnosticism and atheism), non-membership, as well as by other religious groups (see Fig. 18.3, and Tables 18.1 and 18.2). This pattern is observable both in Switzerland and across other Western European countries (Berger, 1999; Todd & Zurlo, 2016).

Fig. 18.3
A stacked bar graph titled, evolution of religious landscape, permanent resident population 15 years or over. It presents percentage for 8 categories for the years 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2019. The highest value is for Roman Catholic and Protestant Reformed in 1970 at 45%.

Evolution of religious landscape in Switzerland (1970–2000) (Federal Statistical Office, 2020)

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Roman Catholics are currently in the majority in most of the cantons and cities, as well as in the entire Swiss Confederation. To compare the urban-rural divide in Switzerland, Table 18.2 presents the proportion of religious adherents in some of the main Swiss cities and cantons in 2018.

Table 18.2 Proportions of religious adherents in different Swiss cantons and cities in 2018 (adapted from Federal Statistical Office, 2020)
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However, the current proportions of religious adherents alone do not speak of the religiosity of the population, and even less, of the social effects of religion (Hayward & Kemmelmeier, 2011; Esping-Andersen, 1996; Barro & McCleary, 2003; McCleary & Barro, 2006), (see Sect. 5.3). In turn, “current social norms” are the “legacy of prior religious beliefs” (Glaeser & Glendon, 1998, p. 431) and owe more to the historical and institutional weight of religion than to its contemporary influence (Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Norris & Inglehart, 2004; Arruñada, 2010; Chaves & Cann, 1992; Wilde et al., 2010). Therefore, regardless of the higher proportion of Roman Catholics or the secularisation of the society, the Swiss institutional structure still responds to a traditional Protestant and liberal influence (Obinger, 2009; Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Python, 1994,; Campiche & De Rham, 1977). Moreover, Protestant churches have traditionally been entangled with the political structure of the cantons, as they are, in fact, “canton churches” (Gould, 1999 and Cattacin et al., 2003 as cited in Obinger, 2009, p. 180).

8 Competitiveness of the Swiss Cantons and Religion

High competitiveness in Switzerland might be associated with the federal model of government. Among other aspects, Swiss federalism is empirically related to sustainable growth, business development, efficient government, and increasing social capital. The federal system also encourages the cantons to compete over tax rates and other business conditions (Feld et al., 2017).

The USA, which also has a federal government, is the second most competitive country in the world (World Economic Forum, 2016). However, such an argument cannot be generalised. Sudan, Iraq, India, and Mexico, among others, also have federal-type governments and are not as competitive as the USA or Switzerland. Likewise, federalism (although important) alone does not explain the significant differences in competitiveness between Swiss cantons.

The previous maps (Figs. 18.1 and 18.2) show the predominant Protestant or Roman Catholic historical enclaves that have existed in the Swiss Confederation over the last few centuries until the present (2000). Compared in terms of current competitiveness among Swiss cantons, Protestant Cantons are as a rule most competitive, Roman Catholic ones least competitive.

Swiss competitiveness concentrates in the northern, central, and western regions. The southern and eastern territories are the least competitive (see Fig. 18.4). According to UBS Switzerland AG (2016), mountainous topography limits the competitiveness of the large low-competitive southern cantons (Valais, Ticino, Grisons) and other small mountainous cantons. Nonetheless, when compared internationally, even the least competitive cantons in Switzerland, achieve higher values in innovation per capita than France, Italy, or Austria. Exceptionally, Uri, the least innovative canton in Switzerland with the highest proportion of Roman Catholics, attains similar innovation values per capita than Italy (UBS Switzerland AG, 2016; Federal Office of Statistics, 2017).

Fig. 18.4
A map of Switzerland with 10 cities labeled such as Zurich, Lucerne, and Bern. The legends are in a foreign language.

