the national filipino catholic youth study 2014

Transcription

THE NATIONAL
FILIPINO CATHOLIC
YOUTH STUDY 2014
A Research Project Commissioned by the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY)
and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP)
in collaboration with 18 Universities and Colleges Nationwide
i
Project Proponents
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission
on Youth (CBCP-ECY)
Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP)
Partner Higher Educational Institutions
North Luzon
Holy Angel University (HAU), Angeles City
Saint Louis University (SLU), Baguio City
University of the Assumption (UA), City of San Fernando, Pampanga
Metropolitan Manila
Adamson University (AdU), Manila
De La Salle University (DLSU), Manila
University of Santo Tomas (UST), Manila
South Luzon
Aquinas University (AU), Legazpi City
Ateneo de Naga University (AdNU), Naga City
Divine Word College of Calapan (DWCC), Calapan City
Divine Word College of Legazpi (DWCL), Legazpi City
Visayas
Saint Peter’s College (SPC), Ormoc City
University of San Agustin (USA), Iloilo City
University of San Carlos (USC), Cebu City
Mindanao
Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU), Davao City
Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU), Zamboanga City
Notre Dame University (NDU), Cotabato City
University of the Immaculate Concepcion (UIC), Davao City
Xavier University (XU), Cagayan de Oro City
Copyright © 2015
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines –
Episcopal Commission on Youth and
Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines
ii
The Authors
The Steering Team
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal
Commission on Youth (CBCP-ECY)
Most Rev. Leopoldo C. Jaucian, SVD, DD
Chairman, 2013-Present
Most Rev. Joel Z. Baylon, DD
Chairman, 2006-2013
Rev. Fr. Conegundo B. Garganta
Executive Secretary
Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP)
Br. Narciso S. Erguiza, Jr., FSC
President, 2013-Present
Rev. Fr. Gregorio L. Bañaga, Jr., CM
President, 2011-2013
Ms. Rhodora Angela F. Ferrer
Executive Director
The Secretariat
ECY Secretariat
Mr. Stephen G. Borja
Mr. Noly A. Cebritas
Ms. Maria Lea P. Dasigan
Ms. Maria Victoria A. Tacderas
CEAP Secretariat
Mr. Jose Allan I. Arellano
Ms. Mary Ann S. Cruz
Mr. Alexei Frederick R. Flores
Ms. Gillian Faye F. Hurtado
iii
The Research Team
Assoc. Prof. Pablito A. Baybado, Jr. (UST)
National Research Coordinator
Dr. Ruth M. Balajadia-Ducut (UA)
North Luzon Regional Research Coordinator
Dr. Belinda P. Conde (AdU)
Metropolitan Manila Regional Research Coordinator
Asst. Prof. Belinda P. Cleofe (DWCC)
South Luzon Regional Research Coordinator
Mr. Reuel C. Yap (USC)
Visayas Regional Research Coordinator
Dr. Teresita G. Montaño (AdZU)
Mindanao Regional Research Coordinator
Members
Asst. Prof. Ma. Isabel S. Actub (AdDU)
Dr. Noel G. Asiones (UST)
Mr. Jame Bryan L. Batara (USC)
Asst. Prof. Ponciano C. Calibjo, Jr (USA)
Dr. Michael A. Cuesta (AdNU)
Dr. Christine S. Diaz (AdDU)
Asst. Prof. Gerald James Y. Ebal (AdZU)
Assoc. Prof. Maribeth Q. Galindo (UIC)
Asst. Prof. Nora N. Gallano (DWCL)
Ms. Ria P. Ignacio (HAU)
Dr. Gaston P. Kibiten (SLU)
Asst. Prof. Marlyn C. Lee-Tejada (AdNU)
Asst. Prof. Simon S. Listana (AUL)
Dr. Ma. Theresa P. Llano (NDU)
Ms. Alicia Mapa (DWCL)
Mr. Edwin P. Matura (NDU)
Ms. Teresita M. Miralles (DWCC)
Asst. Prof. Ma. Luisa M. Onday (USA)
Ms. Rosalyn Pepito (SPC)
Ms. Norilyn M. Pineda (HAU)
Dr. Lita Palma-Sealza (XU)
Asst. Prof. Emma V. Sagarino (UIC)
Ms. Cristina H. Samia (HAU)
Dr. Isaias Sealza (XU)
Dr. Arnel T. Sicat (UA)
Mr. Virgilio A. Soriano III (AdU)
Cover Artwork: Mr. Eduardo V. Ponce
Photos: from the CBCP-ECY and CEAP files
iv
CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE
OF THE PHILIPPINES
I
congratulate the Episcopal Commission on Youth of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and the Catholic Educational
Association of the Philippines in partnership with the 18 Catholic
Higher Educational Institutions for this publication of the National
Filipino Catholic Youth Study 2014. This will be an important tool for
all the formators and educators of the youth in their shared mission of
forming Christ among the youth.
At a time when we recognize in our own consumption-driven world
the dangers that Pope Francis described for the whole world, “the
desolation and anguish born of a feverish but complacent heart, the
feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience,” we
look at our youthful evangelizers as among God’s precious gifts both to
the Church and society in the Philippines.
We gladly echo the personal invitation of Pope Francis: “I invite all
Christians, everywhere at this very moment, to a renewed personal
encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him
encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one
should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her; since no one
is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord’” (Evangelii Gaudium, 3).
We must return to our encounter with Jesus, and to the joy of this
abiding encounter, which, in the light of the Paschal mystery, is always
deeper than our tribulations.
It is exciting to be a Catholic! Take courage. Do not be afraid to share
your faith! Choose to be brave! Choose the joy of Jesus!
From the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Dagupan City,
September 10, 2014
+ SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS, DD
Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan
President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
v
CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE OF THE PHILIPPINES
EPISCOPAL COMMISSION ON YOUTH
W
ith gladness and gratitude, may I present to you the results
of the National Filipino Catholic Youth Study 2014!
The results of this work, a painstaking research that is the
fruit of the beautiful yet challenging coming together
of people in research, youth ministry and education, are meant to
accompany not just the general public but especially the Church in her
journey with the young. His Holiness Pope Francis invites communities
to complete and enrich their response to the challenges of the faith “on
the basis of their awareness of the challenges facing them and their
neighbours.” In doing so, may we realize that “whenever we attempt
to read the signs of the times it is helpful to listen to young people…
(who) represent a source of hope for every people… Young people call
us to renewed and expansive hope, for they represent new directions
for humanity and open us up to the future, lest we cling to a nostalgia
for structures and customs which are no longer life-giving in today’s
world” (Evangelii Gaudium, 108).
The responses gathered from young people to whom the survey was
administered are expressions of this call to a renewed and expansive
hope, if we allow them to. We are grateful to those who have collaborated
with us, the Episcopal Commission on Youth, to realize this project—first
of all, to the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, which is
on its way to its 75th Anniversary and for which this project is a tribute
of sorts to the young people for whose sake Catholic education exists.
Many thanks too to the educational institutions who accepted the
invitation to work together with us for this, and to their researchers and
academicians who discerned and dared together. Our gratitude goes
also to everyone else who were involved, in one way or another, to the
realization of this project, but especially to the selected ecclesiastical
territories and their Bishops, parish priests and parish communities, and
the youth-respondents.
The rationale of this work, explained comprehensively in the next
pages, is clear for us: Our ministry, in whatever form, which is our way
of living our Baptism, should always begin and continue with dwelling
vi
among people and listening to them, according to the Incarnational
way of our Lord. These results, although appearing as numbers and
figures, represent young people with concrete experiences: joys and
hopes, griefs and anxieties, which we as Church have chosen to call our
own. Studying these data and, later, assessing them vis-à-vis our lives
and ministries, we will definitely see dark situations and difficulties. Let
us allow Pope Francis’ reminder to affirm us and inspire us: “Challenges
exist to be overcome! Let us be realists, but without losing our joy, our
boldness and our hope-filled commitment. Let us not allow ourselves to
be robbed of missionary vigour!” (EG, 109)
+ LEOPOLDO C. JAUCIAN, SVD, DD
Bishop of Bangued
Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Youth
vii
CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF THE PHILIPPINES
G
reetings!
I am glad to present to you the result of the National
Filipino Catholic Youth Study of 2014 (NFCYS2014). This
is a joint initiative of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Youth (CBCP-ECY) and
the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP). This
partnership comes from a genuine desire to start a conversation with
the young people and to fully comprehend their views and from there,
create a bridge, a meeting place and a channel for deeper engagement
with them, especially as regards their faith.
Everyone is aware of the tremendous impact of Saint John Paul II to
young Filipinos. In his two visits here, a great number of young people
came to meet him and they have seen how the Church, through him,
could dialogue with them. In 1985, the Pope’s apostolic letter to the
youth of the world on the occasion of the International Youth Year
manifested his reflection on the youth of our time and the process
that the young human being passes through. In it, he says, “it [period
of youth] belongs to the whole of that space that every man traverses
in his life’s journey, and at the same time it is a special possession
belonging to everyone. It is a possession of humanity itself”.
Through John Paul II, many young people saw strength of character and
integrity in faith as more important than worldly powers or even the
perceived power that the Church wields.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis, talking to the young people from all over the
world in Rio de Janeiro during the World Youth Day 2013 expressed his
expectations from them. And he did not mince words when he said that,
“I expect a mess. There will be one… I want a mess in the dioceses! I want
people to go out! I want the Church to go out to the street! I want us to
defend ourselves against everything that is worldliness, that is installation,
that is comfortableness, that is clericalism, that is being shut-in in ourselves.
The parishes, the schools, the institutions, exist to go out!”
Two great Church leaders, reflecting on the role of the young in the
world, naturally see things through different prisms but both leading
viii
to a call to action. The former claims that the experience of the young
is both a personal journey and a community experience and, indeed,
even a cosmic one. The latter exhorts a view that encourages action, or
even a revolution, of seizing the day, using words not commonly used in
Church - an exhortation for a drastic change in how we do things, which
could possibly lead to disrupting our sense of comfort.
The result of this study could baffle a lot of people. We have come
to accept that the young are leaving the Church by the millions. We
have come to believe that the youth do not care about religiosity or
spirituality. We may have given up on them since they are a technologydriven, gadget-hungry generation who do not care about God or Jesus.
The result of the study would surprise those who have given up on the
young. The study showed that they believe pretty much what has been
handed to them by generations of believers, and the Church. The young
Catholics are as dedicated as generations before them. They practice
traditional and devotional activities and they participate in the life of
the Church. “Contrary to popular opinion that they are mostly nominal
members of the Church, they are actively religious, participative
consumers and producers of a faith that appears to have continually and
effectively provided them with values, a sense of meaning and purpose,
hope and healing amidst the many vicissitudes and challenges in their
ordinary life” (from the Abstract of the NFCYS2013).
And yet, although these may be a very positive indication that the faith
is alive and well, there are also challenges for us. How do we channel
this tremendous energy of the young? How do we make this spiritual
capital result to a better society? How do we make our young people
become more genuine and authentic Christians who care for others, for
the world and for its future?
As we go through this report, let us continue to reflect on how much
mess the young people must create to put order into our world today.
God bless us all – the young among us, the young in us!
Br. NARCISO S. ERGUIZA JR., FSC
President of the De La Salle-Araneta University
President of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines
ix
PREFACE
T
his book aims to “journey with the young” in their social
location and “spend time with them” wherever they are, at
home, in school, or in the Christian community in order to
know and understand their aspirations, needs, concerns,
situations, gifts and talents. This is imperative because “[i]n the New
Evangelization, the youth are not only the future but also the present
(and gift) in the Church. They are not only the recipients but also
agents of evangelization, especially with their peers” (Proposition 51,
XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, October 2012).
This report is not about them. Through the rigors of scientific research,
this book is their way of communicating to us their “joys and hopes,”
and of providing us the opportunity to listen to their concerns and
experience their presence. In this book, it is the youth talking to one
another, and in turn, conversing to us that we may truly and creatively
accompany them in their search for “truth and meaning in life that Jesus
who is the Truth and their Friend can provide” (Proposition 51).
Listening to them is contextual. Fidelity to their voices requires what
Edmund Husserl calls bracketing on the part of the researchers. This
process of allowing them to speak in their own social location through
standardized instruments is the result of a painstaking but joyful
dialogue with the youth, youth ministers, educators, researchers, school
administrators, religious, clergy and bishops.
It takes the joint effort of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth
(ECY) and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines
(CEAP) in partnership with the 18 Catholic Higher Educational
Institutions (HEIs), being true to their mission of providing integral
formation to the young, to weave the various and distinct sentiments
and experiences of the Filipino Catholic youth into national and
regional voices. The partnership is a blessing and a gift of the
Church for the youth; their sharing of talents, time and treasures
is instrumental in methodically landscaping their religiosity in the
contexts of their demographic and socio-economic and attitudinal
characteristics in this study.
x
From the project conception phase to the gathering of data, to doing
the analysis and interpretations, up to the writing of the terminal
report, the Research Team patiently worked together to accomplish
their shared commitment through national and regional meetings, and
in between by making use of electronic communication, based on the
principles of collegiality, teamwork, harmony and equality. The “fusion
of horizons” of the 32 researchers from the 18 Catholic universities and
colleges, while an experience of an agora of meticulous, discursive
intellectual discourse, is a solemn process of assuring our Principals as
well as the youth of the best output that they so deserve. Moreover,
the undertaking has fostered friendship and camaraderie among the
researchers which, consequently, transformed the entire process into a
work of joy, encouragement and mutual support.
In a way, the implementation of the project is the partners’ humble
contribution (ECY and CEAP together with the Research Team) to the
ongoing intense introspection of the Church in the Philippines in
making the Catholic faith more relevant and responsive to the youth
through religious education and youth ministry, as we approach the
historic Quincentenary of Christianity in the Philippines by 2021.
As part of the continuing reflection and consultation, the initial result of
this study was presented at the Plenary of the CEAP National Convention
in Cebu City in September 2013, at the mid-year Plenary Assembly of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines in Manila in July 2014, as
well as at a number of conferences of educators and youth ministers.
The insights learned during these meetings have enriched the Research
Team in better appreciating the wealth of data.
Managing a national research team to accomplish an equally daunting
task is possible only because of the exemplary leadership of the
regional coordinators: Dr. Ruth Balajadia-Ducut of the University of
the Assumption, Dr. Belinda Conde of Adamson University, Asst. Prof.
Belinda Cleofe of the Divine Word College of Calapan, Mr. Reuel Yap of
the University of San Carlos and Dr. Teresita Montaño of the Ateneo de
Zamboanga University. The dedication of all the research coordinators
is also very inspiring. For instance, the typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)
did not deter our Visayas team to continue their work and fulfill their
mission amidst the sea of seeming hopelessness and destruction. The
Mindanao team proceeded to their respective target areas despite
serious concerns for their safety and security. Moreover, we are also
grateful for the support and assistance of Bishops, parish priests and
youth leaders from all the randomly selected dioceses in the gathering
of data.
xi
In behalf of our principals, the team acknowledges the essential
contributions of the De La Salle University for hosting several national
research coordinators’ meetings and for providing their resources and
expertise such as the finalization of the instrument and the scanning
of the accomplished questionnaire. The project is also indebted to Dr.
Noel Asiones of the University of Santo Tomas for his competence on
youth and religion all throughout the process; it will not be too much
to say that he has served as a key foundation in the religiosity aspect
of the study. Likewise, Mr. Reuel Yap and Mr. Jame Bryan Batara of
the University of San Carlos have been very helpful for their constant
availability and technical skills to ensure credible and consistent
statistical treatment of the national and regional data.
I am also grateful to Asst. Prof. Nora Gallano of the Divine Word College
of Legazpi, Asst. Prof. Isabel Actub of the Ateneo de Davao University,
Dr. Christine Diaz of the Ateneo de Davao University, along with Mr. Yap
and Dr. Asiones in the final editing of the manuscript, as well as the Joint
Secretariat of the ECY and CEAP in the preparation of the manuscript
for publication. At the personal level, I am grateful to Ms. Honeyceil M.
Manalo for assisting me in the formatting and Mr. James Patrick Jaring
in the lay-outing of the manuscript. While this study is collaborative and
collective in nature, the mistakes and the shortcomings of this book are
the sole responsibility of the national coordinator.
Finally, may this communal labor of love, in God’s own time, serve its
main purpose of making our life and mission as a Church among young
people, beginning with Catholic education and youth ministry, more
relevant and responsive to the needs and concerns of Filipino Catholic
youth.
Assoc. Prof. PABLITO A. BAYBADO, JR.
National Coordinator of the NFCYS2013 Research Team
Faculty Member of the Institute of Religion and
Researcher of the Research Cluster on Culture, Education
and Social Issues of the University of Santo Tomas
xii
Table of Contents
Messages
From the CBCP President
From the CBCP-ECY Chairman
From the CEAP President
v
vi
viii
Prefacex
List of Abbreviationsxvii
Introduction1
Background2
Significance of the Study
3
Objectives5
Methodology5
Instruments6
The National Study Findings
9
Demographic and Socioeconomic Profile
10
Religiosity and Religious Domains
16
Self-Assessed Religiosity16
Religious Domains17
Group Identification17
Ideology18
Public Practice21
Private Practice22
Religious Experience23
Relationship between
Demographic/Socioeconomic Profile
and Religious Domains28
Respondents’ Attitude34
Psychosocial Attributes34
Cultural Beliefs: Collectivism vs. Individualism 37
Political Participation38
Relationship between Religiosity and Attitude
40
Relationship of the Domains of Religiosity
42
Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
44
Regional Studies
North Luzon47
48
54
Ideology54
Public Practice56
Private Practice57
69
71
Summary and Conclusions 72
Metropolitan Manila73
74
78
Ideology78
Public Practice79
Private Practice80
88
89
South Luzon91
92
96
Ideology97
Public Practice97
Private Practice99
107
108
Summary and Conclusions110
Visayas111
112
115
Ideology116
Public Practice117
Private Practice118
129
131
Mindanao135
136
140
Ideology141
Public Practice142
Private Practice144
Relationship between Demographic/Socioeconomic
Profile and Attitude152
153
154
Summary and Conclusions156
Appendices159
National Study160
North Luzon181
Metropolitan Manila203
South Luzon225
Visayas247
Mindanao267
Bibliography289
List of Abbreviations
CBCP - Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
CEAP - Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines
ECY - Episcopal Commission on Youth
DCYMP - Directory for Catholic Youth Ministry in the Philippines
NFCYS - National Filipino Catholic Youth Survey/Study
NPCCR - National Pastoral Consultation on Church Renewal
NSYA - National Secretariat for Youth Apostolate
PCL - Pontifical Council for the Laity
PCP II - Second Plenary Council of the Philippines
SWS - Social Weather Station
xvii
INTRODUCTION
Background
I
n 2002, the Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY) of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) conducted its first
National Filipino Catholic Youth Survey (NFCYS) motivated by
the desire to be more grounded on its ministry among the youth.
