Understanding Catholic Youth Religiosity in a Developing Country
De La Salle University, Philippines
ABSTRACT
The study is a multi-dimensional one that it does not only determine the level of religiosity of the Catholic youth in a developing country like the Philippines but also the variables that influence their level of religiosity as well as some of the outcomes. The survey has a total of 2,005 Filipino Catholic youth respondents from the Philippines in Luzon-North of Manila, Luzon-South of Manila, Metropolitan of Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao. The study was conducted to (1) determine the level of religiosity of the Filipino Catholic youth along the traditional lines of beliefs, practices, and attitudes, (2) identify the contextual variables that may influence the level of religiosity of the Filipino Catholic youth, and (3) establish the relationship between the level of religiosity of the Filipino Catholic youth and their psychosocial attributes, cultural beliefs, socio-political beliefs and participation. In terms of doctrine, Filipino Catholic youth have moderate knowledge of Catholicism and that they can explain their views to a moderate extent only. In terms of morals, the results show that respondents hold beliefs that are moderately consistent with what the Catholic Church teaches. Respondents strongly feel the presence of God in their lives and they have had religious experiences that indicate this presence. Filipino Catholic youth have ordinary spiritual experiences, which means that most of the time, they feel a spiritual connection with God and with others. The demographic variables predict religiosity and, in turn, religiosity predicts psychosocial attributes, cultural beliefs, and political participation.
KEYWORDS
Filipino youth, Catholic youth, religiosity, psycholoscial attributes, cultural behavior, sociopolitical participation