The Influence of Cultural Factors on the Attitude Towards Immigrants in European Countries

These problems lead to additional pressure on the welfare state and to its crisis. As a result, discussions about resource limitations are escalated because they are connected with ethnic, national and religious features of the population. The integration of foreigners into European society involves both direct economic assistance in the form of benefits and indirect economic support measures that can create the conditions for the free expression of one’s own religion, culture, and language. By involving immigrants in the redistribution of benefits, state social security programs become more and more difficult to adapt for new citizens. From a theoretical point of view, the principles of the welfare state on the availability of social assistance should be extended to immigrants, because with the acquisition of citizenship they become direct recipients of benefits. Public opinion polls in the European Union show the presence of pronounced cross-country differences in how the population relates to the problem of immigration and perceives new members of the society. Based on the principles of equality and solidarity, European states of "universal" welfare turn out to be a closed system for immigrants: de facto immigrants have a greater need for social assistance, but, according to the public, do not deserve it to the same extent as other socially unprotected people EU. Thus, the question arises: what factors influence the formation of citizens' preferences regarding the redistribution policy? In this research, an attempt will be made to analyze the influence of cultural factors characterized by religiosity and authoritarian values ​​on the perception of immigrants by EU citizens: these "variables" not only influenced the historical development of welfare regimes, but also led to the formation of individual preferences regarding the redistribution of wealth policy.