Engaging nationally representative respondents between 13-39 years of
age (based on the official definition of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
[PCL]), and administered in each of the 86 ecclesiastical territories of
the Catholic Church in the Philippines, this survey gathered a substantial
and comprehensive set of data that provided a holistic picture of the
Filipino Catholic youth in their present situations (NFCYS, 2002). More
importantly, it served as the platform for the Directory for Catholic Youth
Ministry in the Philippines, or the KA-LAKBAY, as the document which
would define Catholic youth ministry in the Philippines and embody the
long felt desires and dreams of Filipino Catholic youth ministers for a truly
realistic and integral youth ministry (CBCP-ECY, Directory for Catholic
Youth Ministry in the Philippines, 2004).
Riding on the crest of its 25th anniversary celebration in 2011, the ECY
envisioned a second nationwide survey to foster an informed national
discussion on the place and role of religion in the lives of young Filipino
Catholics.
In 2016, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP),
the largest association of Catholic schools in the country with some 1,400
member-schools, will celebrate its Diamond Jubilee. Its annual themes
in the three consecutive years leading up to the anniversary concern the
youth, the family, and the poor. And so, in response to the call for new
2
evangelization, the CBCP-ECY and CEAP have come together to embark
on a new survey of Filipino Catholic youth who are the primary target of
Catholic education and youth ministry in the country.
The place of religion in the life of the Filipino youth is well documented
by a plethora of studies, with a prevalence of local studies focusing on its
routine aspects of beliefs, morals and practice (CBCP-ECY, 2002; Abad, 2001;
Verlinden, 1999; Mangahas and Guerrero, 1996). If one goes by the standard
indicators of religiosity as active attendance in the worship or rituals of an
established religious tradition (Villegas, 2012), it is safe to say that they have
remained steadily and remarkably religious. As Abad (2001, p. 58) briefly
puts it: “Overall and across time, the Filipinos, mainly Roman Catholics,
continue to see themselves as religious people, possessing a strong belief in
God and remaining ever more faithful to the Bible and to major religious
tenets.”
Although three studies of late found an alarming “decline” in some of their
eschatological beliefs (Cruz, 2002), the decreasing participation in religious
activities (CBCP-ECY, p. 75; SWS, 2013), and a growing qualified confidence
in the institutional church’s authority on socioeconomic and political affairs
of Filipino society (Batomalaque, Nicolas & Rabacal, 2011), the Filipino
Catholic youth have steadily maintained a religious persona, despite of, and
maybe because of, an increasingly global culture that makes accessible a
plurality of religious and even secular options and practices (Villegas, 2011).
When compared to their counterparts from other countries like those in
the United States (Pearce & Lunquist, 2004) and Western Europe (Dekker,
De Hart & Peters, 1997; Pieper & Vermeer, 2001), all these concerns on
continuity and change could become more remarkable.
Significance of the Study
Notwithstanding the fact that academicians and researchers treat religion
as a very serious and important phenomenon (Aldridge, 2013), there are
three reasons why it is important to regularly track the situation of the youth
in this country. The first reason is the demographic distribution. Young
people make up a quarter of the country’s population of some 97 million
(NSCB, 2010) and nearly half of its labor force. Given this fact, their sheer
number must invite our undivided attention. As harbingers of change,
3
they “shape social and economic development, challenge social norms and
values and build the foundations of the world’s future” (UN Volunteers,
Newsletter, 2014). In all areas of human life, including religion, they can be
agents of positive social change. In her introduction to a book on religion
and youth, Collins-Mayo (2010) suggests the need to pay attention to young
people in order to understand religion in contemporary society and glimpse
its future.
The second reason is the seriousness of those in religious education and
youth ministry to help address the youth’s developmental needs in an
increasingly pluralistic and post-modern world. Rapid changes in the social
and cultural landscapes may have affected the youth’s attitudes and behavior,
particularly their religiosity. Likewise, there is a concern about the creeping
influence of secularism and post-modernity in the catalyzing and shaping of
what Lanuza (2000) calls as “youth culture.” In a latter study, Lanuza (2003)
observes that the modernizing influences on the youth are now coming from
the mass media, rather than from the traditional sources: Family, school,
church and peer group. As such, young people’s religiosity has invariably
undergone changes. Hervieu-Leger (2000) and Brown (1998) put forward
two of the reasons why young people lack religiosity: That late modernity is
not conducive to the transmission of faith, and that older people have failed
to pass on faith effectively to them. Given this fact, youth ministers and
educators indeed have their work cut out for them in order to calibrate their
pedagogical and theological requirements to remain effective and relevant
(Pieper & Vermeer, 2001).
Lastly, the third reason is pastoral by nature. It is imperative to inquire on
the state of the youth’s religiosity not just to give an indication or general
picture but rather to entice the desire and imagination in responding more
creatively to their actual needs (NFCYS, 2002): “In its desire to be faithful
to its task, the Episcopal Commission on the Youth undertakes studies and
periodic research on the current needs and aspirations of the Filipino youth,
and draws up policies and proposes formational and pastoral programs that
may be relevant to their needs” (NFCYS, p. 11). Along the same vein, the
Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC) (Roche & Legazpi, 1998, p. 30) asks
the catechists to focus more closely on their concrete audience: Their age,
level of maturity and faith life, in order to know what effect or change should
the catechesis have in their daily living as Filipino Catholics. Calling it as an
4
inculturated or contextualized catechesis of the faith, the CFC stresses that
need to focus on their proper context that presents definite strengths as well
as weaknesses regarding their faith life.
Objectives
In view of all these, the main motivation for this national study is to describe
the religiosity and attitudes of the Filipino Catholic youth. It has, therefore,
the following specific objectives: 1) To describe their demographic and
socioeconomic profile; (2) to determine their religiosity alongside its five
domains of group identification, ideology, public and private practice, and
experience; 3) to describe the relationship between their demographic and
socioeconomic profile and religiosity; 4) to describe their attitudes in terms
of their psychosocial attributes, cultural beliefs and political participation;
5) to determine whether or not a significant relationship exists between
attitude and religiosity; and 6) to determine whether or not there is a
significant relationship between and among the domains of religiosity.
Methodology
The study used mixed methods design to gather information on the Filipino
Catholic youth’s religion and attitudes. There is a well-founded belief
that the use of both methods provides a more complete understanding of
research problems than the use of either approach alone (Fraenkel & Wallen,
2010, p. 557-558). Given this, mixed methods design was used in order to 1)
clarify and validate relationships found to exist between variables; 2) allow
researchers to explore the relationships existing between variables in depth;
and 3) confirm or cross-validate relationships discovered between variables,
as when quantitative and qualitative methods are compared to see if they
converge on a single interpretation of a phenomenon.
One of the main concerns of the study was to engage a large sample of the
target respondents in order to make clear and valid generalizations on the
basis of the obtained quantitative and qualitative data. Hence, using multistage probability sampling, 2,400 respondents who are between the ages of
13 to 39, are single, and are relatively permanent residents of the sample
locations, were initially targeted to participate in the study. In the end,
5
only 2,110 respondents completed the questionnaire. Hence, it must be
admitted, as a possible limitation of the study, that convenience sampling
was employed at the parish or household level due to security and safety
concerns for the researchers especially in a number of selected areas, not to
mention the limited time that was made available for them to conduct and
complete it.
Following the ecclesiastical divisions of the Catholic Church in the
Philippines, samples were equally assigned to each of the five regional
groupings, as follows: North Luzon, Metropolitan Manila, South Luzon,
Visayas, and Mindanao. For nationally representative studies like this,
Collins-Mayo (2010) suggests that the aim must be to consider not only
broad trends in youth religion to get an idea of the “big picture,” but also
the specific cases of the young people’s relationship to religion in order
to understand something of its personal or local particularities. The KALAKBAY affirms this in its statement that youth ministry presupposes an
openness to reach out to the young in whatever setting or life-stage they are
in (KA-LAKBAY, p. 54). For purposes of relevance and meaningfulness,
religious and theological education in Catholic schools are likewise expected
to be contextual both in its approach and method, using human experience as
a starting point for doctrinal and ethical formation of the students (National
Catechetical Directory of the Philippines, 1983; Catechism for Filipino
Catholics, 1997).
Instruments
Survey Questionnaire
For its quantitative part, the research team designed and developed a 27-page
survey instrument in English and Filipino. It was expected to help target
respondents find words to express their inchoate ideas, or approximate what
they might think and feel about religion, but more importantly, to serve as
a prelude to its qualitative part (Collins-Mayo & Rankin, p. 194). Thus,
after a series of collaborative and painstaking discussions to calibrate its
content and format, and ultimately testing it for validity and reliability, the
research team finally decided to limit the survey instrument to the following
items: 1) Comprehensive information on the respondent’s demographic
and socioeconomic profile; 2) Self-rated religiosity and perception of the
importance of religion and its domains in terms of group identification,
6
ideology (beliefs and morals), ritual, and experience (Glock, 1972); 3)
Psychosocial attributes; 4) Cultural beliefs; and 5) Political participation.
Except for the domain of ritual, which focused on frequencies of attendance,
the survey questions engaged the young people to express their views
and attitudes on religiosity. Given the sensitive nature of some of the
questions, they were told at least twice that their responses would be strictly
confidential and be used only for the pastoral and academic purposes of the
two principals. They were also instructed to answer all the items. After
knowing the purpose of the study and giving their informed consent, the
respondents answered the survey questionnaires, which took at least an
hour or so to be completed.
Standardized tests are used to measure the attitude of the respondents in
terms of perceived psychosocial attributes, cultural beliefs (collectivism vs.
individualism) and political participation.
Treatment and analyses of quantitative data employed frequencies,
percentages, mean scores, and standard deviations for descriptive statistics.
The Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, commonly known
as Pearson’s r, was used to test for the relations that were predicted to
exist between religiosity and the other variables mentioned above. One
way-Anova and t-test were used to test the difference of religiosity among
respondents from different types of schools.
Open-ended question about religion and its 3 domains
After the quantitative data were gathered and analyzed, focus group
discussions (FGD) were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire
to elicit in-depth information from the respondents. It focused on 3 domains
of religiosity: 1) Group identification; 2) Ideology; and 3) Consequence.
Eight to ten (8-10) participants who were respondents of the quantitative
phase of the study were invited to participate in the FGD. As some of
them were still minors, the informed consent of their parents or guardians
was properly secured. They were also members of the parish covered by
the survey research, selected on the basis of their proximity to the official
residence of the local ordinary. With the informed and expressed consent
of the participants, the FGDs were written down and/or recorded in order
to facilitate encoding and maintain their integrity and reliability. Finally,
after the data were encoded and transcribed, they were shared to selected
respondents for purposes of clarification and validation.
7
The FGD data were analyzed and coded using comparative method to
arrive at a systematic view of the phenomenon under investigation, and thus
determine the presence of certain categories or themes within the texts. It
was primarily based on the conceptual analysis of religiosity as the main
category, which the research team identified as the significant and evident
indicator of the desired data. Once the main category was determined, open,
axial and selective coding techniques were utilized to identify relations
among constructs and specify relations among variables that can lead toward
the development or generation of a more in- depth information that will
help explain the place and role of religion in the ordinary life of faith of the
participants (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Glaser, 1978).
8
THE
NATIONAL STUDY
FINDINGS
Demographic and
Socioeconomic Profile
Place of Origin
A
breakdown of the 2,110 respondents in terms of their place of origin
or location shows that 19.5 percent are from North Luzon, compared
with 19.3 percent from Metropolitan Manila, 19.6 percent from
South Luzon, 20.5 percent from the Visayas and 20.9 percent from
Mindanao. A very small 0.2 percent did not indicate their place of origin. (See
illustration 1)
Gender, Age and Occupation
The mean age of the respondents is 19 (SD=4.714). The large majority of them,
or eight out of ten (80.3%), belong to the younger (13-22) group, while 18.9
percent are in the older (23-39) group. A small 0.8 percent did not indicate their
age. (See illustration 2) Females constitute 51.2 percent while 47.3 percent are
males. A small 1.5 percent did not answer. (See illustration 3)
Almost 53 percent reported that they are fulltime students, 16.5 percent are
employed and 4.5 percent are working students. The remaining 18.3 percent are
unemployed. (See illustration 4)
Schools Attended and Educational Attainment
The majority of the student-respondents said that they presently study in a
public school or state college or university (55.15%), 33.54 percent of them are
in Catholic schools, 2.41 percent in Christian schools and 8.89 percent in non-
10
sectarian schools. (See illustration 5)
Most of the respondents at the time of the survey said that they are in high
school level (33.9%), followed by those who are in college level (28.8.%)
and those who have college degrees already (19%). (See illustration 6) This
suggests that 42.8 percent of the respondents are still in high school or have
reached high school level only.
Out-of-School Youth
There are 381 (18.1%) respondents who reported that they dropped out of
school at the time of the survey, of which 193 (50.7%) are females and 181
(47.5%) are males. Almost 50 percent reported that they have been out of
school for less than a year. Thirty-four percent are out of school for about one
to three years while 12.3 percent between four to six years and 12.6 percent for
more than six years. (See illustration 7) The reasons for dropping out of school
are the following: Their parents no longer have the finances to support them
(50.4%), they need to find a job so they can contribute to the family income
(24%), they had to stop so that their other siblings can go to school (14%), they
got bored of going to school (8%), and they got sick and had to stop going to
school (2.8%). (See illustration 8)
Family Situation
Approximately 70 percent of the respondents said that their parents are
both alive and living together. Around 9.4 percent said that their parents are
both alive but not living together. Some respondents said that their fathers
(3.6%) or their mothers (2.0%) are working abroad. Around 3.2 percent and
10.1 percent said that their mothers and fathers are deceased respectively
while 1.2 percent said that both of their parents are already deceased. (See
illustration 9)
On the average, there are five to six permanent members in their household
(M=5.91, SD=2.244). The majority of the respondents said that they live
with both parents and siblings (68.6%), 12.3 percent live with their mothers
and siblings only and 4.2 percent live with their fathers and siblings only. Four
percent and 3.4 percent of the respondents said that they live with relatives and
grandparents respectively. (See illustration 10)
11
In terms of the religious affiliation of their parents, 92.3 percent said that their
parents are baptized Catholics, 4.3 percent have mixed religions and a very small
0.6 percent said that both of their parents are not Catholics. (See illustration 11)
While a small 2.0 percent of the respondents said they do not know what rite(s)
their parents got married with, a big majority (77.7%) said that their parents
were married in Catholic rites, 11.2 percent in civil ceremonies, 2.0 percent in
Christian rites and 5.8 percent were not married at all. A small 1.3 percent did
not answer this item. (See illustration 12)
Discussion
In the light of the obtained data, three cohorts of youth easily catch the
attention of youth ministers and educators. The first one is the positive family
environment for the respondents, and the next two cohorts may be classified as
belonging to what one sociologist calls as “disadvantaged sub-sector of youth.”
Firstly, there are respondents who have their families intact and unbroken
by the many threats and challenges to marriage and family life today.
Notwithstanding, and in the wake of the alarming increase in broken
families here and abroad, it is good to know that most of the survey
respondents are living with both parents who were generally married in
Catholic rites. The central role that the Filipino family plays in the lives of
the youth is a well-examined phenomenon (Medina, 1991, 2001; Ramirez,
1993 as cited in Batan, 2010). Given these findings, it is safe to assume that
the respondents enjoy being raised and guided by their married mother
and father, and benefit from the relative stability they need in order to
grow and mature as individuals.
Many studies show that children raised in intact families are expected to fare
better in life than their counterparts. Jerabek (2013), in a research conducted
to 1,027 individuals, found out that some of history’s most successful and
prominent people have a supportive family environment. Moreover, parents
who keep their family intact give their children advantages that extend into
adulthood, including longer lives and better jobs (Waite & Gallagher, 2000).
Another study shows that, when it comes to academic performance, married
parents who remained together give their children a big boost to succeed
and excel (Halztman, 2014). Thus, the 69 percent of respondents living in
12
an intact family, whose parents are both Catholics, may indicate having a role
model in their growing up as well as supportive parents, which are the optimal
environment for their future success. With these family factors, they are more
likely to become ambitious and persist in the face of obstacles and challenges
in order to achieve great things in their lives. More importantly for this study,
it is very likely that the family’s crucial role in the transmission of religious
faith is also well directed.
Secondly, there are almost 10 percent of the respondents living with single
parent families due to separation, and another 13 percent whose one parent
is already deceased. Given the importance and central role that intact families
play on the children and youth, we can only wonder what impact separation
and single parenting have on their integral well-being. Are they suffering
in silence or living their lives in quiet desperation? Or, have they accepted
this sad fact of life and in the process have become more resilient and more
persistent in facing its many challenges? Can they overcome this limitation
to emerge stronger and more courageous, and turn out just fine? Or, are they
at risk for long-term negative effects, or fall into highly risky behaviors such
as drug abuse or prostitution? But as also found by Jerabek’s study, it is not
without reason to believe that they will manage to make a name for themselves
despite a difficult upbringing.
Thirdly, there are also respondents who dropped out of school mainly
due to poverty. Like those who are living with single-parent families, the
out-of-school youths (OSY) experience various levels of vulnerability
and marginalization, as they are trapped between being out of school and
joblessness. This nameless and faceless sector of young people, called in local
parlance as “istambay” (derived from the English phrase “stand-by,” meaning
a person readily available, physically able and yet has nothing else to do but
waste time or do things of no significant consequence to himself/herself
and his/her family), are the subjects of Batan, a Filipino sociologist (Batan,
2010 [unpublished]) who conducted intensive and extensive research. Batan
(p. 18) argued that the prevalence of the phenomenon of idle youths in the
country is symptomatic of the interrelated problems in the educational system
and the labor market in the Philippines. It would be unfair, therefore, to
blame youth inactivity or idleness solely on them. For, as Batan convincingly
pointed out in his doctoral dissertation, “istambay” is not really a product of
free choice or personal decision, but is a deeply-rooted structural defect in the
13
educational and economic system of Filipino society (p. 301). Accordingly,
to reverse the idle youth’s status, Batan suggested a double effort: Their
families need to invest in their education and training, and the government
must create accessible education and employment provisions (p. 309). As
for the institutional Church, the question that could be asked is: “How can it
effectively serve and give this group of young people another chance in life?”