Cantonal competitiveness indicator (UBS Switzerland AG, 2016; used by permission of the authors)

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The dark green areas show the most competitive regions (Fig. 18.4). They correspond to Protestant cantons (e.g. Zürich, Geneva, Lausanne, Basel, Bern) or mixed ones (e.g. Thurgau and St. Gallen). Decreasing to bright green, competitiveness drops to the dark red territories, the least competitive ones. These are Roman Catholic cantons (e.g. Valais, Jura, and Ticino) or mixed ones (e.g. Grisons). Exceptions are Lucerne and Zug, which, although predominantly Roman Catholic, are also highly competitive.

This review suggests that various factors in combination explain the roots of competitiveness in Switzerland. Two factors seem crucial for competitiveness. First, environment and geography: Generally, a canton located in the mountains has more difficulties in developing infrastructure and services than cantons in flat areas.

The second reason adds an important aspect to the first. Before the Protestant Reformation (sixteenth century), even flat areas, where competitiveness is concentrated today (e.g. Zürich), had a mainly rural economy with no tendency towards economic expansion. However, subsequent industrialisation increased literacy and human capital, two of the principal contributions of the Protestant Reformation (Cantoni, 2015; Becker et al., 2016; Becker & Woessmann, 2009; Comité pour une Nouvelle Histoire de la Suisse, 2006).

Moreover, both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism persisted in Switzerland after the Protestant Reformation (Figs. 18.1 and 18.2). Although the number of adherents is not as significant as six decades ago, the longstanding consequences of liberal and conservative ideologies are still evident in institutions. Conservative Catholicism retreated to the mountains, thus preserving the privileges of the Church-State and serving “The Maintenance of Ignorance” (Head-König, 2017). Consequently, mountainous Catholic Cantons such as Uri, Jura, Valais, and Appenzell Innerrhoden have, even to date, the lowest human capital (i.e. education) in the Swiss Confederation (UBS Switzerland AG, 2016, p. 13). Still, most of these cantons are even more innovative per inhabitant than surrounding Catholic countries with diverse geographical conditions (flat and mountainous). The influence of liberal federal institutions may have nuanced the effect of low human capital, thus making Catholic cantons more innovative.

On the other hand, liberal Catholicism mainly remained in the flat regions and cities (e.g. Lucerne) and benefitted from educational centres, infrastructure, and services (Clark & Kaiser, 2003). In this respect, both Catholic and Protestant regions in Switzerland profited from the Reformation and its influence on federal institutions.

More importantly, the long-term effect of the Reformation is still evident in Switzerland today, culturally and institutionally (regardless of the current low religiosity). Volonté (2015)’s empirical study of 753 firm-years found that Protestants and Swiss-Germans tend to prevent concentrations of power (i.e. two-tiered board structures in corporate management). Conversely, Roman Catholics and the Swiss-French tend to tolerate strong leadership and hierarchical structures (i.e. single-tier boards) in Switzerland.

The following subsections (18.9–18.11) synthesise and analyse the empirical information collected for Switzerland in terms of CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis).

9 Empirical Analysis and CDA for Switzerland (1. Prosperity)

9.1 Textual Analysis (Theological)

The Christian (i.e. biblical) principle of prosperity is associated with obeying the Commandments (set of moral laws). A fairly harmonious discourse exists among Protestant stakeholders regarding this principle. This might be due to conformity to the original Sola Scriptura principle of the Protestant Reformation.

Among the below stakeholders (Table 18.3), the Protestant Free Pastor (g) refers to the Old Testament and to more recent examples of disobedience wreaking havoc on civilisations, whereas obedience to the biblical principles ensured prosperity. Similarly, the Independent Protestant Believer (n) links Swiss precision and perfection with the New Testament principle of achieving perfection for a perfect God, rather than for imperfect humans. On the other hand, Roman Catholic stakeholders prefer a somewhat more secular (non-theological) approach to prosperity in Switzerland. None of the Catholic interviews referred to a biblical principle. The Catholic Church-Government Stakeholder intermediary (q) is skeptical about a possible religious (or biblical) relationship between prosperity and industrialisation. Nonetheless, (q) mentions “Catholic piety” and “Sacramental theology” as possible explanations of the rural trend in Catholic cantons and cites other material reasons. Protestantism has heavily criticised sacramental theology for lacking an entirely biblical basis (Witte, 2002).

