legal history may be premature and the result may seem too superficial to convince critics. Nevertheless, we must start somewhere in the masses of empirical data that make up the fabric of legal culture. During the last half-century numerous studies on value systems have been undertaken in many countries. The “European Value Study” (EVS) was the first comprehensive attempt to study European value systems and philosophies of life in a comparative perspective. The EVS project was extended considerably to encompass the world in and this was presented in and as “The World Value Surveys” (WVS). Carried out in at least sixty countries with ,- , interviewees in each country answering about questions each, the WVS is one of the most comprehensive projects in the history of social science. It addresses topics and themes such as politics, economy, work, family, children, religion, moral preferences and social relations. The fourth edition of the WVS is currently in progress.2 The database of - containing at least thirty million pieces of data - has been used for many scholarly purposes. These include drawing an atlas of world culture, a project that would not have been possible without the help of advanced computer technology.3 The factor analysis was grouped in two bipolar dimensions, namely “authority based on traditional rationality versus authority based on secular 113 What can sociology explain about legal culture? 2 I am deeply grateful to Dr Thorleif Pettersson, professor of the sociology of religion, Uppsala University, for kind help with introducing me to this material. Cf. T. Pettersson, “Svensken och religionen,” Svenskt kynne. Uppsala 2000: Statsvetenskapliga föreningen. 3 R. Inglehart, W. Baker, “Modernization, cultural change and the persistence of traditional values,” American Sociological Review, vol. 65 (2000), 1.
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