Socioeconomic Status
In terms of the educational attainment of their parents, 6.7 percent of the
respondents said that their fathers finished graduate studies while 24.8
percent were college graduates; a total of 32 percent of the respondents have
fathers who have high educational attainment. On the other hand, there are
overall 67 percent of the respondents whose fathers did not finish college,
25.5 percent completed high school and 26.7 percent did not finish high
school. (See illustration 13)
Moreover, 7.9 percent of the respondents said that their mothers reached
post-graduate level while 27.5 percent were college graduates; a total of
35.4 percent of the respondents with mothers who have high educational
attainment. On the other hand, there are 64 percent of the respondents
whose mothers did not finish college, 27.4 completed high school and 22.9
percent did not finish high school. (See illustration 14)
The majority of the respondents reported that their fathers earn a living
for their families (57.3%) while 20.7 percent said that it is their mothers.
There are 3.6 percent and 5.1 percent who stated that it is them and their
siblings who earn a living for their families respectively. A quite significant
11.4 percent of the respondents mentioned other possible income earners.
(See illustration 15)
When asked about their average monthly family income, 49 percent of
the respondents said that their families earn less than PhP10,000.00, 21.9
percent earn between PhP10,000.000 and PhP19,999.00, and only around
6.2 percent earn PhP50,000 and above. (See illustration 16) Seventy-one
(71) percent of the respondents reported that the main source of their
family’s income is employment, 16 percent from business and 8.2 percent
from remittances abroad. (See illustration 17)
14
A little less than one half of them said that their residence is family-owned
(46.5%) and 43.8 percent said that it is owned either by their parents or
relatives. Some 10 percent said they are presently renting an apartment.
(See illustration 18) Despite their low family income, the majority of the
respondents perceived that they belong to middle income class (76.0%),
while 21.3 percent consider their families under the lower income class and
around 1.8 percent regard their families in the upper income strata. (See
illustration 19)
Discussion
According to a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey, the official definition
of poverty in the Philippines is an income below PhP8,022.00 per month
for a five-person family (SWS, 2014). Moreover, the 2012 Official Poverty
Statistics observed that, during the first semester of 2012, a family of five
(which is the average number of respondents’ family members) will need
around PhP5,460.00 monthly income to buy their minimum basic food
needs only and around PhP7,820.00 monthly for their minimum basic food
and nonfood needs combined.
Using Arriola’s (1995) measurement for the socioeconomic status and
living conditions of the poor, many of the respondents belong to Type C
level of poverty. They are the persons and families with regular but very
low income (i.e., minimum wage and below). Based on these characteristics
and circumstances, Arriola accordingly proposed an opportunity creation
package, which provides “less than 50 percent welfare, with greater
emphasis on social development technologies, technical skills training and
financial assistance to individuals and/or small groups for micro and cottage
enterprises under very soft terms.”
Leisure Activities
Among the listed leisure activities, the data show the following as the top
three leisure activities of the respondents: three times a week, they watch
TV/DVD (51%), read a book (33.8%) and join church activities (22.65%).
(See table 1)
15
T
his section describes the religiosity and religious domains of the
respondent-youth. It presents their perception on the importance
of religion and their religiosity based on the five domains, namely
group identification, ideology, public practice, private practice and
religious experience. It is predicted that most, if not all, of the five domains would
associate with the respondents’ demographic and socioeconomic variables.
Self-Assessed Religiosity
The survey considered mainly the importance given by the respondents
to religion in their life. They were first asked to check one of the four-choice
answers ranging from Very Important to Not At All Important: How important is
religion in your life? The results show that 89.5 percent of respondents consider
religion as very important, with 8.7 percent as somewhat important, or a total of
98.4 percent consider religion important. A very insignificant 0.4 percent sees
religion as not at all important and a very small 1.4 percent thinks that it is not
very important, or a total of 1.8 percent do not consider religion as important.
The respondents also reported a similar high level of self-assessed religiosity.
Some 38.5 percent rated themselves as very religious and 47.6 percent as
somewhat religious, or a total of 86.1 percent considered themselves as religious.
In contrast, a very small percent (1%) of the respondents said that they are not at
all religious and 13 percent self-rated themselves as not very religious, or a total
of 14 percent are not religious. A negligible 0.9 percent did not answer this item.
As already mentioned above, this most recent finding confirms what has already
been found in previous studies on Filipino religiosity both local and foreign
(Mangahas & Guerrero, 1996; SWS Survey on Filipino Youth, 1991 and 1996;
Master Card International Asian Ideals Survey, 1996; Gallup Survey, 1979; ISSP,
16
1993; World Values Study Group, 1995 and 1996). (See illustration 21)
The FGDs reveal the participants’ view of religiosity as mere attendance in
religious activities. However, there are also those who thought that it may not
be solely measured by external practices, such as attendance in church services
or membership in church organizations. To them, religiosity is also about
having a deep faith in and love of God, fidelity to the teachings of the church and
commitment to live according to Catholic values. However, when asked if their
fellow Catholic youth are religious, participants said that there are a number
of them who are not that religious because there are other things that tend to
attract much of their attention, such as studies, hanging out with their peers,
playing video games and social networking.
Religious Domains
Group Identification
This section examines the extent to which members identify with their
religious tradition. Rooted in the human being’s social and historical nature,
individuals customarily become members of an organized religion by adopting
the religion of their parents. However, as a sign of a higher reflective-personal
commitment, members are expected to identify with and feel a sense of
belongingness to an organized religion like the Roman Catholic Church, and
not simply remain in the synthetic-conventional level (Fowler, 1984). There
are indicators, though, that people have been leaving the Catholic Church
or are about to leave the Church (Mangahas, 2013); it is thus significant to
determine and assess the extent to which the respondents would value their
membership in the Catholic religion.
The data show that respondents highly valued their group affiliation, drawing
an overall mean score of 3.67 indicative of strong agreement, as shown by
the highest and lowest indicators: I am proud of my Catholic background
(M=3.76, SD=.475) and I feel a strong sense of belonging to the Catholic
Church (M=3.63, SD=.536). Since ordained priesthood and religious life
are important aspects of the Roman Catholic tradition, it is worth noting
that 43 percent of the respondents have thought of becoming priests or nuns
(M=2.41, SD=.833). However, there are also 13 percent who have sometimes
thought of leaving the Catholic Church (M=1.6, SD=.854). (See table 2)
17
The FGD results explained and validated the respondents’ strong sense
of belongingness to the Church. When asked about their feelings on being
Catholics, participants expressed positive emotions like being proud,
admiration, sense of fulfillment and being trustworthy. For them, being
Catholic provides a sense of joy and comfort; it makes them feel blessed for
experiencing God’s presence in the Church.
Furthermore, participants expressed their perceived sense of freedom in being
Catholics. They gave importance to the fact that the Church, as an organized
communion, gives them space to make personal choices. When compared
with other religious groups, they find the lax discipline or not so demanding
stance of the Church more attractive. In turn, they felt that membership in the
Church is both a privilege and a responsibility. On the one hand, it is a privilege
because of their firm belief that Jesus Christ founded the Church Himself. It is
a responsibility because it expects and demands fidelity and obedience to its
norms, on the other.
For better or for worse, members of the church exert influence on one another.
As Wilson (1976) puts it: “Religion is always primarily a communal, as distinct
from a societal, institution.” Thus, when asked who influenced them in their
Catholic belief and practices, they said that they are very much influenced by
their parish priests (M=3.54, SD=.744), by their mothers (M=3.46, SD=.776)
and by their co-members in religious organizations (M=3.33, SD=.853). It is
noteworthy that fathers (M=2.94, SD=.971) have lesser influence in practicing
their faith compared with mothers, co-members and grandparents (M=2.99,
SD=1.036). (See table 3)
Another important indicator of religious group identification is membership in
church-based organizations. The majority of the respondents said that they are
members of church-based organizations (71.3%). (See illustration 22) Their
preferred activities to attend to in their religious organizations are serving
the parish (50%), prayer meetings (46.2%), youth camps (45%), retreats and
recollections (41.7%) and mass sponsorship (40.2%). (See table 4)
Ideology
The domain of ideology refers to the social expectation that religious individuals
have beliefs in the existence of a transcendent reality, and its normative
relationship with human beings. These beliefs serve as the objective and
categorialized dimension of a religious tradition. The believer is expected to
adhere to the beliefs and moral norms of such tradition.
18
The overall mean of 3.41 indicates that the respondents strongly believed in
what the Church professes and teaches about beliefs and morals.
This is clearly evident in the ten beliefs which obtained the highest agreement
mean score to what the Catholic Church teaches: 1) God is our Creator
(M=3.90, SD=.328), 2) Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead (M=3.85,
SD=.395), 3) God is a Triune God (M=3.84, SD=.403), 4) Jesus Christ is true
man and true God (M=3.84, SD=.396), 5) God, through His providence,
protects and guides all that He has created (M=3.81, SD=.428), 6) Jesus Christ
ascended body and soul into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of
God (M=3.78, SD=.483), 7) the Bible is the inspired word of God (M=3.74,
SD=.487), 8) the Holy Spirit empowers the Church (M=3.68, SD=.543), 9)
the center of the Church’s public worship is the sacrament of the Eucharist
(M=3.66, SD=.536) and 10) the sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ
Himself (M=3.54, SD=.610).
The following second cluster of propositions is composed of six beliefs with
means indicating agreement: 1) The body and blood of Jesus Christ are truly,
really, and substantially present in the Eucharist (M=3.48, SD=.747), 2) At
the end of the world, Christ will come again to pronounce judgment (M=3.45,
SD=.686), 3) The Sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation to those
who, after baptism, fall into grievous sin (M=3.47, SD=.658), 4) Membership
in the Church is necessary for the salvation of humankind (M=3.26, SD=.762),
5) Bishops and priests have the power to absolve sins (M=3.12, SD=.805)
and 6) The Pope is infallible when he speaks in matters of faith and morals
(M=3.0, SD=.783).
Related to the doctrinal beliefs are the moral teachings of the Roman Catholic
religion. Basing on its doctrinal beliefs, the church’s hierarchy, most visibly
represented by the Bishops, provides moral guideposts that are intended
for the clergy, religious and laity. They deal with issues on socio-politics—
electoral irregularities, graft and corruption, governance and public service,
and charter change; on economics—rural and urban poverty, humane wages
for laborers, situations of farmers and fisherfolk, and landlessness; on human
life—abortion; political killings and abductions; on human sexuality—family
and population growth; and on the environment—illegal logging, mining and
climate change.
In terms of the moral teachings of the church, the data show the following
results: They strongly agreed that life is a gift from God (M=3.73, SD=.558)
and abortion is a sin (M=3.57, SD=.885). They agreed that mercy killing or
euthanasia can never be justified (M=3.15, SD=.938), divorce should never
19
be an option for married couples (M=3.14, SD=.851), it is a sin to use artificial
contraceptives (M=3.06, SD=.897) and homosexual acts are morally wrong
(M=3.06, SD=.967).
Respondents also agreed that pre-marital sex is wrong (M=3.09, SD=.851), that they
do not support the Reproductive Health (RH) Law (M=2.39, SD=1.025) and that
they think the Catholic Church hierarchy should not be involved in political issues
(M=2.34, SD=.955). (See table 5)
The participants in the FGDs clarified their stance on these three moral issues.
With regard to premarital sex, FGD participants expressed a full but nuanced
endorsement of church teaching on sex before marriage. They believed that
premarital sex is wrong and may lead to other sins like abortion. They considered
it as immoral, disrespectful to the sacrament of matrimony and defiling to the
sanctity of the human body and sexuality. That being said, they also think that
sex before marriage may be acceptable based on the following conditions: “that
the partners intend to marry each other, that they are in their proper age, and
that they freely do it for love.”
With regard to the RH Law, the FGDs brought to the fore seemingly divergent
views between the Church hierarchy and her young members. On the one
hand, there are those who fully agree with the church’s official stance against the
RH Law. Like the church leaders, they did not approve the RH Law since for
them the use of contraceptives is dangerous and against Church teachings. They
believed that it is morally wrong because there is a human being deprived of his/
her right to life. They also did not agree with its proponents’ view that it will
solve the problem of poverty in this country.
On the other hand, there are those who also see the positive side of the
RH Law. They said that it is a means for population control. For them,
contraceptives have benefits like ensuring safe sex. It was expressed that
whether poor or rich, every sexually active individual will find it useful to
use contraceptives. They also argued that the Church must not interfere or
make decisions for couples especially with regard to the conjugal act.
The Church’s involvement in politics also draws a mixture of support and
disapproval from the FGD participants. There are those who said that the Church
should be involved in some sociopolitical issues in order to guide the people,
especially those who are in the government. They also expressed appreciation
in the way that the Church promotes and defends what it considers as morally
right. For them, the Church, like other institutions, has the right to speak on
issues and concerns that affect the common good.
20
On the other hand, there are also those who felt that the Church should not
meddle in sociopolitical issues. Invoking the principle of separation of Church
and State, they thought that its involvement must be limited. According to
them, church leaders need to prioritize evangelization and focus on matters
related to religion and spirituality. Furthermore, they should first clean up the
scandals from among their ranks and lead by their good examples. Abad (2001,
p. 356) pointed out that this “may mean that while Filipinos define themselves
as religious persons, both in belief and practice, and place much confidence in
the Church, they do object to certain church practices, particularly in the public
spheres, such as its involvement in elections and government decisions.”
However, when asked about their general impression on the performance of
church-related activities, they said that they approve of the way the Church
performs its ministry. They believed that the Church helps them strengthen
their relationship with God as an effective instrument of God’s presence.
Public Practice
This domain seeks to describe the public practice of religion among the
respondents. Public practice is the social expectation as to how individuals
belonging to religious communities manifest their membership by attending
religious services. When compared with religious belief and knowledge,
attendance in religious services is generally regarded as a more palpable measure
of religiosity and group identification. The respondents were thus asked how
often they attend church-related services.
The data show that there are 34 percent of the respondents who attend Mass
more than once a week, 45.4 percent once a week, 13.9 percent once or three
times a month and a very small number of 0.3 percent indicated that they never
attended Mass. Moreover, there are 50 percent of the respondents who go to
confession a few times a year, while 3.5 percent confess more than once a week,
8.7 percent once a week and around 4.5 percent never went to confession.
One to three times a month, they prayed the rosary (M=3.91, SD=1.14), visited
the Blessed Sacrament (M=3.56, SD=1.46), attended bible studies (M=3.51,
SD=1.42) and joined prayer meetings (M=3.50, SD=1.41). (See table 6)
Among the liturgical feasts, those which the respondents preferred to attend
are the following: Christmas (84.5%), Misa de Gallo (74.2%), Ash Wednesday
(68.5%), Easter Sunday (65.2%), Palm Sunday (58.2%), Holy Thursday (57.1%),
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (47.2%), Easter Vigil (46.1%), fasting
21
and abstinence during Lent (36.0%) and Visita Iglesia (33.4%). (See table 7)
Interestingly, when these services are grouped according to the three major
liturgical seasons of the Roman Catholic tradition, it is revealed that a clear
majority (83%) of the respondents are said to attend Christmas-related services,
58 percent to Easter-related services and the 54.1 percent to Lent-related
services.
The FGDs again appeared to corroborate the above findings. One of the salient
findings of the FGDs is the participants’ deep appreciation of Catholic formal prayers
such as the Angelus, the three o’clock prayer and the rosary. In general, prayers are
seen as basically effective and valuable ways to communicate to the transcendent
God. For them, religious practices symbolize and effect a deeper link with Him,
particularly mentioning the Sunday Mass as the most effective of them.
Private Practice
Private practice of religion refers to the social expectation that individuals
devote themselves to the transcendent in individualized activities and
rituals in private space. Religion is also a subjective commitment to a
transcendent reality, which the sociologist George Simmel (1997) regards
as more significant than objective systems of beliefs and practices. Along
the same vein, Catholic theology also believes that authentic faith requires
a subjective relationship with God, and therefore a life of personal and
reflective prayer (Villegas, pp. 44-45). As Villegas points out, in line with
patristic theology, the subjective knowledge of God gained through prayer
and contemplation is inseparable from the objective knowledge about God
gained through a reasoned or theological reflection in the light of faith. It is
not hard to believe though that, in the ordinary faith life of the believer, the
former (that is, life of prayer) could be more important and influential than
the latter mode of knowledge. An Aristotelian axiom has it: “There is nothing
in the intellect that was not first in the senses.” Applying this principle to
the knowledge of God, Thomas Aquinas holds that it is necessary to find
the way to faith through experiences made possible by the senses. If this is
so, then Ratzinger (2010, pp. 343-344) asserts that, in order to be effective
and meaningful, every proclamation of the faith—kerygma, catechetics, or
theology—must be by way of the senses.
In this light, it is therefore encouraging to know the report of the respondents
that they performed religious practices by themselves at least once a week
(M=5.19, SD=1.69). Around 55.7 percent of the respondents said that they
22
engaged in personal prayers several times a day (M=7.2, SD=1.14), and 30.3
percent once a day. Around 20.5 percent of the respondents said that they read
and study the Bible once a week, 12 percent once a day, 17 percent more than
once a week, 17.7 percent one or three times a month and 15.2 percent a few
times a year. Only 3.8 percent indicated that they never read the Bible.
Likewise, they said that they meditate (M=6.01, SD=1.91) more than once
a week. They also said that they pray the rosary (M=4.70, SD=1.79), visit
the Blessed Sacrament (M=4.44, SD=1.92) and pray novenas (M=4.06,
SD=1.16) one to three times a month. (See table 8)
When asked on how would they describe themselves as a Catholic during
the FGDs, in general, participants said that they are active Catholics and they
manifest such by doing the following: regularly attend Sunday mass and church
activities, join church-based organizations, serve in the parish, pray often,
practice devotions, go to annual confession, etc.
Religious Experience
This domain refers to the social expectation that individuals have some
kind of connections with a transcendent reality, God. This dimension is
represented as patterns of religious perceptions and as a body of religious
experiences and feelings.
The overall mean of 3.41 suggests that the respondents strongly believed
that they have experienced God’s presence in their lives. They said that they
felt God’s presence in their lives (M=3.69, SD=.505) and have experienced
God’s providence (M=3.60, SD=.564). (See table 9)
When asked whether they have experienced God in their lives as Catholics,
FGD participants expressed their joyful and happy feeling of being loved and
saved by God, of knowing Him and His words, and of experiencing the gift
of conversion. Since they found and felt God’s presence inside the church,
they feel contented as members and have very rarely thought of leaving
it. Moreover, they were able to see God’s presence in every good thing that
happens in their life, particularly in the way their parents and friends have
cared for them. Finally, they believed that prayer is the most effective way of
seeing and experiencing God’s presence in their lives.
23
Discussion
The data mainly reveal that religion remains highly appealing for the respondents
and that they continued to consider themselves as religious. They highly endorsed
what the Catholic religion professes and teaches about beliefs and morals, and
regularly practiced what Catholics are expected to do in terms of public and
private rituals. Moreover, these two domains of ideology and ritual appear to
easily translate into the other domains of group identification and experience.