Table 18.3 Principles of prosperity according to stakeholders interviewed in Switzerland (Source: Author’s figure)
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9.2 Analysis of Discourse Practice (Theoretical Triangulation)

Like Fukuyama (1995), the Free Church Pastor (f) links Swiss people’s trustworthiness with high productivity and quality, and with a possible religious (Protestant) influence à la Weber. The Protestant Free Pastor (g) mentions that the elite controls education in hierarchical (e.g. Roman Catholic or Orthodox) societies. This argument is in line with Head-König’s (2017, p. 45) analysis of Swiss Catholic cantons (Sect. 18.4.) Likewise, the Free Protestant Believer (n) establishes an explicit theoretical relation with Fukuyama (1995). Lastly, for the non-practising Catholic Academic (l) “Protestant chauvinism […] perverts Max Weber’s original line of reasoning”, which is frequently used to explain the prosperity of nations. After harshly criticising Weber’s theory of the Protestant work ethic, stakeholder (l) refers implicitly to the theory of existential security (Norris & Inglehart, 2004). The latter explains why society becomes more secularised when enough freedom and security exist. Stakeholder (l) was most critical of a possible relationship between religion and prosperity.

9.3 Analysis of Social Practice

The Roman Catholic Believer (m) positively associates a more conservative Catholic mindset with examples of helpfulness. However, stakeholder (m) links a conservative mentality with a “medieval economy”, and thus partly explains the fact that most Catholic cantons are not as industrialised as Protestant ones. Catholic Church-Government intermediary Stakeholder (q) partly agrees with the relationship established between a conservative mentality and a medieval economy, when referring to “a less rational … Catholic piety”. Various authors, for instance, Obinger (2009) and Head-König (2017) have provided evidence that the connection between Catholicism and a medieval economy extends beyond an intuitive link (see also Sects. 18.3–18.4). Likewise, the Protestant Free Pastor (f) states that most Catholic cantons are located in the mountains, which also partly explains why they are less competitive. This view concurs with a recent analysis of cantonal competitiveness (UBS Switzerland AG, 2016). As such, this evidence shows that the combination of at least two factors—geography AND religion, instead of one OR the other—greatly determines cantonal competitiveness.

9.3.1 Law and Institutions

The Catholic Church-Government intermediary Stakeholder (q) recognises a mutual relationship between denomination and industrialisation. Stakeholder (q) also provides relevant examples, including the causes of the Reformation in Zürich and in Basel and the desire to free oneself “from the control of the hierarchical [Catholic] Church”.

10 Empirical Analysis and CDA for Switzerland (2. Corruption)

10.1 Textual Analysis (Theological)

The Scriptures explicitly encourage believers to refrain from accepting bribes (Table 18.4). In addition, the three last Commandments of the Decalogue (8. Thou shalt not steal; 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor; and 10. Thou shalt not covet (…) any thing that is thy neighbor’s) should provide the conscious Christian believer to abstain from corrupt activities.

Table 18.4 Principles of corruption according to stakeholders interviewed in Switzerland (Source: Author’s figure)
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Similar to the above prosperity analysis for Switzerland (Sect. 18.9), Protestant stakeholders refer to guiding biblical principles. Stakeholder (n) (i.e. Independent Free Protestant Believer) asserts that the Bible is the source of truth. This recalls the Sola Scriptura principle of Protestantism and contrasts with the relative truth characteristic of the Greco-Roman background. The Protestant Reformed Evangelical Pastor (h) also reflects on the discussion of “truth” by drawing attention to the biblical dialogue between Jesus, a Jew, and Pilate, a Roman. For stakeholder (h), both Protestantism and Rabbinic Judaism consider the Scriptures the source of truth, which is incompatible with relativistic Roman philosophy. Therefore, in line with the previous prosperity analysis, Roman Catholic stakeholders do not refer to a consolidated Scriptural basis, but instead to a variegated one, specifically associating corruption with secular issues. Such variegated associations of Roman Catholic stakeholders concur more with the Aristotelian “non-absolute” and “mean” relative points that Selling (2018) considers typical of Roman Catholic ethics.

