The attitudes of Italians are changing and the gap between public debate and direct experience is becoming increasingly evident. The non-institutionalised cohabitation (90.2%), the use of the artificial insemination (84.8%) and the possibility of requesting euthanasia (75.9%), as well as thehomosexuality (75.2%) are issues accepted by the majority of the population. The very practice ofabortion (61.0%), albeit to a lesser extent is considered permissible. This does not mean that such behaviours are implemented, they rather signal the degree of social acceptability.
At the same time, there are some practices that still do not gain full legitimacy. Undergoing facelift (44.3%), do soft drug use (44.1%) and even less prostitution (27.4%) do not represent shared behaviour. This is what emerges from theinvestigation LaST, the Laboratory on Society and Territory, realised by Community Media Research and promoted by Intesa Sanpaolowhich examined the orientations of the population with respect to behaviour, in some cases borderline, which refers to ethical and moral dimensions.
Traditional certainties have left increasing room for individual experimentation. Italians prove tolerant, but with a tendency towards cultural relativism: they do not share certain behaviours, but justify the fact that others may practise them. The dimension of religious morality and, albeit to a lesser extent, that of political affiliation nevertheless continue to represent moments of socialisation and the elaboration of criteria useful for navigating in a fluid and uncertain social environment.
Four profiles summarise the orientations of the Italians: the prevailing group is the tolerant (49.2%) those who consider the various proposed behaviours quite acceptable, followed, at a distance, by the libertarians (28.8%) who consider almost all the proposed courses of action to be totally legitimate. Both orientations are more widespread among the younger generations, among males, those who have a high level of education and are resident in Central-Northern Italy. In particular, among those who do not assiduously practise religious rites and who express political attention and militancy.
At a distance we meet the group of severe (12.4%) and the intransigent (9.6%)respectively those who consider the proposed actions to be quite unacceptable and completely unacceptable, orientations that are more frequently highlighted by the female component, the more adult population, those with a low level of education and those who live in the South. More so among those who assiduously attend religious rituals and declare themselves distant from politics.