Firstly, they were proud of their Catholic identity and have not really thought of
leaving. As practicing Catholics, they felt God’s presence and providence in their
ordinary lives. Based on all these findings, it is safe to say that the respondents
are generally rooted in the Catholic tradition, have remained committed to its
beliefs and disciplines, and thus may be best described as not nominal but as
practicing Catholics in one sense of the word.
However, it must also be said, for the sake of theological clarity, that being
“Catholic” also entails human values such as openness, tolerance, respect,
inclusiveness and a universal approach to life’s realities, especially in matters
related to religion and its domains. The results suggest that the respondents are
also in this respect “Catholics.”
Most importantly perhaps, being “Catholic” also entails a “sacramental”
perspective and approach to human life and history, that is, to see the created
world as something that points to and makes present and accessible the saving
grace of a transcendent God. The data from three items on the ideological domain
suggest an underlying or inchoate sacramental and mediational approach to
religion. Respondents believed that membership in the Church is necessary for
the salvation of humankind (M=3.26, SD=.762), that bishops and priests have the
power to absolve sins (M=3.12, SD=.805), and that the Pope is infallible when he
speaks in matters of faith and morals (M=3.0, SD=.783). A clear majority strongly
agreed or at least somewhat agreed to these belief-statements. (See table 5)
Moreover, since devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mother of God
is also a distinct and pronounced trait of the Roman Catholic tradition
(Landas ng Pagpapakabanal, 1996, pp. 29-31), it is noteworthy that the FGD
participants indicated a firm belief in what the Church teaches about Mary
as a “sacrament” of God’s offering of Himself and His saving grace in Jesus
Christ, that she was a virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus, that
she was taken up body and soul into heaven, that she is the Mother of God
24
and of the Redeemer, and that she was kept free from original sin from the
moment she was conceived.
Moreover, the FGD participants clarified their understanding of Mary’s
sacramental role in the life and mission of the Church. Some participants
expressed their deep and affectionate appreciation of the important role of Mary
in God’s plan of salvation. As one of the participants put it: “Mary is our Mother.
She will take care of us because we are her children. I believe that she has a role
to play in our salvation. She is a bridge to our faith. She is very prayerful.”
Similarly, the data on religious experience are also indicative of the respondents’
“Catholic” identity in its sacramental dimension. Aside from what was earlier
stated as the respondents’ strong agreement to God’s presence in their lives
(M=3.69, SD=.505) and experience of His providence (M=3.60, SD=.564),
they also strongly agreed that they feel God is speaking to them in their
prayers (M=3.4, SD=.617) and they have witnessed or experienced what they
believe is a miracle from God (M=3.25, SD=.691). In other words, there is an
encompassing sense of the transcendent or the “unseen” in the midst of human
life and experience which is indicative of a highly wide-scope type of religion
(Geertz, 1993).
The data from the FGDs show that knowledge about the sacraments surfaced
as one of their most important learning from Church teachings. According to
them, the sacraments are part of the core teachings of the Church because they
symbolize and effect their encounter with God. Sacraments are seen as religious
rites and means of divine grace and spiritual hidden reality.
In particular, they see the Eucharist as both a blessing from God and thanksgiving
on the part of the believers. They said that attending Mass gives them feelings of
contentment and being forgiven from their sins. They believed that the bread
and wine become the true and real presence of Jesus Christ once they are
consecrated by the priest.
Although they do not feel comfortable in confessing their sins to the priest, the
participants expressed the firm belief that the sacrament of confession is not
only a means to be reconciled with God but also a sure way to free themselves
from the burdens of sin and guilt.
Finally, the data on the beliefs and personal experience of the respondents are
likewise indicative of an expected healthy and creative tension existing between
25
the objective and the subjective dimensions of religious faith in their ordinary
life of faith. On the one hand, the data show what looks like a steady and firm
commitment to the core beliefs of their Catholic tradition. But, on the other
hand, there also appear some efforts to develop a personal spirituality quite
apart from the institutional or formal religion. In this light, it is one of the most
important tasks of the Church as an organized community to bridge the gap
between the bipolar of its tradition; the objective content of religious doctrines
vis-à-vis the subjective reality of spiritual experience. It is crucial for its ministry
to strike a healthy balance between the two sides of the same religious coin. Too
much emphasis on the objective dimension of the faith would leave it cold and
bland for the pluralistic and individualistic culture of today’s global society. In
the same vein, too much emphasis on the personal and subjective dimension
could result in what is called as “cafeteria Christianity” which lets people mix
and match traditions in any way they want, without discipline and without
accountability (Schlabach, 2002).
The FGDs bring this more clearly to the fore. In order to further enrich Church
teachings, the participants suggested some ways on how the Church can reach
out to the youth. This includes creation of a basic ecclesial community especially
designed for the youth, weekly catechesis, a reorientation for the youth ministry
and local youth activities in chapels. They also suggested using technology as
a medium in promoting youth programs and in spreading the teachings of the
Catholic Church. They also proposed the need to create programs to address
their needs as young people. The Church should promote the importance of
bible reading and study as an evangelical and pedagogical tool, and that the
Church must teach them on how to internalize and live the faith.
The FGDs also bring out to the open the phenomenon of nominal Catholic youth.
Probably one of the biggest challenges to the mission of the Church among the
youth is how to invite the youth outside the Church to see and experience for
themselves the purpose, meaning and value of their religious tradition. When
asked how the Church may engage the ‘unchurched’ youth, participants suggested
that the youth ministry must provide them with engaging and effective programs
such as youth camps and encounters.
The FGD participants suggested that the Church needs to find ways to encourage
their cohorts to join church-based youth organizations. They were very candid
about the perceived disconnect between their needs and concerns and the way
26
that the Church seeks to address them. They felt that the traditional ways of
proclaiming and celebrating their Catholic tradition and its values are no longer
meaningful and effective in addressing their personal search for meaning and
experience of the transcendent. They suggested the urgent need for change in
the ways Catholic education and youth ministry try to respond to the needs and
concerns of the young people of today.
In this regard, Flory and Miller (cited in Collins-Mayo & Dandelion, pp. 13-14)
identified three different religious responses to cultural changes among the young
people of today. The first is the Appropriators who, in their desire to be relevant,
tend to embrace and imitate the latest cultural fad in their style of worship and
programming such as rock concerts and mission trips. The second response is
called Reclaimers, because they seek to resurrect various liturgical forms and
practices from the past such as the “bells and smells” of the mainline churches and
in particular, the Latin Mass of the Roman Catholic tradition. They believe that
tradition has value and the potential to bring young people to the Church. The
third response is called the Innovators. Not simply packaging cultural elements
and rebranding them with a Christian label, they seek to embody the essence of
Christianity in genuine authentic ways that relate to the culture. Emphasizing
community, belonging and service, they frame their innovative approach from
one that is focused on overly institutionalized and inwardly focused church to
one that is focused on building community, both within the religious group and
with the surrounding community.
27
Demographic/Socioeconomic
Profile and Religious Domains
O
ne of the distinctive features of this nationwide study is its intent
to test a predicted relation between the respondents’ demographic
and socioeconomic characteristics and religious attitudes and
behavior. The results are deemed to influence plans and programs
that, on the one hand, recognize the influence of situations on human behavior,
as well as seek to employ a “one-size-does-not-fit-all” approach to Catholic
education and youth ministry, on the other.
Except for family structure, the following are found to have significant relationship
with religiosity (0.05 level of significance): Age, gender, educational attainment,
socioeconomic class, occupation and type of school. Respondents who are females,
highly educated, of higher socioeconomic class, either fulltime students or employed,
and come from Catholic schools tend to be more religious than their counterparts.
The older youth tend to have higher agreement with Church teachings as well as
deeper religious experience, but less frequently attend communal religious services
and pray in private than their counterparts. In other words, agreement with Church
teachings and experience of the transcendent do not necessarily translate into
frequent participation in religious services and praying in private. Inversely, those
who reported to have more frequent attendance in religious services and regularly
pray in private surprisingly tend to have lesser agreement with its teachings.
Female respondents tend to have a higher sense of belongingness with the
Church, agree with its teachings on faith and morals, pray more frequently and
experience God or the transcendent in their life. However, contrary to common
observations, it is also found that respondents’ gender does not significantly
relate with their public practice.
Except with private practice, educational attainment has no significant
relationship with the other domains of religiosity. Those with lower educational
attainment tend to pray more than their counterparts.
28
The data suggest that fulltime students and employed respondents will more likely
attend religious services and pray than working students and the unemployed.
The respondents’ socioeconomic status significantly correlates with their
group affiliation and attendance in religious services. As socioeconomic status
improves, so do group identification and attendance in religious services.
However, the same is not clearly established with regard to belief in Church
teachings, personal prayer, and experience of God or of the transcendent in their
ordinary life of faith.
As highly expected, students from Catholic schools are more likely to have a
higher sense of group identification, higher agreement with the teachings of
the Church, more frequently attend religious services, pray more in private and
experience God or the transcendent more in their ordinary life of faith than
those from non-Catholic schools.
The study also provides an opportunity to compare the religiosity among
the type of schools that the respondents attended. In terms of the domain of
group identification, it is found that no significant difference exists among the
four types of schools. However, respondents from Catholic schools exhibited
significantly stronger (at 0.05 level of significance) belief in Church teachings,
more frequent attendance in religious services and personal prayer, as well as
more intense religious experience compared to those from public schools or
state colleges and universities. Also, respondents from Catholic schools tend to
pray more often than those from private non-sectarian schools. (See table 10)
Discussion
It is evident how the findings from this study confirm a well-founded belief that
most, if not all, demographic and socioeconomic variables relate with religiosity
and its domains (National Study of Youth and Religion, 2004; Smith & Kim,
2003; Vermeer & Van der Ven, 2003; Smith & Faris, 2002; Regnerus & Elden,
2001). The influence of a person’s gender on religiosity is a well-substantiated
observation. One only has to count the number of churchgoers on any given
day to know that women tend to be more open and committed to realities that
transcend the physical world (SWS, 1992). Walter and Davie found that, even
in Western societies, women tend to be more religious on every measure of
religiosity, whether on churchgoing or private prayer/devotion or belief (cited
in Aldridge, pp. 168-169). They explained that this could be due to the fact that
women are more exposed and thus are made more aware of human vulnerability
29
to the many vicissitudes of life: Biologically, through the experience of childbirth,
and culturally, through their traditional roles as professional and informal carers.
Religion, as it should, seemed to provide them with a sense of security and
comfort amidst what a social psychologist calls as “the terror resulting from our
awareness of vulnerability and death.”
The influence of age on religiosity is also not at all surprising. As some studies
already found, older people tend to be more religious than their counterparts,
as interest in religion may be dependent on the life cycle (Davie, 2000; Voas
& Crockett, 2005). Young people tend to be less actively religious than older
people, because religion tends to deal with the ultimate and core questions of
the human condition and experiences that are more likely to arise in later life,
such as sickness, separations, retirement, and death (Aldridge, p. 70).
Since Catholic educational institutions are believed to be among the most
necessary and potent means of religious socialization, it is highly expected that
religiosity is also related to the schools where the respondents came from (PCP II,
1992). One local axiom has it: “Kung ano ang puno ay siya ring bunga” (What the
tree is, so will the fruit be). For better or for worse, David Myers (1994), a wellknown social psychologist of religion, points out that the power of the situation
cannot be underestimated in explaining human behavior. In agreement with other
social psychologists, Myers (1994, pp. 147-149; Villegas, p. ix) concludes that our
behavior is a product of our social history and current environment.
This can also be said about parental influence on children, particularly in matters
of religion. In fact, data from this study show that respondents considered their
fathers and mothers as highly to moderately influential in their own appreciation
and practice of public and private rituals. The influence of socioeconomic status
in terms of income earned by the respondents’ family comes as a bit of a surprise.
Is it because of the belief that economic prosperity is a sign of blessing from God?
Or its opposite, that poverty among the masses is God’s will and a way to test their
faith in Him? The Deprivation Theory of religion sees deprivation, whether relative
or absolute, as causes of the deprived one’s receptivity to a particular religion
(Glock, 1964). Given this, it would do well for any religion to take good care of its
poor, deprived and marginalized members. Rooted in its self-understanding as a
church of and for the poor, the Catholic Church in the Philippines has embraced
a preferential option for the poor, and their liberation from dehumanizing poverty
as one of its conciliar commitments and projects (PCP II, 1991; NPCCR, 2001).
30
On the other hand, some denominations, under the guise of altruism, may take
advantage of the poor’s vulnerability and depravity to attract and recruit them
(“Don’t trade faith for aid”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10 July 2014). It must
be admitted that such disguised behavior is a powerful reason why some sects
appeal more to the poor and marginalized. Be that as it may, it can be safely said
that members have left the Church and would not really hesitate to leave it in the
future not so much for reasons of one denomination being more orthodox than
the Church, but more often than not as a desperate attempt, among others, to stop
the grumbling of the guts.
Finally, the influence of the father’s education, in contrast to that of the mother,
seems inexplicable based on the earlier findings that the gender and religion of
parents are also predictors of religiosity. In a patriarchal culture like ours, could
it be that young people tend to be more impressed with their fathers’ educational
attainment than that of their mothers’? Interestingly, a study in the United States
of America found that religious youth are more likely to have positive relationship
with their fathers than their non-religious peers (National Longevity Study on
Youth, 1997). In addition, the family’s active involvement in religious activities
increases the children’s positive and high opinions of their fathers.
In recognition of the necessity of religious instruction both in private and public
schools, and of the vital role that the teaching of religion assumes in citizenship
formation, particularly the modeling of our youth, the Philippine Constitution
(Paragraph 8, Section 8, Article 15) provides for the teaching of religion in public
schools. The said provision states, to wit: “At the option expressed in writing by
the parents or guardians, and without cost to them and the government, religion
shall be taught to their children or wards in public elementary and high schools
as may be provided by law.” Be that as it may, the available time slot made for
religious instruction may not be adequate to allow for elementary and high
school students to be formed and to mature in their Catholic faith. Such will
make them vulnerable to local sects with agenda to proselytize and indoctrinate,
as well as to the influences of secularizing forces within a post-modern culture,
and as already mentioned above, to the availability of a plurality of religious
and spiritual practices made possible by the rapid growth in communication
technologies.
While moving beyond empowering them in the domains of ideology and
knowledge, or providing them with innovative ways of worship and practice,
31
and also because religion is always primarily communal as distinct from an
organizational or institutional grouping like the Church (Wilson, 1976, p.
89), there may also be a more pressing need to provide young people with
experiences of belonging and communion between clergy and lay, and between
the old and the young members of the Church. The late pastoral theologian
Ruben Villote (1988) speaking from his own personal experience with young
people, particularly with the migrant youth, wrote in his book, From There to
Here: “The youth are looking for another way of life. They are looking for an
opportunity to gather not primarily to perform a function and produce quick
results (again!!) but to spend precious time together, waiting on one another,
caring, shepherding one another, touching one another in the areas of their lives
that need healing, just being with one another.” The Catholic youth studying in
public schools may not know it and may not even ask for it, but they are surely
looking for these “experiences” which other religious groups are just too willing
to provide them gratis et amore.
The FGDs elicit from the participants the suggestion that Church programs
and activities be made accessible to the Catholic youth who dropped from
school. Youth religious organizations are good avenues for them to recover
their faith and nurture their latent talents. However, they could not join
competitions, congresses and other youth gatherings because of the required
fees. Because of limited resources, parish churches could not afford to send
many of their young members to formative youth activities such as youth
camps and mission trips. On the other hand, it is common knowledge,
especially among catechists teaching in public schools, that local and foreign
sects specifically target and try to attract young Catholics by offering them
free entertainment or anything that can make them experience the things
that that they consciously or unconsciously crave for such as affirmation,
sense of importance and belongingness.
On the other hand, thoughts of leaving the Church, whether rarely or otherwise,
can be both a personal limitation and an organizational one. Of those 13 percent
who have sometimes thought of leaving the Church, it is found that majority
were females (52.0%) who belonged to a younger youth group (80.7%), who are
mostly full time students (52%) with an educational attainment of some college
(31.4%), of some high school (27.5%) and of college graduates (20.9%), and
unemployed (20.3%), and generally come from intact families (67.3%), who are
studying in public schools, state colleges and universities (33.7%) and Catholic
32
schools (17.6%), originating from North Luzon (15.4%), Metro Manila (17%),
South Luzon (19%), Visayas (24.5%) and Mindanao (23.5%).
A related study, a SWS special survey on religiosity (17 April 2013) found that
the Filipino Catholics are increasingly becoming less faithful. Only 37 percent
now go to Mass compared to 64 percent in 1991. There are 9.2 percent who
even contemplate leaving the fold completely. It is also observed that this
alarming phenomenon is “more common among Catholics who do not consider
themselves as very religious, who attend church monthly at most and whose
attendance is lesser now than five years ago.”
Two well-known clerics, Fr. Robert Reyes and Msgr. Sabino Vengco, offered
their own explanations (cited in De Quiros, PDI, 15 April 2013). “Liturgies
are bland and boring,” says Reyes. Just as well, the practice of many churches of
taking a “second collection” during Mass is putting off churchgoers. It makes the
Church look excessively materialistic. And still the sex scandals that have rocked
the Church generally are straining belief. On the other hand, “[T]he flock didn’t
just suddenly dwindle, says Vengco, it’s been dwindling over the years. He agrees
with Reyes that boring sermons by some priests are among the reasons” of
the decreasing number of Filipino Catholics attending the Mass. “But there’s a
deeper one,” according to Vengco, “that the faith hasn’t really lodged deeply into
the Filipino psyche. We’ve been nominal Catholics since the Spanish period. It
is never a case of conversion but rather political accommodation. There is not
enough depth in our faith. We are satisfied with what is superficial.” To lessen the
possibility of Church members leaving the Church, Monsod (2013) in an article
suggested that “stronger catechesis, and masses [sic] to which the churchgoer
wants to go, rather than is obliged to go with gritted teeth.”
However, it could also be an organizational or structural issue. Although
religion has remained very appealing to the Filipinos in general, as shown by the
consistently large number of attendance in religious services, the Church as an
organization appears to lack the human resources that will provide and supply
its young members with a more personal and communal experience of being
Church (NPCCR, 2001; Villote, 1988). As Aldridge (pp. 93 & 107) pointed
out: “Size also brings the challenge of creating a sense of intimacy and fellowship
among a congregation numbered in thousands…” Wuthnow (cited in Aldridge,
p. 93), however, observes that “many mega churches address this problem by
providing small group meetings in addition to the main worship.”