10.2 Analysis of Discourse Practice (Theoretical Triangulation)

For the Roman Catholic Priest (a), Switzerland is a small country where citizens can organise themselves in associations in which they can participate and are accountable for their actions. These characteristics, among others, distinguish Switzerland (i.e. make the country more competitive and less corrupt) from other countries, according to a Catholic priest (a). This argument concurs with Ostrom (2015), who explains the mechanisms underlying participatory institutions (e.g. Swiss alpine pastures management).

10.3 Analysis of Social Practice

The Roman Catholic Theologian (e) believes that corruption is concealed in Switzerland. He mentions the dual Protestant discourse in this respect, but admits that Protestantism has stricter honesty and responsibility principles. The Protestant Reformed Evangelical Pastor (h) makes a similar observation on double standards, which he identifies in Roman Catholicism, where doctrine and lived reality are opposed or different, while in Protestantism lower standards are expected to be fulfiled.

On the other hand, the Non-practising Catholic Academic (l) identifies with Nordic Protestants rather than with Italian Catholics. This exemplifies McSweeney’s (2015) argument about the impossibility of Roman Catholicism constituting a self-contained cultural unit. Furthermore, in Switzerland, as in other Protestant countries, the Reformation secularised both the state and local Roman Catholicism (Becker et al., 2016; Manow & van Kersbergen, 2009; Inglehart & Baker, 2000). Thus, the self-identification of a Catholic stakeholder (l) with a Nordic Protestant is somewhat foreseeable.

Stakeholder (n) (i.e. Independent Free Protestant Believer) mentions a duality of truth relations in the German-Swiss cultural context as opposed to a Latin context. This view is linked to the concepts developed by Hall (1990) (low-context for German-Swiss and high-context for Latin societies). Stakeholder (n) also refers to the roots of corruption in Roman Catholic doctrines. These include the concept of indulgences used by Jorge Bergoglio, also known as “Pope Francis”, to promote events like the Catholic World Youth Day in 2013 (Kington, 2013).

10.3.1 Law and Institutions

Among the interviewed stakeholders, the Catholic priest (a) mentions that the Swiss government forced the Roman Catholic Church-State to adopt democratic practices on Swiss territory from the nineteenth century. He further asserts that the Swiss managed to create a parallel church law to Catholic canon law. This argument concurs with the legal principles and Protestant revolutions explained in Sect. 8.3.4. Here, the Catholic Church-Government Stakeholder (q) explains that the current Swiss mechanisms of participation and transparency in the fiscal management and elections of priests and bishops in the Swiss Catholic Church are unique worldwide. The Catholic Stakeholder (q) links this to the Protestant Reformation. Such notions complement Obinger’s (2009) and Python’s (1994) observations on the profound influence of the Protestant Reformation on Swiss politics and institutions (Sects. 18.2–18.6).

Similarly, the Independent Catholic Believer (m) relates two essential factors to the prevalence of high transparency in Switzerland: federalism and direct democracy. Both factors have positively affected transparency (and prosperity) (Obinger, 2009) (Sect. 18.3). Democracy is also related to Protestantism (Woodberry, 2012). Conversely, the Roman Catholic Church-State has a monarchic structure, which historically has opposed democratic systems (Cook, 2012).