33
Respondents’ Attitude
Psychosocial Attributes
Pro-social Behavior
T
he respondents’ total pro-social behavior mean score of 3.17
indicate agreement with actions that would tend to benefit others
or society as a whole. Specifically, the respondents strongly
agreed that they listen when others tell their problems (M=3.55,
SD=.544), cheer up others whenever they feel sad (M=3.37, SD=.562),
offer advice to those who may need it (M=3.35, SD=.599) and give time to
others when they need it (M=3.31, SD=.549). However, items pertaining to
volunteerism fall under agreement only. (See table 11)
It is evident that majority of the respondents are pro-social in their attitude
and behavior. This is clearly typical of a Filipino who easily finds value in
smooth interpersonal relationships (Church, 1987) and of a collectivist
orientation that recognizes the welfare of others as vital to one’s identity
(Triandis, 1995). Furthermore, there are many and varied psychosocial
theories that try to explain helping behaviors such as the empathy or
compassion theory, altruism theory, self-interest theory, distress theory and
kinship theory. But it can also be explained by culture and religiosity, which
are in this part of the world thinly separated. Filipinos are by nature kind and
helpful, imbued with the spirit of “bayanihan” as it is called in local parlance,
which is the Filipino spirit of self-transcendence and communal unity of
effort to achieve a common objective. This becomes more pronounced
in times of personal or national calamities and disasters. De Quiros
(2013) observes what he called as “burst of bayanihan spirit or malasakit
(compassion) during disasters, causing a wave of concern and goodwill and
willingness to give that went with it. Suddenly everyone wanted to give, and
not just give things but give of themselves.”
34
Sense of Agency
The total mean score of 3.0 indicates agreement among the respondents that they
have some sense of accountability about their actions and their consequences.
The respondents strongly agreed that they take care of themselves (M=3.44,
SD=.609), that their achievements are results of their hard works (M=3.38,
SD=.623) and that they make sure they do not neglect themselves (M=3.29,
SD=.592). (See table 12)
The data suggest that the respondents may have a sense of control in their lives.
They may feel that they are responsible in initiating and affecting outcomes in
their lives as well as in the lives of other people. The respondents moderately
possess an internal locus of control – that they are capable of changing things
around them through their actions and decisions (Rotter, 1966).
Communion
The total mean score of 3.18 indicates that the respondents would tend to
be sensitive to the desires of others, and would be willing to work toward
the common good.
The results reveal that they would strongly respect what other people feel
(M=3.43, SD=.540), would care about other people (M=3.41, SD=.559) and
would trust in the goodness of others (M=3.40, SD=.549). They also said
that they do not judge prematurely people whom they have yet to know well
(M=2.36, SD=.778). Interestingly, they also agreed that they are easily dismissive
of others (M=2.79, SD=.712). The overall result in this domain suggests that
the respondents, when given the opportunity, would very likely be sensitive to
the needs and interests of the common good. (See table 13)
Initiative
The total mean of 3.30 indicates a strong possibility that the respondents,
when given the chance, would choose to act on their own and take
responsibility for them.
The results also suggest that they would very likely strive to be better in doing
their assigned tasks (M=3.41, SD=.542), would most likely always think of how
35
they can improve or do better (M=3.36, SD=.546) and would persevere when
things get rough at times (M=3.35, SD=.588). (See table 14)
The overall result suggests that the respondents, when the occasion arises or
opportunity presents itself, would be able to assess and initiate the appropriate
actions without being told to or with a certain initiative. It is similar with
autonomy, sense of self-responsibility and self-direction. As one psychologist of
religion explains: “To be autonomous is the ability to act on an inner set of values,
of being one’s own master, making one’s own decision and giving personally a
direction to one’s own life” (Van der Poel, 1977, p. 51).
Risk Behaviors
The results reveal that at least 20 percent of the respondents had in the past
engaged in some risky behaviors. For example, almost one out of four experienced
getting drunk and one out of five reported to have surfed prohibited internet
sites without adult supervision. Around 15 percent said they have physically
harmed someone. Nearly 10 percent said that they went to unfamiliar or dark
places like bars, videoke restaurants, dark streets, etc. Almost 8 percent admitted
that they did engage in premarital sex. (See table 15)
When asked what could help them avoid risky behaviors, FGD participants were
almost unanimous in saying that parental guidance and behavior would play a
vital role to it. This is particularly true in the Filipino context where children
are socialized to respect and obey the older members of the family, particularly
parents (Go, 1993).
Moreover, studies show that adolescents who spend most of their growing years
in an intact family structure are more likely not to engage in risky behavior than
their counterparts (Cruz, Laguna and Raymundo, 2001). Parents, who keep
their families intact, give their children advantages that extend into adulthood,
including longer lives and better jobs (Waite & Gallagher, 2000). In addition,
they are more likely to attend college and are physically and emotionally
healthier; they are less likely to be physically or sexually abused, to use drugs
or alcohol and to commit delinquent or risky behaviors (cited in “Why married
parents are important for children?” 2013). Thus, the results clearly suggest that
the family plays a very vital role in the respondents’ avoidance of risky behavior.
36
Satisfaction with Life
Based on Diener’s (2006) proposed measures to understand the scores on
the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the total mean score of 5.1 indicates the
following subjective conditions of the respondents: That they like their
lives and feel that things are going well, that things are mostly good, that
they enjoy life in general and specifically its major dimensions are going
well – work or school, family, friends, leisure and personal development.
However, and since their current condition is obviously still far from
being perfect, they are very likely to draw motivation from the areas of
dissatisfaction not to become complacent but to face life’s challenges.
In general, the overall result suggests that the respondents felt satisfied with
their lives (M=5.59, SD=1.347), although they slightly felt that they already
have the important things that make them happy (M=4.86, SD=1.470.)
and, thus, when given the chance, they would like to change some things
in their lives (M=4.98, SD=1.620). That being said, the results also show
that they only slightly feel that their life is excellent (M=5.20, SD=1.108)
and that it is still only somewhat close to their ideal life condition (M=5.10,
Cultural Beliefs: Collectivism vs. Individualism
Khoury (2006) defines culture, in its broadest sense, as “comprised of the
shared beliefs, values, norms, customs and behaviors that are held by members
of a society and is transmitted from generation to generation through learning.”
Among sociocultural studies, the Individualism vs. Collectivism dimension has
been the most researched and widely studied (Khoury, 2006). Oyserman et al.’s
(2000) review of the last 20 years of research in individualism and collectivism
identified a common theme for each: “Individualism is mostly concerned
with valuing personal independence, while collectivism focused on a sense of
obligation and duty to one’s in-group” (p. 9).
The overall mean score of 2.63 indicates that the respondents are more
collectivist than individualist in their cultural beliefs. They believed that team
effort is superior to individual creative ideas (M=3.38, SD=.602) and mutual
help within a group means much more to their well-being (M=3.38, SD=.598).
(See table 17)
37
Political Participation
The overall mean of 3.1 indicates that the respondents are more likely to
be actively involved in the democratic processes and exercise their political
rights. Moreover, this also shows that they believed in the democratic form of
government as an effective agent of change. The finding appears to conform
to the SWS survey (2003) result that a great majority of the youth believes in
democracy as capable of solving the problems of the society.
Knowledge
The total mean of 3.07 indicates that respondents were knowledgeable about
current affairs in the public sphere, informed by various forms of mass media
and technology. (See table 18)
Values
The total mean of 3.25 indicates that the respondents believed in the democratic
values of respect and tolerance and obedience to democratic principles and
procedures. (See table 19)
Trust
The total mean of 3.11 indicates that the respondents believe that government
leaders and democratic institutions can still be trusted to fulfill their promises.
(See table 20)
Space
The total mean of 2.68 indicates that respondents felt that, for democracy to
flourish, a public sphere is needed where they could share their ideas and
aspirations to participate in its political affairs through social networking sites,
among others. (See table 21)
38
Practices
The total mean of 3.30 strongly suggests that the respondents believed that,
in order to ensure good governance in society, people must participate in
democratic practices and exercise their political rights to: 1) Form and join
associations, 2) assemble, 3) vote, and 4) engage in civic activities. (See table 22)
Identities
The total mean of 3.18 indicates that the respondents considered themselves not
only as members of a political community but more importantly as agents that
have the right to participate in the political affairs of society. (See table 23)
39
Religiosity and Attitude
A
significant relationship has been established between group
identification, ideology, public practice, private practice and religious
experience with that of the psychosocial attributes, cultural beliefs
and political participation of the respondents (at p<.01). (See table
24) Further, a similar finding has been found claiming that religiosity, political
ideology and attitude are significantly related (Duriez, Luyten, Snauwaert and
Hutsebaut, 2002).
The correlation between religiosity and psychosocial attributes implies
that as religiosity increases, the respondents’ sense of agency, communion,
initiative and sense of well-being also increase. The more religious the
respondents are, the more they are satisfied with their lives. On the other
hand, those who have reported to have less engagement in risk behaviors
appear to have higher religiosity.
The study of Spilka et al. (2003) reviewed the various studies that established
the role of religion in helping people in need. This sense of belongingness
somehow contextualizes their love of God through loving and serving their
neighbor. For the respondents, especially those who are actively engaged in
the activities of their own church or parish in a variety of ways, serving God
is expressed through serving others, which is considered as a manifestation
of religiosity. This has been validated in the FGDs wherein participants
consistently expressed happiness and fulfillment in being able to serve
the Church and their fellow human beings. This then becomes a concrete
expression of living the faith through action.
It appears that religiosity relates with collectivism in the sense that religious
people will more likely have a collectivist attitude. Fostering group effort or
collaborative work plays an important role in the deepening of religiosity.
40
What is particularly interesting to note is that while respondents generally
agree that having a personal relationship with God is important, working
for the goals of the Church as an organized community is seen more as a
shared project than an individual endeavor. This finding appears to mirror
an understanding of the Church that recognizes its equally important social
and personal dimensions.
Results indicate that the higher the religiosity of the respondents, the more
likely they will get themselves involved in the democratic processes and
exercise their political rights. They also find very extensive and creative
use of social networking sites and other relevant existing media (such as
television, radio, newspaper, blogs, etc.) as a means to show their collective
concern and involvement in political affairs (Armfield as cited in Nyland,
2007). Nyland (2007) found that more religious members may be inclined
to use social networking sites for the purpose of establishing and maintaining
relationships in and among churches or faith communities. It was also
observed that young internet users tend to take advantage of modern means
of communication in practicing their faith.
41
Relationship of the
Domains of Religiosity
T
his section presents the correlation between any two of the five
domains of religiosity: Group identification, ideology, public
practice, private practice and religious experience.
Overall, between any two given domains of religiosity, there is a low to
moderate positive relationship, which means that when paired, it is likely
that as one domain strengthens, the other one follows, and vice-versa. (See
table 25)
A moderate correlation between group identification and ideology (r=.56,
p<.05) implies that as group identification strengthens, it is quite likely that
one’s belief in the teachings of the Church deepens. In the same manner, a
deeper belief in the Church’s teachings would more likely strengthen one’s
identification with the Church.
A moderate correlation between group identification and religious experience
(r=.487, p<.05) suggests that the more one identifies with the Catholic
Church, the more likely will one experience God’s presence in life. Similarly,
one’s experience of God’s presence will likely deepen one’s identification with
the Church.
A moderate correlation between ideology and religious experience (r=0.50,
p<.05) suggests that as belief in the Church’s teachings deepens, one would
more likely have an enhanced experience of God. Also, an enhanced experience
of God will more likely deepen one’s belief in Church teachings.
A moderate correlation between public and private practices (r=0.564, p<.05)
indicates that the more one attends public religious services, the more one
inclines to pray in private. Likewise, the more one prays in private, the more one
attends public religious services.
42
A significant but weak correlation has been established between group
identification and public practice (r=0.267, p<.05) and between group
identification and private practice (r=0.231, p<.05). These coefficients imply
that the more one identifies with the Catholic Church, the more one attends
public religious services and pray in private.
A significant but weak correlation between ideology and public practice
(r=0.178, p<.05) and ideology and private practice (r=0.0384, p<.05) signifies
that as one’s belief in Catholic teachings deepens, the more one attends public
religious activities and prays privately.
A significant but weak correlation exists between public practice and religious
experience (r=0.116, p<.05) and private practice and religious experience
(r=0.160, p<.05). The data mean that the richer one’s religious experience is,
the more he/she performs the rituals, both in public and in private.
43
Summary, Conclusion
and Recommendations
Summary
M
ost local studies on Filipino religiosity focused on the three
routine aspects of religion (doctrine, moral, worship) and
hardly engaged with the other equally important aspects of
knowledge and experience. Also, these studies did not set out
to determine how religiosity and religious behavior may possibly interact with
the demographic and socioeconomic contexts of the believing person. Previous
sociological studies found that these contexts also contribute in the shaping of
the person’s values, life purpose and group identification, and may thus predict
religiosity and religious behavior.
Conclusion
The study reveals a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the Filipino
Catholic youth’s religiosity in terms of ideology, public and private practice, and
religious experience in relation to their received religious tradition. Moreover, it
presents the diverse category of youth by describing the significant relationship
between and among the demographic and socioeconomic profiles, religiosity
and attitude. In this light, it is believed that both youth ministers and educators
will find this study very useful in designing plans, programs and activities that
are more relevant and effective in achieving desired outcomes.
The findings are mostly positive based on the self-rating procedures that
were generally employed in the gathering of data. The overall life-size picture
generated by the findings is that the Filipino Catholic youth of today have remained
firmly rooted in their Catholic religious tradition, have believed mostly in its teachings
about faith and morals, have actively participated in its normative religious services
44
and, in their own private sphere, have sought to establish a personal relation with
God. It is therefore safe to say that Catholicism, as an organized community, has
steadily provided its young members identity, meaning, values and purpose in
life. It is very likely, therefore, that Catholic education and youth ministry, for the
most part, appeared very responsive to the integral needs and concerns of their
target beneficiaries.
Recommendations
The following are hereby recommended:
1. Although this is something that youth ministers and educators should
have been doing all along, there is a need to pay extra attention to the
ten sectors of the respondents due to their significant numbers, as well
as pay particular attention to the “one-size-does-not-fit-all” approach to
youth ministry and education, specifically directed to:
•
those who are between 13-22 years of age (80.3%) who
tend to be less religious than their counterparts in terms of
institutional religion (through no fault of their own, perhaps,
as interest in religion may be dependent on the life cycle);
•
those who think that the Church should not be involved in politics
(55.7%), and may be unaware of its right and duty to evangelize
the secular arena, particularly in promoting good governance;
•
those who do not agree with the Church’s stance on the RH Law
(49.2%), and may have an inadequate understanding of its
expected impact on the moral fiber of church members and
their families;
•
those who are in public schools (55.12%), and thus are more
likely receiving less pastoral and catechetical care than those
who are studying in Catholic schools;
•
those who had thoughts of becoming a priest/nun (43%), in view
of an alarming decline in the numbers of young people who
want to serve God and the Church in these vocations;
•
those who are in the lower economic bracket (49%), and thus
would not only be vulnerable to those who may take advantage
of their economic deprivation but surely need the Church’s
socioeconomic support;
45
•
those who are unemployed (18.3%) or who dropped out of school
(18.1%), and thus may be in the same boat as those in the
lower economic bracket, and those studying in public schools;
•
those who at times had thoughts of leaving the Church (13%)
and are vulnerable to sects who are on the prowl to proselytize
them;
•
those whose parents are both alive but do not live together (9.4%),
and thus socio-psychologically at a clear disadvantage when
compared with those who live with both parents; and
•
those whose fathers are deceased (10.1%) and may be in financial
dire straits, and thus are either forced much earlier than they
should to earn income for their families, or to combine work
and studies only to drop out of school later.
Any long- or short-term solutions to the problems and challenges
being faced by the youth ministry and Catholic education that ignore
their particular contexts or settings will miss one of the key elements
that makes plans and programs appropriate, effective and sustainable:
That is, the ability to adapt to the constantly changing internal (such
as psychosocial, moral, spiritual changes) and external environments
(such as cultural, economic, political, social, legal, and technological
changes), in order to get an idea of how best to complete and address
young people’s needs and concerns. To give them a better and
appropriate ministry, those in Catholic education and youth ministry
must be able to respond to the dynamic and even competitive, if not
hostile, environments.
2. To conduct research on the transmission of religious faith to the Filipino
Catholic youth, whether formal or informal, in parishes or schools.
46
North Luzon
Demographic and
Place of origin
T
here are a total of 402 respondents from North Luzon comprised
as follows: Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc Lagawe 13.1 percent,
Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk 8.1 percent, Diocese of Balanga
12.3 percent, Diocese of Bangued 12.6 percent, Diocese of
Cabanatuan 13.6 percent, Diocese of Iba 13.1 percent, Diocese of Ilagan
11.4 percent, and Diocese of San Jose, Nueva Ecija 13.3 percent. Around
1.7 percent did not indicate their diocese. (See illustration 1)
Age, Gender and Occupation
The average age of the respondents is 19 years old (M=19.13, SD=4.809) at
the time of the survey. The majority of them belong to the younger youth,
which is between 13 to 22 years old (80.3%) while the older youth group
(19.7%) is between 23 to 39 years old (See illustration 2). There are 50.4
percent females and 48.6 percent males. Only 1 percent did not indicate
their gender. (See illustration 3)
The data show that, of the respondents, 49.9 percent are full time students,
15.8 percent are employed, 15.8 percent are unemployed, and 4.1 percent
are working students. There are 14.4 percent who did not answer. (See
illustration 4)
Among the student respondents, 6 out of 10 are from public schools, state
colleges and state universities (60%). There are 27.8 percent from private
48
Catholic schools, 10.5 percent from private non-sectarian schools, and only 1.7
percent from private Christian schools. (See illustration 5)
The highest educational attainment of the respondents are 33.6 percent for
some college, 30.4 percent for some high school, 16.3 percent for college, 7.1
percent for high school, 6.1 percent for post-graduate, 3 percent for vocational,
and 1.5 percent for elementary. Around 1.7 percent did not answer this item.
Out-of-School Youth
For the 17 percent respondents who are out-of-school youth (OSY), most of
them left school for less than one year (44.3%) which is approximately one in
every two students. In addition, approximately one in every three respondents is
OSY between one and three years (35.7%), and more than one in every ten left
school for more than six years (14.3%). Very few fall between four and six years
(5.7%). (See illustration 7)
Regarding their reasons as OSY, six in every ten registered that their parents can
no longer support their schooling (56.7%). Around two in every ten opted to
find a job so they can contribute to the family income (19.4 %) and that the
other siblings can go to school (17.9%). A small number of the respondents
decided to leave schooling because they were bored (6%) or got sick (3%). (See
illustration 8).
Family Situation
The majority of the youth (70.1%) have parents who are both alive and living
together. This means that seven in every ten respondents are blessed with their
parents’ presence in the family. Two in every 20 respondents (10.4%) have
parents who are both alive but live separately. A few of the youth have deceased
fathers (9.4%). Nearly two in every 40 respondents have parents who are both
alive but the father works abroad (4%). The remaining population have the
following statistics: Parents are alive but the mother is working abroad (2%),
the mother is deceased (3.5%), and both parents are deceased (0.7%). (See
illustration 9)
49
Most of the respondents (79.8%) have parents who are married in the Catholic
Church. Two in every 20 respondents have parents who are married in civil
rites (12%). Two in every 100 are married in Christian rites (2%). Very few have
unmarried parents (5.6%). (See illustration 10)
An overwhelming majority (95.3%) of the youth have Catholic parents. Only
a few have Catholic mothers and non-Catholic fathers (2.7%), Catholic fathers
and non-Catholic mothers (1.7%), and non-Catholic parents (0.2%). (See
illustration 11)
The highest educational attainment levels of the respondents’ fathers are high
school (28%), college (27.2%), elementary (10.1%), some college (9.2%),
post-graduate (7.9%), some high school (6.7%), vocational (5.2%) and some
elementary (5.2%). Three in every ten youth have fathers who finished high
school and college while two in every 20 have fathers who graduated from
elementary and reached college. (See illustration 12) The highest educational
attainment of the respondents’ mothers are college (27.1%), high school
(27.3%), some college (10.6%), elementary (10.3%), post-graduate (8.6%),
some high school (7.3%) and vocational (3.9%). A little less than three in
every ten respondents have mothers who finished college and high school. Two
in every 20 respondents have mothers who finished elementary and entered
college. (See illustration 13)
Nearly six in every ten of the respondents’ fathers (58.9%) are the
breadwinners of the family. Mothers (20.4%) come in second. Other
members (11.6%), siblings (5.2%), and themselves (4%) as breadwinners
follow respectively. (See illustration 14)
The average family monthly income of the respondents is less than PhP10,000.00
(47.6%) which is four in every ten respondents. There are two in every ten
respondents who have a family monthly income between PhP10,000.00 and
PhP19,999.00 (24.7%), and two in every 20 respondents who have between
PhP20,000.00 and PhP29,999.00 (11.7%). Around 4 percent have not answered
the question. (See illustration 15)
Generally, the respondents’ main source of income is employment (73.4%)
which is seven in every ten respondents. The other sources are business (16.4%)
50
and remittance from abroad (10.2%). (See illustration 16)
Most of the respondents (82.4%) perceived that they belong to the middle class
status. This indicates that eight out of ten considered themselves as falling in the
middle class. Some claimed that they are in the low class status (6.4%) which is
nearly one in every five. Very few claimed that they are in the upper class (1.2%).
Two percent did not answer. (See illustration 17)
On the average, respondents reported that there are about six permanent
members in their household (M=6.04, SD=2.2). (See table 1) The majority of
the youth live with their parents and siblings (69.4%). There are few who live
with their mothers and siblings (13%) which is a little more than one in every
ten. But very few live with their fathers and siblings (5.1%) and other relatives
such as aunts, uncles or cousins (4%). (See illustration 18)
The majority of the respondents said that their parents or their relatives owned
their residences. Only a few of them are renting houses (6.8%) which is basically
less than two in every 20 respondents. (See illustration 19)
Leisure Activities
Data show that on the average, the respondent-youth engaged in leisure activities
a few times a month. One in every two respondents watches TV and DVD three
times a week (51.6%), making it the most preferred leisure activity. Reading
books comes second. Two in every five respondents read books three times a
week (35.7%). Joining church activities three times a week is also considered
leisure to a quarter of the population (25.2%). One in every five respondents
love to go strolling (21.3%), play computer games (17.5%), and play their
favorite sports (16.2%) three times a week. They love buying gadgets (57.1%)
and engage in charity works (49.4%) few times a month. Two in every five youth
throw parties (45.1%), join social clubs (42.3%), watch movies (39.2%), dineout with the family (38.6%), go shopping (38.1%), watch concerts (35.5%) and
take local vacation trips (3.5%) a few times a month. Also, three in every ten
respondents attend prayer meetings (31.8%), dine-out with friends (32.4%)
and play sports (29.7%) a few times a month. (See table 2)
51
Discussion
As the demographic profile shows, the ratio between female and male
respondents is almost proportional (50.4%:48.6%). This data is relatively close
to the Philippine ratio of 100.53 males to 100 females (World Data Atlas, 2010).
Half of the youth are fulltime students. The average age of the youth surveyed
is 19 years old. According to the 2014 CIA World Factbook, persons between 0
and 24 years comprise 53.1 percent of the Philippine population. An estimated
52 percent of the world’s population is under 30 years of age (Qualman, 2010).
In the Philippines, data showed that many of them studied in public schools,
state universities and colleges (35.1%), or that four in every ten youth hailed
from these institutions.
The 17 percent out-of-school youth incidence is caused by poverty. A poor
household is defined to have a monthly family income below PhP8,022.00 for
five members (SWS, 2014). In addition, the Official Poverty Statistics (2012)
mentioned that during the first semester, a family of five (which is the average
number of the respondent’s family members) must shell-out approximately
PhP5,460.00 per month in order to afford the minimum basic food needs, and
another PhP2,360.00 for non-food needs. With 47.6 percent of the respondents’
average family income of less than PhP10,000.00 and another 25 percent of
less than PhP20,000.00, being out-of-school remains and will be an increasing
concern for the youth. The out-of-school youth generally live a life of idleness
or popularly known as the “istambay”. While it is symptomatic of the interrelated
adversities in the Philippine educational system and labor market (Batan,
2010), the OSY phenomenon provides an opportunity for the Church to create
programs and activities to engage them in pastoral works.
The majority of the youth have parents who are married in the Catholic Church.
The primary role that the Filipino family plays in a youth’s life is a well-examined
phenomenon (Medina, 1991 and 2001; Ramirez as cited in Batan, 2010).
Parents of well-knit families provide advantages to their children that extends
into adulthood including better jobs and longer lives (Waite & Gallagher, 2000).
Close family ties also indicate that a majority of the youth live with their parents
and siblings even in adulthood and after marriage (Dy, 1996).
Despite the fact that four out of five respondents perceived themselves to belong
in the middle class bracket, their monthly average income would indicate,
according to Arriola’s socioeconomic status measurement, that they belong to
52
Type C level of Poverty (Arriola, 1995). They are regarded as families with
regular but very low salary. Generally, they are the minimum wage earners whose
daily earning is PhP336.00 only (National Wages and Productivity Commission,
2014). To address this concern, Arriola (1995) proposes for an opportunity
creation package comprising less than 50 percent welfare with greater emphasis
on technical skills training, social development technologies and financial
assistance to individuals or groups, for micro and cottage enterprises under very
soft terms.
On the average, the data showed that there are about six permanent household
members in North Luzon. This figure is relatively higher than the National
Statistics Office (NSO) data, as reported by Trade Union Congress of the
Philippines (TUCP) that the average household size is 4.6 or 5 persons per
household in 2000. The average household size is the average number of people
who resides in the household, computed as the household population in a
specified area, divided by the corresponding total number of households in that
area (TUCP, 2012).
53
Religiosity and
Religious Domains
T
his section covers the domains of group identification, ideology,
public and private practice, and religious experience of the
respondents from North Luzon.
This measures the extent of the importance of religion in a person’s life. The
data showed that youth participants strongly identified themselves with the
Catholic religion (M=3.50). The data also show a varying degree of strong
agreement among the respondents relative to the following assertions: Being
proud of their Catholic background (M=3.74, SD=.446), making Catholic
identity as an important part of themselves (M=3.70, SD=.484), identifying
strongly with Catholics (M=3.67, SD=.506), feeling a strong attachment to
the Catholic Church (M=3.65, SD=.522), considering their being a Catholic
as a very important part of how they see themselves (M=3.75, SD=.458), and
feeling a strong sense of belongingness to Catholicism (M=3.62, SD=.556). It
is noteworthy that there are 12.7 percent respondents who have entertained
thoughts of leaving the Catholic faith, while 45.9 percent thought of becoming a
priest or a nun. (See table 3)
Ideology
Ideology refers to the social expectation that religious individuals have
beliefs regarding the existence and the essence of a transcendent reality and
the relation between the transcendence and human. With a total mean of
3.39, the respondents expressed strong belief in the basic teachings of the
Church. (See table 4)
54
They have strong agreement with the following: God being the Creator
(M=3.91, SD=.317), Jesus Christ having resurrected from the dead
(M=3.87, SD=.340), the belief of three persons in one God: God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (M=3.86, SD=.409), God through His
providence protects and guides all that He has created (M=3.83, SD=.397),
Jesus Christ as a true man and true God (M=3.81, SD=.426), Jesus Christ
ascended body and soul into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father
(M=3.81, SD=.459), the Bible as the inspired word of God (M=3.73,
SD=.479), the Holy Spirit empowers the Church (M=3.68, SD=.522), the
center of the Church’s public worship is the sacrament of the Eucharist
(M=3.65, SD=.511), the sacraments were instituted by Christ Himself
(M=3.5, SD=.606), the body and blood of Jesus Christ are truly, really and
substantially present in the Eucharist (M=3.44, SD=.771), the sacrament
of penance is necessary for salvation to those who, after baptism, fall into
grievous sin (M=3.44, SD=.642) and at the end of the world, Christ will
come again to pronounce judgment (M=3.37, SD=.673).
Respondents expressed agreement that membership in the Church is necessary
for the salvation of all mankind (M=3.21, SD=.780), and that bishops and
priests have the power to absolve sins (M=3.10, SD=.774). However, they have
relatively low agreement that the Pope is infallible when he speaks in matters of
faith and morals (M=2.91, SD=.769).
Concerning the moral teachings of the Church, the respondents strongly
agreed that abortion is a sin (M=3.44, SD=.642) and that life is a gift from
God so they do not have the right to take it (M=3.69, SD=.604). They only
indicated agreement on the following: Divorce should not be an option for
married couples (M=3.15, SD=.822), mercy killing or euthanasia can never
be justified (M=3.11, SD=.914), it is a sin to use artificial contraceptives
(M=3.07, SD=.847), and homosexual acts are morally wrong (M=3.00,
SD=.945). Moreover, they did not support the Reproductive Health Law
(M=2.43, SD=.997) and disagreed that there is nothing wrong with premarital sex (M=1.86, SD=.807).
Interestingly, the respondents manifested strong agreement that Jesus Christ is
one of the greatest prophets who walked on earth just like Abraham, Moses and
Mohammad (M=3.41, SD=.825). They also disagreed that the Catholic Church
hierarchy should be involved in political issues (M=2.66, SD=.912).
55
Public Practice
This domain refers to the social expectation that religious individuals have
beliefs regarding the existence and the essence of a transcendent reality and the
relation between the transcendent and human. Generally, the respondent-youth
engaged in the public practice of their Catholic faith one to three times a month
(M=3.57, SD=1.237). (See table 5)
In particular, respondents indicated that they go to Mass once a week (M=5.13,
SD=0.879), pray the rosary (M=3.76, SD=1.39), adore the Blessed Sacrament
(M=3.6, SD=1.421), go to prayer meetings (M=3.55, SD=1.433), and attend
Bible study (M=3.52, SD=1.387) one to three times a month. They also go to
pilgrimages, churches or religious sites (M=3.41, SD=1.336), pray the novenas
(M=3.36, SD=1.336), go to confession (M=3.10, SD=1.106), and attend
retreats/recollections (M=3.09, SD=1.104) few times a year. They said that they
pray the Stations of the Cross (M=2.97, SD=1.126) less often.
Usual Companions in Observing Religious Practices
The usual companions of the respondents in observing the above religious
practices in the ranked order are the following: Friends in religious organization
(46.61%), barkada (16.63%), others (15.43%), mother (8.96%), relatives
(5.09%), grandparents and siblings (3.06%), and very rarely, father (1.13%).
(See table 6)
The following are the religious activities that the respondents preferred to attend
with their friends in religious organization as their usual companions: Stations
of the Cross (54.1%), Bible study (52.2%), pilgrimages (50.9%), adoration of
the Blessed Sacrament (50.9%), prayer meetings (49.9%), retreats/recollection
(47.3%), praying of the rosary (45.3%), novenas (45%), confession (37.5%),
and Mass (33.2%).
Influencers in Practicing the Faith
Data suggest that parish priests (M=3.61, SD=.681), mothers (M=3.49,
SD=.734) and co-members in religious organizations (M=3.41, SD=.819)
have very much influenced the respondents in practicing the Catholic faith.
The rest, like grandparents (M=3.13, SD=1.001), barkada or close friends
56
(M=3.00, SD=.803), fathers (M=2.96, SD=.951), teachers (M=2.91, SD=.883),
neighborhood friends (M=2.83, SD=.813), aunts or uncles (M=2.78,
SD=.913), older siblings (M=2.74, SD=1.021), classmates (M=2.70, SD=.840),
and younger siblings (M=2.50, SD=.989) have lesser influence (somewhat
influenced) to the respondent-youth. (See table 7)
Observance of Liturgical Feasts
Most of the respondents observed Christmas (84.2%), Misa de Gallo (75.8%),
Ash Wednesday (71.4%), Easter Sunday (68.9%), Good Friday (66.7%), Palm
Sunday (59.3%), Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (56.5%) and Solemnity
of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (50.1%). Some of the youth attend
the Easter Vigil (47.9%), practice fasting and abstinence during Lent (36.8%),
perform the Visita Iglesia during Holy Week (32.3%) and observe other liturgical
feasts (7.9%). (See illustration 20)
Participation in Religious Organizations and Activities
On the basis of membership in religious organizations, three in every four youth
(73.2%) have religious affiliations in the parish. (See illustration 21)
As to the participation of the respondents in religious activities, more than half
of them serve in their parishes (52.1%). Nearly half of the population attends
prayer meetings (47.4%), youth camps (46.7%) and retreats and recollections
(45.4%). Some of the youth sponsor Masses (39.5%), fund-raising activities
(35.6%), sports activities (33.6%), leadership training programs (30.1%),
charity works (29.6%) and other religious organization activities (2.5%). (See
illustration 22)
Private Practice
This covers social expectation that religious individuals devote themselves to the
transcendent in individualized activities and rituals in private space.
Generally, the respondents said that they privately pray several times a day
(M=7.26, SD=1.15), meditate more than once a week (M=6.11, SD=1.77), read
the Bible once a week (M=4.7, SD=1.72), pray the rosary once a week (M=4.55,
57
SD=1.76), adore the Blessed Sacrament (M=4.38, SD=1.96) and pray novenas
one to three times a month (M=4.04, SD=1.67). (See table 8)
This domain refers to the social expectation that religious individuals have some
kind of experience of an ultimate reality, which affects them emotionally. This
dimension is represented as patterns of religious perceptions and as a body of
religious experiences and feelings.
Data show that the respondents exhibited a deep religious experience of the
transcendent reality (M=3.44). The respondents strongly agreed that they
feel God’s presence in their lives (M=3.72, SD=.50), have experienced God’s
providence (M=3.62, SD=.56), feel God speaking to them in prayers (M=3.52,
SD=.59), feel God’s intervention in the events of their lives (M=1.65, SD=.74,
Reverse-Scored), and have witnessed or experienced in what they believe is a
miracle (M=3.24, SD=.67). The youth also agreed that they feel God guiding
their decisions (M=1.8, SD=.92, Reverse-Scored). (See table 9)
Discussion
Data show that the respondent-youth expressed a high level of religiosity. This
result confirms the previous foreign and local studies on Filipino religiosity
(Mangahas & Guerrero, 1996; SWS Survey on Filipino Youth, 1991 and 1996;
MasterCard International Asian Ideals Survey, 1996; Gallup Survey, 1979;
ISSP, 1993; World Values Study Group, 1995 and 1996). The FGD participants
confirmed their deep relationship with God and kept their faith amidst problems
and challenges by nurturing a life of prayer and cultivating fear of God.
A majority of the respondents said that their usual companions in religious
activities are their friends in religious organizations. Given their psychosocial
stage, young people tend to find sense of belongingness and identity among
their peers apart from the home. Moreover, they also said that they experience
God through their peers within their chuch organization. The data also showed
that parish priests have a very high influence on the youth in practicing their
Catholic faith. The FGDs confirmed that they experienced fulfillment and joy in
serving their parish, and considered it as a way of serving God.
58
T
his section presents the results of correlation tests between the
respondents’ demographic/socioeconomic profile and their
religiosity. (See table 10)
Age and Ideology
The data revealed that the respondents’ age significantly relate to their ideology
(r=.101, p<.05). It is clear that as age increases, their degree of belief also increases.
Likewise, it is found that as they age, their beliefs regarding the existence and the
essence of a transcendent reality and the relation between the transcendent and
human tend to deepen.
Age and Public Practice
On the other hand, age is inversely correlated with public practice (r=-.178,
p<.01). This suggests that as respondents grow in age, their attendance in public
and communal religious rituals decreases or dwindles.
Gender and Religiosity
It is also observed that gender influences respondents’ religiosity in terms of
religious experience. The result (r=.121, p<.05) indicates that female respondents
tend to have deeper religious experiences than their male counterparts.
Educational Attainment and Ideology
The educational attainment of the respondents is seen to have a negative
influence on ideology. Looking at the result (r=.180, p<.01), it can be construed
59
that the lower the level of education, the higher the expectation of belief in the
existence and essence of a transcendent reality.
Occupation and Public Practice
Data reflect that the occupation of an individual has inverse relationship with
public practice. The result (r=-.193, p<.01) suggests that the higher the level
of occupation, the least likely will the respondent be a member of a religious
organization as manifested in their participation in religious and spiritual
activities.
Socioeconomic Status and Religious Experiences
The socioeconomic status of the respondents is seen to have a positive
association with religious experiences. The result (r=.136, p<.01) suggests that
the higher the socioeconomic status of an individual, the higher the level of
religious experiences.
Occupation and Religiosity
Data (r=.103, p<.05) reflect an inverse relationship between levels of occupation
and religiosity (Spearman’s Rho Correlations). The result suggests that the higher
the level of occupation, the least likely the respondent is religious.
In addition, data also reveal that there is a significant difference in religiosity
according to the following domains: Group identification, ideology, and public
practice among those individuals having different occupations. It implies that
religiosity according to these domains may be an influencing factor in the
occupation of an individual. Conversely, individuals having varied occupations
do not exhibit differences in the extent of religiosity, in so far as private practice
and religious experience are concerned.
Discussion
Results on the test of correlation mainly confirms a well-founded belief that most
demographic and socioeconomic variables relate with religion and its domains
(National Study of Youth and Religion, 2004; Smith and Kim, 2003; Vermeer &
Van Der Ven, 2003; Smith & Faris, 2002; Elden, 2001).