The Catholic Church-Government intermediary (Stakeholder q) points to the efficiency of social control in small Swiss towns (in line with the Roman Catholic priest (a). Also, similarly to the Roman Catholic Theologian (e), Stakeholder (q) challenges the reputation of Swiss transparency with specific examples such as the morality of the banks.

11 Empirical Analysis and CDA for Switzerland (3. Church-State Relations)

11.1 Textual Analysis (Theological)

The New Testament clearly distinguishes between earthly (government) and spiritual (heavenly) powers, which are and should maintain separated (Table 18.5). According to the biblical principle of the separation of powers, the Protestant Free Church Pastor 1 (f) asserts that the attitude of the Swiss federal government is secular. Similarly, the Ecumenical Pastor (i) explains that the non-hierarchical organisation of the federal government and the Protestant Church even influence Roman Catholicism in Switzerland.

Table 18.5 Principles of church-state relations according to stakeholders interviewed in Switzerland (Source: Author’s figure)
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11.2 Analysis of Discourse Practice (Theoretical Triangulation)

The Catholic Church-Swiss Government intermediary (q) describes the Reformation and the liberal influence on the separation of church and state in terms of the democratic scheme of the Swiss Catholic Church, which is unique worldwide. Such historical analyses concur with Obinger’s (2009) review, while the Protestant influence on the separation of church and state is consistent with Miller’s (2012) framework.

11.3 Analysis of Social Practice

11.3.1 Law and Institutions

Although the Swiss federal state is laic, church and state have never been totally separate in Switzerland. Moreover, the influence of religion on institutions is evident at the following levels:

a) Supranational: The Roman Catholic Church-State has gained ever greater political influence through its embassy in Bern (Nunciature) that no other church has. At the same time, the federal government increasingly acknowledges the state sovereignty and legitimacy of the Roman Catholic Church-State (e.g. by strengthening diplomatic channels and by appointing an ambassador to the Holy See). (Stakeholders: Roman Catholic Priest 2 (b); Protestant Free Church Pastor 1 (f); Swiss Federal Government Officer (p); s) Swiss Diplomatic Officer). These findings substantiate Obinger (2009) and Python (1994).

b) National: The Independent, Catholic Believer (m, employee) and the Independent Free Protestant Believer (n, academic) both mention church taxes and cathedral administration as two examples of a non-complete separation of church and state. The Academic Expert-Lawyer (k) outlines a possible way of religious influence taking effect, namely by people’s beliefs directly influencing laws and policies through direct democracy. Both Stakeholder (k) and the Catholic Church-Swiss Government intermediary (q) acknowledge that the former Protestant and liberal influence diminished the power of the Catholic Church-State at the federal level; this is in line with Obinger (2009).

c) Cantonal/regional/local: The Catholic Church-Swiss Government intermediary (q) explains pronounced differences between German-speaking, French and Italian-speaking, and mixed-denomination cantons. The Academic Expert-Lawyer (k) explains that the clergy has long been very present in the political process in several Catholic cantons. Moreover, the Catholic Church (Roman See) has signed Concordats with several cantons (Corral & Petschen, 2004). The Independent, Catholic Believer (m, employee) provides an example of Church interference in state affairs in the Catholic canton of Valais.

12 Conclusions

12.1 General

The strong religious tensions between Protestants and Catholics have shaped the Swiss model of government and the country’s institutions. While Catholics have defended a federalist, decentralised approach to escape modernisation, Protestants and liberals successfully pushed for a predominantly liberal, anti-clerical constitution and for a federal state. As Obinger (2009) observed:

The retreat of Catholics form the federal arena in the wake of the events of the 1840s was a strategic response to the secular Federal Constitution imposed by the Liberals. A federal polity strongly based on the idea of local autonomy and the associated devolution of power provided the institutional shelter that allowed Catholics to maintain their traditions, to preserve the influence of the Roman Church in Catholic areas, and to create a Catholic counterculture at the cantonal level. More specifically, Catholics considered the cantons as bulwarks against modernization and its concomitants such as big government, bureaucratization, and secularization. Because they were mostly concentrated in rural areas and showed strong leanings to the ancient order with its enshrined privileges of the Roman Church, Catholics opposed industrialization and were highly sceptical of new developments in science and technology. […] Catholics therefore sought to gain political control at the cantonal level in order to protect the Catholic subsociety from the intrusion by the Liberals who then controlled the federal arena. Because the cantons enjoyed almost exclusive jurisdiction in affairs such as education and welfare under the Federal Constitution of 1848, Catholics exploited local policy autonomy to protect the strong influence of the Roman Catholic Church on education and marital affairs, at least until the constitutional revision in 1874 (pp. 190–191).

Later, following the Kulturkampf, the Catholic Church-State could no longer exercise its previously undisputed influence, not even in Catholic cantons.

As a result, the Swiss Confederation has had weak diplomatic relations with the Roman See. The absence of a Concordat at the federal level and the absence of a Swiss resident ambassador in the Vatican still suggest that diplomatic relations continue to be weak. However, Concordats with some Cantons exist. Moreover, from 2004, the federal government has appointed a non-resident ambassador to the Vatican, thus creating closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church-State. On the other hand, although Catholic and Protestant enclaves persisted for a long time, the Protestant share of the total population has decreased by more than half since the nineteenth century. The greatest decline has occurred over the last 60 years, during which other religious denominations and non-religions have sharply increased. Today, Swiss society is highly secularised.

12.2 Competitiveness and Transparency

As a general rule, Protestant cantons are more competitive than the mountainous Roman Catholic cantons. However, even these “low” competitive cantons score higher on innovation/inhabitant values than the traditionally Catholic neighbouring countries (e.g. Austria, Italy, or France).

The historical retreat to the mountains and the anti-modernising reaction against the majoritarian liberal-Protestant federal government might partially explain the lower competitiveness of most Roman Catholic cantons. Nevertheless, the liberal-Protestant federal government seems to have influenced institutions in Catholic cantons by decreasing the pervasive power of the Roman Church-State and by forcing the hierarchical non-democratic Church to democratise. Switzerland’s unique democratising of Catholicism may well be related to the principles of accountability and transparency. Besides, such an influence may also partially explain the relatively higher score on the innovation-per-habitant parameter attained by “low-competitive mountain Catholic cantons” compared to Italy, Austria, or France.

12.3 Prosperity (Competitiveness and Transparency) and Biblical Moral Principles

Analysing the primary information shows that most Protestant stakeholders consistently mention biblical concepts as the moral foundation of prosperity. The original Protestant principle of the Sola Scriptura might lie at the heart of such consistency.

In contrast, Roman Catholic stakeholders do not consistently refer to the Scriptures as a moral foundation. Instead, they tend to refer to diverse theories and philosophical influences from secular sources. This would seem to corroborate McSweeney’s (2015) argument that several kinds of Roman Catholicism might exist as philosophical currents and cultural backgrounds.

Accepting biblical principles as the truth might create a uniform moral standard for enhancing trust, as argued by Stakeholder (f) in the prosperity analysis. On the contrary, in the absence of a moral standard, corrupt ethical codes (see Stakeholder (g)) might lead to a vast range of “negative” socially accepted norms, low productivity (Mockus et al., 2012), and low “spontaneous sociability” (low trust) (Fukuyama, 1995). Furthermore, individuals not only respond to the coercive power of the law, but obey their own moral principles (Mockus et al., 2012, p. 7). This might explain, perhaps even crucially, why the Protestant Reformation—based on the Sola Scriptura principle—contributed, among other factors, to creating trust in Swiss society.

12.4 Recommendations for Future Research

This case study has identified two promising fields on which little or no systematic research exists and that would help better understand religion and prosperity in Switzerland: a) the influence of religion on law and institutions at the cantonal level; and b) the relevance and impact of the Concordats signed between several Swiss cantons and the Roman Catholic Church-State.