60
As individuals grow older, their beliefs regarding the existence and the essence
of a transcendent reality and the relation between the transcendent and human
tend to deepen. Based on numerous studies, older people tend to be more
religious than their counterparts as interest in religion is dependent on life
cycle (Davie, 2000; Voas & Crockett, 2005). The youth tend to be less actively
religious than older people because religion deals with the ultimate concerns
and experiences that are more likely to arise later in life like separation,
sickness, retirement and death. On the other hand, as people age, there is a
lower expectation of participating in public and communal religious rituals.
This indicates that as the person’s age increases, religiosity becomes more
personal and less communal.
In terms of gender and religiosity, the data reveal that females are more likely
to frequently experience the presence of God and become emotionally affected
than their male counterparts ( Johnson, 2002). Consequently, they tend to be
more involved in the parish than males.
The data likewise reveal that the lower the level of education of the respondents,
the higher the expectation of belief in the existence and the essence of a
transcendent reality. The intellectuals are likely to question fundamental beliefs
about God and the immortality of the soul. On the other hand, simple folk who
have not reached a high level of education tend to surrender themselves to a
bigger reality like God (Raines, 2002).
The results show that the lower the level of occupation, the higher the sense of
religious belongingness. A jobless person may find company with the people
in the Church. Catholics perceive the Church as the Church of the poor, or
Church for the poor—a theological perspective which was reinforced by the
Church after Vatican II. Almost all Filipino Catholics would adhere to the belief
that Christ came for the least, the last and the lost. To belong to the Church of
the poor, therefore, would most likely be a privilege for most Filipinos which
include the youth sector (De Mesa & Wostyn, 1990).
61
T
his covers the respondents’ pro-social behaviors, sense of agency,
communion, initiative, risk behavior, and life satisfaction.
Pro-social Behavior
Pro-social behaviors are actual acts or deeds that are clearly intended to enhance
the welfare of others. The respondents strongly agreed that they 1) listen to
others when they are told of their problems (M=3.55, SD=.513), 2) try to cheer
up others whenever they feel sad (M=3.33, SD=.533) and 3) give advice to those
who need it (M=3.31, SD=.57). The respondents simply agree to: 1) give time to
others when they need them (M=3.23, SD=.545), 2) get involved in projects for
the needy (M=3.16, SD=.55), 3) volunteer for cause-oriented groups (M=3.19,
SD=.59), 4) help the poor (M=3.05, SD=.51), 5) find it not tiring to do things
for others (M=2.05, SD=.71) and 6) do not often make excuses to people who
need something from them (M=2.07, SD=.68). (See table 11)
Sense of Agency
With a total mean of 2.99, the data show that the youth’s achievements and
situations are the outcomes of their personal decisions and actions.
SD=.602), their achievement is the result of their hard work (M=3.33,
SD=.661), and make sure that they do not neglect themselves (M=3.27,
SD=.572). They also agreed that they get to correct their bad habits (M=3.12,
SD=.58), the events in their lives result from the decisions they make (M=3.03,
62
SD=.71), they can change the things they want to change around them
(M=2.69, SD=.73), and they can make things happen (M=2.65, SD=.73).
However, they disagreed that they influence others to do what they want.
(M=2.48, SD=.72). (See table 12)
Communion
Communion refers to the care for others and concern to people beyond one’s
family and immediate social circles. It measures the extent to which the youth
show caring, benevolence and friendliness as well as respect and esteem towards
others. Most of them strongly agreed that they care about other people (M=3.39,
SD=.55), trust in the goodness of others (M=3.38, SD=.556), respect what
others feel (M=3.3, SD=.59), desire to be one with others in order to further the
good of the majority (M=3.34, SD=.57), care about what others feel (M=3.30,
SD=.59), experience the world through their interaction with different kinds
of people (M=3.2, SD=.58), and care about what happens to other people
(M=3.25, SD=.602). However, they expressed agreement only in terms of trying
not to hurt other people’s feelings (M=3.2, SD=.59), not being easily dismissive
of others (M=2.14, SD=.68), and not prematurely judging people whom they
have yet to know well (M=2.6, SD=.77). (See table 13)
Initiative
With a total mean of 3.25, the respondents strongly agreed that they have
initiave to do things on their own while taking responsibility for their actions.
In particular, they strongly agreed that they strive to do better in performing
tasks (M=3.35, SD=.54), persevere in all things (M=3.31, SD=.604), always
think of how can they do things better (M=3.3, SD=.55), try hard to accomplish
challenging tasks so that they can reach their goals (M=3.3, SD=.57), and make
sure that they finish what they started (M=3.27, SD=.57). (See table 14)
Risk Behavior
This refers to engagement in highly deviant behaviors that can negatively alter
one’s life course or developmental trajectory. With regard to risk behavior,
three in every ten respondents have experienced getting drunk (29.3%).
Almost one in every five respondents experienced physically injuring others
(19.6%) and surfing prohibited sites on the internet without supervision
(17.4%). Three in every 20 experienced being out of school (16.7%), having
63
excessive computer gaming leading to lack of sleep or socialization (16.4%),
and gambling (14.2%). Nearly one in every ten respondents experienced
cutting classes frequently (12.5%), using pain killers for non-medical reasons
(12%), going to dark places such as bars, videoke restaurants and dark streets
(11.5%), physically hurting themselves (10.3%), and threatening or bullying
others (10.3%). (See table 15)
One in every ten respondents have experienced damaging property (8.8%),
compromising safety while meeting with a stranger (8.6 %), stealing other
people’s things (8.3%), drinking alcohol regularly (8.6%), and smoking cigarettes
regularly (8.6%). A little more than one in every 20 have engaged in unprotected
sex (6.9%), in violent behavior (6%), been caught by authorities for violating
laws or regulations (6.1%). Nearly one in every 20 respondents participated
in violent gang fights (1.7%), had sex with more than one person (1.7%), and
had regular sexual contact (3.2%). A very small number of respondents took
sleeping pills without doctor’s prescription (2.4%), engaged in paid sex (2.2%),
got pregnant or had someone pregnant (2.7%), was kicked-out of school (2.0%),
appeared in pornography (2.0%), smoked marijuana (1.7%), took prohibited
drugs (1.7%) and sniffed rugby (0.7%).
Life Satisfaction
This scale assesses a person’s global judgment of life satisfaction (Diener et al.,
1985). The respondent-youth expressed moderate satisfaction with their life.
Most respondents expressed slight agreement to the following: 1) the conditions
of their lives to be excellent (M=5.12, SD=1.14), 2) most ways, their lives are
close to their ideal (M=5.02, SD=1.52), 3) if they could live their lives over, they
would change almost nothing (M=4.97, SD=1.553) and 4) so far, they have
gotten the important things they want in life (M=4.79, SD=1.58). Generally,
they expressed satisfaction with their lives (M=5.60, SD=1.269). (See table 16)
Cultural belief is measured using the collectivism scale. The collectivism
scale consists of two dimensions, namely individualism and collectivism.
Respondents can get scores for individualism and collectivism. In getting the
total collectivism mean score, the ratings of the individualism items are reverse
coded and added to the ratings of the collectivism items. The total mean score
indicates how much the respondents believe in the collectivist way of life.
64
With a total mean score of 2.64, the respondents indicated that they are
more likely collectivist than individualist. This suggests that shared beliefs
and obligations, social norms, values and customs are important to them.
(See table 17)
In terms of collectivism, they strongly agreed that mutual help within a
group means much for their well being (M=3.40, SD=.577), that they have
to keep the group’s welfare in mind (M=3.32, SD=.607), that team effort is
superior to individual creative ideas (M=3.33, SD=.631) and that the group/
community/society they belong to is a significant part of who they are
(M=3.39, SD=.589). However, they slightly agreed only that their salvation
is reached only after the salvation of the group (M=2.80, SD=.756), that
they gain a sense of security by associating themselves with a strong group
(M=2.66, SD=.757), and that communal ownership is preferable to private
ownership (M=2.99, SD=.710).
Indicating their individualist tendency, the respondents strongly agreed that
religion is about having a personal relationship with God (M=3.53, SD=.610)
and that they are responsible if they do something wrong (M=3.32, SD=.624).
They also slightly agreed that they perform better in competitive situations
(M=2.91, SD=.649), that being a unique individual is important to them
(M=2.82, SD=.784) and that they do not share their prayers with others; they
are personal (M=2.46, SD=.853).
This section covers respondents’ political participation under the following
sub-domains: Knowledge, values, trust, spaces, practices and identities of the
Filipino Catholic youth.
Knowledge
It refers to citizens’ access to reliable reports, portrayals, analyses, discussion and
debates about current affairs in the public sphere. Generally, respondents
agreed that they should make sure that they are updated with social and political
issues around them (M=3.07, SD=.63), and they engage in discussions about
political and social issues with their friends (M=2.96, SD=.60). Likewise,
respondents believed that in order to keep themselves informed they must refer
65
to various sources of information (for example, newspaper, television, radio,
social networks, blogs) (M=3.16, SD=.60). (See table 18)
Values
It refers to tolerance and willingness to follow democratic principles and
procedures grounded in everyday life, minimal shared commitment to the
visions of democracy and taken for granted sensibilities. Respondents expressed
strong agreement that Filipinos need to be respectful of different political
beliefs (M=3.36, SD=.59) and that collaboration with other political groups is
important to democracy (M=3.32, SD=.60). They expressed a fair agreement
that the Catholic Church’s involvement in politics is healthy in a democratic
society (M=3.04, SD=.73). (See table 19)
Trust
It refers to the capacity to extend a suitable degree of hope or belief to strangers
which facilitates collective civic efforts. Respondents expressed belief that
political parties are relevant (M=3.0, SD=.61). Also, they were hopeful that
government leaders will be true to their espoused promises (M=3.23, SD=0.68).
They believed too that their participation in civil society is seen important for
the advancement of political interest (M=3.13, SD=.6). (See table 20)
Space
They refer to public spheres where individuals can freely and responsibly
participate in what one social philosopher calls as “ideal speech situation”
(Habermas, 1990).
The respondents said that they use social networking sites to participate in
political affairs (M=2.73, SD=.782). They expressed affirmation to participating in
demonstration to air grievances (M=2.62, SD=.728), and seize every opportunity
to maximize their involvement in any political process such as debates, discussions,
seminars and campaigns (M=2.66, SD=.71). (See table 21)
Practices
They refer to action that generates personal and social meaning to the ideals of
democracy and of civic engagement. Respondents expressed strong agreement
66
that Filipinos must exercise their right to vote (M=3.63, SD=.545), and that
they will do anything that they can (e.g. serve as watchdog, be vigilant against
election fraud) to ensure the credibility of elections (M=3.44, SD=.583). The
respondents indicated level of agreement only as to whether they will participate
in the local governance of their community (e.g. barangay sessions, town
meetings) (M=2.88, SD=.69). (See table 22)
Identities
With a total mean of 3.19, the respondents agreed that they possess the
characters of an individual in terms of civic cultures, which involve the
sense of being part of a political community and some level of affinity with
other like-minded people. Respondents expressed strong agreement that
every Filipino is a political actor who has the right to participate in politics
(M=3.31, SD=.64). They also agreed to supporting the Catholic Church
whenever it takes a stand regarding different political issues (M=3.22,
Discussion
The respondents expressed moderate satisfaction of their life. Their slight
agreement to the quality of their life is an indication that, given the chance, they
would like to change and improve many things. Be that as it may, they generally
appeared collectivist and others-centered. They considered the welfare of
others very important, and were willing to attend to their needs if they have the
capacity and give time to them whenever it is necessary.
The respondents also manifested an average sense of agency. They considered
their current conditions and achievements as the result of their decisions
and hardworks. This shows that they exhibited a certain sense of personal
responsibility, endurance and perseverance. Consequentially, in general, they
did not engage in deviant behaviors. Despite this positive attitude, some of
the youth have been engaged in getting drunk (30%), injuring others (20%),
and surfing prohibited sites in the internet (18%). In fact, studies show that 60
percent of Filipino youth from ages 13 and above are taking or have had taken
alcoholic beverages (WHO, 2004; DOH-UP, 2001). Drinking is still common
among the young who are not living with their parents and whose parents
approve of their drinking. The challenge, therefore, is how to develop the sense
of agency of these deviant youth.
67
In terms of political awareness and participation, the respondents exhibited
moderate sociopolitical awareness, which is due largely to mass media and
social networking sites. Despite the perceived rampant graft and corruption
committeed by government officials such as the PDAF (Priority Development
Assistance Fund) and DAP (Disbursement Accelleration Program)
controversies, the respondents remained hopeful that the elected leaders will
fulfill their promises of prosperity and development in the country. It is for
this reason that they value political participation by expressing their opinions
through debates and discussion in the social networking sites.
Moreover, the youth expressed strong agreement that Filipinos need to be
respectful of different political beliefs and that they should listen to different
political points of view or opinions. Finally, the respondents expressed the belief
that political parties are relevant in order that democracy would flourish.
68
D
ata show that religiosity is significantly predicted by psychosocial,
cultural beliefs and sociopolitical beliefs and participation of the
Filipino Catholic youth.
Individuals having higher levels in all the domains of religiosity
exhibit positive psychological attributes: Pro-social behavior, sense of agency,
communion and initiative. Similarly, the domains of religiosity (namely group
identification, ideology, public practice, private practice and religious experience)
are predicted by cultural beliefs. The higher the religiosity of the individual in
the aforementioned domains, the more positive collectivist a person is (cultural
belief). In contrast, public practice is not predicted by cultural beliefs. All the
domains of religiosity are positively correlated with sociopolitical beliefs and
participation.
Data show a strong correlation between culture of collectivism and religiosity
domains. Collectivism among youth has strong association with group
identification (r=2.5, p<.01), ideology (r=.271, p<.01), private practice (r=.109,
p<.05) religious experience (r=.342, p<.01), and with public practice (r=.097,
p<.05). (See table 24)
Discussion
In terms of religiosity and attitude, individuals having higher levels in all the
domains of religiosity exhibit positive psychological attributes such as pro-social
behavior, sense of agency, communion and initiative. This reveals that those
youth who are religious are likely to possess a positive attitude in life. A similar
finding has been found claiming that religiosity, political ideology and attitude
are significantly related (Duriez, Luyten, Snauwaert & Hutsebaut, 2002). The
study of Spilka, Hood, Hunsberger and Gorsuch (2003) has emphasized the
various studies that established the role of religion in helping people in need.
69
This sense of belongingness somehow contextualizes their love of God through
loving and serving their neighbor. For the youth, especially those who are
actively engaged in the activities of their own church or parish in a variety of
ways, serving God is considered as serving others. This has been validated in the
focus group discussions (FGD, 2014) where participants consistently expressed
happiness and fulfillment in serving the Church and their fellow beings. This
then becomes a concrete expression of living the faith through action.
Likewise, the higher the religiosity of the individual in the aforementioned
domains, the more positive is their cultural belief (collectivist). Religious youth
mostly display positive cultural perspective in life. In contrast, public practice is
not predicted by cultural beliefs. Insofar as cultural belief is concerned, there is
no predictive value on public practice.
Generally, all the domains of religiosity are positively correlated with
sociopolitical beliefs and participation. This means that the higher the domains
of religiosity, the higher the sociopolitical beliefs and participation of the youth.
Those youth who are religious are likely to display positive social and political
convictions as well as involvement in the society.
70
Relationship of the
T
he data disclose a strong significant relationship between the
domains of religiosity. When one domain is high, it follows that all
the other domains of religiosity are equally high. For instance, when
an individual has a high group identification, he/she also has a high
level of ideology, public and private practice, and religious experience. (See table
25) This, somehow, validates the behavioral indicators of religiosity as theorized
by Glock (1964).
Discussion
The data show a strong correlation between the culture of collectivism and the
domains of religiosity except for public practice. Collectivism among youth
has strong association with group identification, ideology, private practice and
religious experience but has low association with public practice. It appears that
religiosity relates with collectivism in the sense that religious people will be
more likely collectivist in their attitude. Fostering group effort or collaborative
work plays an important role in the deepening of religiosity. What is particularly
interesting to note is that while respondents generally agree that having a personal
relationship with God is important, working for salvation is seen as a shared
project rather than an individual endeavor. This reflects a self-understanding that
the Church is a community of believers, the pilgrim people of God journeying
together toward the Kingdom of God (Wostyn, 2003).
71
Summary and Conclusions
A
number of local studies on Filipino religiosity have mostly embarked
using the three dimensions of faith, namely creed, code and cult.
The routine aspects of religion like belief, morals and practice are
underscored by many theologians and religious educators, but
they hardly studied other equally vital aspects and areas of life where possible
interactions may take place in the context of a believer. Many of these studies
never set out to determine how religiosity and religious behavior may possibly
relate with the demographics and socioeconomic situation of a believer. Other
studies, particularly on sociology and religion, discovered that there are other
contexts which contribute in forming a person’s perspective, worldviews,
group identification and values, and therefore, may determine their impact on
religiosity and the religious behavior of Catholics.
Based on the data and findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn:
•
The youth’s explicit agreement with the core teachings of the Roman
Catholic religion and the regular observance to rituals and tradition is
very promising.
•
The group identification has improved and membership/participation
in church-based organizations has increased.
•
The youth’s self-assessment of their Catholic faith, morals and the
experience of God in their life of faith reveals optimism.
•
Amidst the many challenges and struggles in life, a firm commitment
among the youth is manifested in their faith that consistently provides
them a sense of value, healing, identity, direction, purpose and a source
of meaning.
72
Metropolitan Manila
Demographic and
Place of origin
T
he respondents of 408 Filipino Catholic youth are from the
randomly selected dioceses belonging to the ecclesiastical territories
of the Metropolitan Manila. The total number of respondents are
distributed as follows: Archdiocese of Manila 26.9 percent, Military
Ordinariate of the Philippines 25.3 percent, Diocese of Kalookan 21 percent,
and Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa 26.4 percent. One respondent did
not indicate his/her diocese. (See illustration 1)
The mean age of the 408 respondents is 18.25. (See table 1) The younger age
bracket of 13-22 comprises 80.6%, while older youth from 23-39 constitutes
18.9%. (See illustration 2) The 52.5 percent of the respondents are females
while 45.8 percent are males. Noted also from the data is 1.7 percent who did
not answer this item. (See illustration 3)
Around 58.1 percent of the respondents are fulltime students; 16.7 percent are
unemployed; 15.9 percent are employed and a little less than 3.9 percent are
working students. Around 5.4 percent of the total respondents did not indicate
their occupation. (See illustration 4)
In terms of school attended, the 259 student-respondents are distributed as
follows: 63.3 percent studied in public school/state college or university, 24.7
percent were from private Catholic schools, 8.9 percent from private non-
74
sectarian schools and 3.1 percent from private Christian schools. (See illustration
5)
Moreover, responses indicating the year level attained are also distributed into
the following: 44.4 percent some high school, 20.6 percent some college, 19.9
percent college, 8.3 percent high school, 1.5 percent vocational, also 1.5 percent
post- graduate, 0.7 percent elementary, and 0.2 percent some elementary. A total
of 2.9 percent did not state their educational attainment. (See illustration 6)
Out-of-School Youth
There are 19.4% out-of-school respondents. About 6.4 percent of them were
out of school less than a year at the time of the survey, while 6.9 percent were
between one and three years, and 3.7 percent between four and six years. There
were 2.5 percent who indicated that they have been away from school for more
than six years. (See illustration 7)
In terms of the reasons for dropping out of school, the respondents gave the
following: Their parents no longer have the financial capacity to support
them was the reason for 49 percent, 12 percent had to stop so that their
siblings can go to school,19 percent indicated that they need to find a job so
they can contribute to the family income, 2 percent said that they dropped
out of school due to sickness and around 5 percent did it because they got
bored. (See illustration 8)
Family Situation
In terms of the respondents’ current parent situation: 72.3 percent said their
parents are both alive and living together, 9.8 percent still have their parents alive
but do not live together, 8.6 percent of the respondents said the father is deceased,
2.7 percent have their parents both alive but the father is working abroad, 2.2
percent said that the mother is deceased and 2.2 percent have both parents alive
but the mother is working abroad. Only 1 percent of the respondents said that
both of their parents are deceased. (See illustration 9)
Among the respondents who answered on the item indicating their parents’
religion, majority of them indicated that their parents are both Catholic (94.4%),
while the rest belongs to mixed marriages with only 1 percent saying that both
parents are non-Catholics. (See illustration 10)
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Around 80 percent indicated that their parents were married in the Catholic
Church, 9.8 percent got married in civil rites, 2.2 percent married in Christian
rites, and 4.4 percent of the respondents’ parents remain unmarried. There were
2.2 percent who said that they do not know about their parents’ marital status.
Regarding the educational attainment of their father, 26.5 percent of the
respondents said that their father finished high school, 21.6 percent are college
graduates, 13.7 percent have some college, 13.2 percent elementary, 7.8 percent
some high school, 5.9 percent are vocational graduates, 4.7 percent have some
elementary and 0.7 percent did not have formal schooling. (See illustration 12)
On the other hand, in terms of their mother’s educational attainment, 28.2
percent said that their mother finished high school, 26 percent are college
graduates, 13.5 percent elementary, 12.5 percent have some college, 6.9 percent
have some high school, 6.4 percent have post-graduate studies, 2.9 percent have
some elementary, 2.7 percent are vocational graduates and 0.5 percent did not
have formal schooling. (See illustration 13)
The father (60.8%) is the breadwinner of the family, while around 16 percent of
the respondents said that it is their mother who provides for the family. Other
respondents have other persons (13.5%), themselves (4.2%) or siblings (3.4%)
as the breadwinner of the family. (See illustration 14)
Regarding family income, 53.3 percent earns less than PhP10,000.00, 21.6
percent between PhP10,000.00 and PhP19,999.00, 7.6 percent between
PhP20,000.00 and PhP29,999.99. Only 0.3 percent declared that their
monthly family income is in between PhP90,000.00 and PhP99,999.00. (See
illustration 15)
Employment is the main source of family income comprising 68.6 percent of the
respondents. The remaining respondents have the following sources: Business
17.6 percent and remittances from abroad 7.1 percent. (See illustration 16)
Interestingly, despite the very low income of the majority of the respondents,
the 72.3 percent of respondents considered themselves belonging to the middle
class, while 1.2 percent and 25.2 percent belong to upper and low classes
respectively. (See illustration 17)
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The study shows that there are between 5 and 6 permanent members in the
household (M=5.81). (See table 2) Majority of the respondents lived with both
parents and siblings (72.1%). Around 8.6 percent were with their mother
and siblings, 5.1 percent lived with their father and siblings, 3.9 percent lived
with other relatives, 3.4 percent lived with non-relatives, 2.5 percent lived with
grandparents only, 1.7 percent lived alone, 0.5 percent live with their father and
an only child and 0.2 percent lived with their mother and an only child. (See
illustration 18) Most of them (45.6%) said that their house is owned by their
parents/relatives, 44.6 percent owned their residence and 9.1 percent said that
they are renting their house. (See illustration 19)
Leisure Activity
Three times a week, 5 out of 10 of the respondents engaged in watching TV/
DVD, 3 out of 10 read a book; and 2 out of 10 played computer games. A
few times a month, almost 6 out 10 bought gadgets; almost 5 out of 10 gave
donation/did charity works; while 4 out 10 went shopping, watched movies and
attended parties. (See table 3)
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Religiosity and
Religious Domains
T
his section covers the domains of group identification, ideology,
rituals both public and private, and religious experience of the
respondents.
This domain examines the extent to which members identify with their religious
tradition. Data show that respondents highly valued their membership in the
Roman Catholic tradition, with an overall mean score of 3.42 indicating strong
group identification. This is also shown by the highest and lowest scores in the
items: I am proud of my Catholic background (M=3.74, SD=.491), and I feel a
strong attachment to the Catholic Church (M=3.58, SD=.572).
Around 21.6 percent of the respondents have thought of leaving the Catholic
religion (M=1.84, SD=.949), while 41.7 percent have thought of becoming a
priest or a nun (M=2.34, SD=.911). (See table 4)
Ideology
This domain refers to the social expectation that members believe in the teachings
of their religious tradition in matters of faith and morals.
The overall mean 3.40 indicates that the respondents strongly agreed with what
the Catholic religion teaches about beliefs and morals. It is revealed that five
beliefs obtained the highest mean score, indicative of very strong agreement to
what the Church teaches: That God is the Creator (M=3.90, SD=.325), that there
are three persons in one God (M=3.84, SD=.396), that Jesus Christ resurrected
from the dead (M=3.83, SD=.465), that Jesus Christ is true God and true man
(M=3.84, SD=.380), that God through His providence protects and guides all
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that He has created (M=3.77, SD=.484) and that Jesus Christ ascended body
and soul into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father (M=3.74, SD=.572).
On the other hand, only three moral teachings of the Church got the highest
endorsement from the respondents, indicating strong agreement: That abortion
is a sin (M=3.83, SD=.441), that it is a sin to use contraceptives (M=3.75,
SD=.523) and that mercy killing or euthanasia can never be justified (M=3.44,
SD=1.00).
However, the following items indicate the respondents’ disagreement with the
Catholic Church: They believed that there is nothing wrong with pre-marital
sex (M=2.93, SD=.993), they disagreed that homosexual acts are morally
wrong (M=2.03, SD=.924), they agreed that that Catholic Church should not
be involved in political issues (M=3.04, SD=.919) and they supported the
Reproductive Health Law (RA 10354) (M=2.59, SD=1.00). (See table 5)
The FGD revealed the respondents’ nuance as regards Church involvement
in political issues. The participants said that the Church should be involved
in some sociopolitical and moral issues in order to serve as guide to people
belonging to the Catholic religion. The involvement is more of giving a proposal
to its members only rather than an imposition of its key moral doctrines in the
sociopolitical and economic policies and directions of the government. They
said that the Church should limit her involvement and prioritize evangelization
of people.
Public Practice
This sub-domain of religiosity refers to the social expectation that religious
individuals attend and participate in religious rituals and communal activities.
The participation of the youth in religious services and programs has an overall
mean of 3.57 indicating religious attendance of at least one to three times a
month. Attendance in the Holy Mass, the heart and center of Catholic prayer and
worship, earned the highest mean of 4.92 (SD=1.05) indicating the minimum
requirement of at least once a week attendance. These are followed by praying
the rosary (M=3.89, SD=1.48) and attending Bible study (M=3.85, SD=1.45)
one to three times a month. (See table 6)
Their usual companions in attending religious services are their friends from
religious organizations (26%) and barkada or peer group (19%). (See table 7)
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Moreover, they considered the parish priest (M=3.56, SD=.730), their
mother (M=3.48, SD=.762), and their co-members in the religious
organization (M=3.30, SD=.841) as very much influential in practicing
their faith. On the other hand, father (M=3.02, SD=.964) and grandparents
(M=2.97, SD=1.02) are somewhat influential only in the practice of their
faith. (See table 8)
Among the liturgical feasts, the three most attended are the following:
Christmas (88.6%), Misa de Gallo (75.9%), and Easter Sunday Mass (71.3%).
(See illustration 20). Majority of the respondents said that they are members of
religious organizations (71.7%). (See illustration 21) They said that they mostly
participate by serving in their parish (53.3%), joining youth camps (47.5%),
attending prayer meetings (47%), and going to retreats or recollections (43.7%).
The FGD revealed that the respondents were satisfied about the way the Church
performs its role of strengthening their relationship with God. They considered
the Church as an effective means of feeling God’s presence in their concrete life
of faith through the sacraments and sacramentals. The respondents considered
the parish priest and the leaders of parish organizations highly influential because
they teach their members how to be active in Church. Their parents also served
as role models especially in going to Mass, attending novenas and processions.
The FGD likewise revealed a communal orientation of the respondents to
religion and faith.
Private Practice
This domain refers to the social expectation that religious individuals
devote themselves to personal and private activities and rituals in their
relation with the transcendent reality. Religion is also a subjective
commitment to a transcendent reality, which the sociologist George
Simmel (1997) regards as more significant than objective systems of
beliefs and practices.
An overall mean score of 5.33 in this domain suggests at least a once a week
performance of personal prayers and rituals. Respondents said that they pray
in private several times a day (M=7.32, SD=1.19) and meditate once a day
(M=6.43, SD=1.73). Likewise, they said that they perform the following
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Catholic activities at least once a week: reading the Bible (M=4.87, SD=1.79),
praying the rosary (M=4.81, SD=1.88) and adoring the Blessed Sacrament
(M=4.53, SD=2.04). (See table 9)
The FGD affirmed that the respondents are aware of God’s presence in every
good thing that happens in their life and in the way their parents and friends
care for them, indicating a wide-scope understanding of their faith. However,
they said that the best way to make oneself aware of God’s presence in their life
is through moments of personal prayer.
This domain refers to the social expectation that religious individuals have some
kind of direct contact to an ultimate reality, which affects them emotionally. This
dimension is represented as patterns of religious perceptions and as a body of
religious experiences and feelings.
The overall mean of 2.93 in this domain suggests that the respondents agreed
that they have experienced God in their lives. Respondents strongly agreed
that they feel God’s presence in their life (M=3.69, SD=.502), have experienced
God’s providence (M=3.60, SD=.692) and have felt God speaking to them in
their prayers (M=3.40, SD=.705). (See table 10)
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T
he study shows that age, gender, occupation and socioeconomic
status have significant relationship with religiosity. (See table 11)
Age and Sense of Being Catholic
Age has a weak positive correlation with sense of being a Catholic (r=.118,
p<.05), which suggests that as youths grow older, their sense of being a Catholic
also grows stronger.
Gender and Ideology
Gender has a weak positive correlation with ideology (r=.101, p<.05) and
religious experience (r=.126, p<.05), which indicate that females exhibit more
knowledge in the Catholic faith (ideology) and more religious experience than
their male counterparts.
Occupation and Private Practice
Occupation has a weak negative correlation with private practice (r=-.118, p<.05),
which implies that those who are students and those who work while studying
engage more in private practice of their faith than those who were employed.
Socioeconomic Status and Public Practice
Socioeconomic status has a weak and positive correlation with public practice
(r= .174, p < .05), which suggests that those who are in the upper socioeconomic
status engage more in public practice.
Other demographic variables were not significantly correlated with the five
dimensions of religiosity.
82
T
Pro-social Behavior
The respondents’ total pro-social behavior mean score of 3.19 suggest agreement
with actions that would tend to benefit others and society as a whole. Specifically,
the respondents said that they strongly agree with the following: They would
listen when others tell their problems (M=3.55, SD=.580), they would cheer up
others whenever they feel sad (M=3.47, SD=.590), they would give advice to
those who need it (M=3.40, SD=.664), and they would give time to others when
needed (M=3.40, SD=.579). (See table 12)
Sense of Agency
This section on the youth’s pro-social behavior refers to their experience or
sense of themselves or their actions as the cause of important outcomes or
changes in their lives, in the lives of others, or in their environment. This
scale measures whether the youth acknowledge having some sense of control
in their lives.
The total mean score of 3.0 indicates agreement among the respondents that they
have some sense of accountability about their actions and their consequences.
The respondents strongly agreed that their achievements are results of their
hard work (M=3.44, SD=.575), that they take care of themselves (M=3.42,
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SD=.668), and that they make sure they do not neglect themselves (M=3.32,
Communion
The communion scale is answered in reference to people beyond one’s family and
immediate social circles. It measures the extent to which the youth show caring,
benevolence, and friendliness towards others, as well as respect and esteem. Persons
having the quality of communion are sensitive to desires, and works towards the
interests of others, considering the common good as more important than selfinterests. Thus, they are able to act with justice and in solidarity with others.
The total mean score of 3.21 indicates that the respondents were sensitive to
communal values and were willing to work for the common good. This is shown
by their strong agreement to the following statements: Caring about other people
(M=3.48, SD=.582), trusting in the goodness of others (M=3.47, SD=.556),
and caring what others feel (M=3.35, SD=.673). (See table 14) Agreement to
this domain suggests that the respondents would show care, benevolence, and
kindness to others, sensitivity for the interests of the common good.
Initiative
This section refers to the desire of the respondents to do things on their own and
take responsibility for them. The three components of initiative as identified by
Larson (2000) are intrinsic motivation or sincerely wanting to do something
rather than being externally pressured to do it, active engagement with or attention
to tasks, and engagement and attention sustained over time. Some behavioural
markers of initiative are thinking of tasks and starting them up, working at some
targets, seeking self-improvement, desiring good quality work, and working hard.
The total mean of 3.37 indicates a strong agreement among the respondents that
they desire to act on their own and take responsibility for them. They said that
they would strive to be better in performing tasks (M=3.49, SD=.547), would
always think of how they can do things better (M=3.44, SD=.549), and would
persevere in all things (M=3.46, SD=.611). (See table 15)
Risk Behaviors
The risk behavior scale refers to engagement in highly deviant behaviors that can
negatively alter one’s life course or developmental trajectory. These behaviors
84
include smoking, taking drugs, drinking, damaging property, premarital sex and
early pregnancy, violent behavior, and school truancy.
The respondents reported that they do not engage in deviant behaviors such
as taking sleeping pills without the doctor’s prescription (99%), sniffing rugby
(98.8%), using prohibited drugs and being kicked out of school (97.8%),
engaging in paid sex (96.8%), smoking marijuana (96.8%), and getting pregnant
or for male respondents getting someone pregnant (95.3%).
Among the risky behaviors the respondents were involved with are the following:
Surfing prohibited sites on the internet without supervision (21.8%), excessive
computer gaming leading to lack of sleep or socialization (20.3%), getting drunk
(17.6%), cutting classes frequently and physically injuring others (15.7%), and
gambling (11.8%). (See table 16)
Life Satisfaction
In general, the respondents felt satisfied with their life (M=5.57, SD=1.48) and
that it is excellent (M=5.30, SD=1.17). However, they felt that it is only slightly
close to their ideal (M=5.06, SD=1.61). If given the choice, they only slightly
agreed that they would not change a thing in their life (M=4.96, SD=1.76),
and that they have not gotten the important things that they want (M=4.98,
SD=1.59). The overall feeling that their life is only slightly well indicates that the
respondents’ wellbeing somehow still leaves much to be desired. (See table 17)
This part of the study refers to the way we measure beliefs related to who is to be
held responsible for one’s actions and the consequences for such actions; beliefs
about achievement, that is, whether goals are achieved through individual
or group effort, and through competition or cooperation; beliefs regarding
who ought to be responsible for the individual’s well-being and beliefs about
economic sharing; beliefs about participation in group worship and about
personal and private expression of one’s religious beliefs and their beliefs about
security, identity, and value of the individual.
The overall mean score of 2.63 in this domain suggests that the respondents
were more collectivist rather than individualist in their cultural beliefs. This is
expected as Filipinos are generally social and communal in their approach to
others. They strongly believed that mutual help within a group means much
85
more to their well-being (M=3.43, SD=.654), that team effort is superior to
individual creative ideas (M=3.40, SD=.625), and that one should act keeping
the groups’ welfare in mind (M=3.39, SD=.604). (See table 18)
The overall mean of 3.17 in this domain indicates that the respondents would tend
to be actively involved in the society’s democratic processes and exercise their
political rights. Moreover, this also shows that they believe in the democratic
form of government as an effective agent of change.
Knowledge
The overall mean of 3.19 suggests that respondents claimed to be somewhat
knowledgeable about current affairs in the public sphere, informed by various
forms of mass media and technology. (See table 19)
Values
The overall mean of 3.34 indicates that the respondents strongly believed in the
democratic values of respect, tolerance and collaboration with other political
groups. Moreover, they considered the Catholic Church involvement in politics
as healthy in a democratic society (M=3.20, SD=.645). (See table 20)
Trust
The overall mean of 3.18 indicates that the respondents only somewhat believe
that government leaders and democratic institutions can still be trusted to fulfill
their promises. (See table 21)
Spaces
The overall mean of 2.76 indicates that respondents somewhat felt that, for
democracy to flourish, a public sphere is needed where they could share
their ideas and aspirations to participate in its political affairs through social
networking sites, among others. (See table 22)
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Practices
The overall mean of 3.31 suggests that the respondents strongly believed that, in
order to ensure good governance in society, people must participate in democratic
practices and exercise their political rights to: 1) Form and join associations, 2)
assemble, 3) vote, and 4) engage in civic activities. (See table 23)
Identities
The overall mean of 3.24 indicates that the respondents somewhat considered
themselves not only as members of a political community but more importantly
as agents that have the right to participate in the political affairs of society. (See
table 24)
87
T
he variables between the attitudes of respondents and religiosity
are seen with significance at 0.001. This data recognizes moderate
significant relationship between all variables of religiosity and
attitude. The null hypothesis is rejected. The psychosocial attributes
of respondents is moderately significant to their sense of being Catholic (r=.446,
p<.01), religious experience (r=.425, p<.01) and ideology (r=.445, p<.01) while
other variables show only a low significant relationship between them.
These data are indicative that when respondents consider themselves with
a deeper sense of belonging to the Catholic Church, wider knowledge on the
teachings of the Church, and with more experiences in the deeds of God, there
is an increase in their development on pro-social behaviors, higher tendency of
collectivist attitude, more engagement in the political public sphere and greater
involvement in the democratic processes. (See table 25)
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Relationship of the
T
here is a moderately significant relationship that exists between
sense of being Catholic and ideology (r=.612, p<.01), between
sense of being Catholic and religious experience (r=.494, p<.01),
between ideology and religious experience (r=.530, p<.01), and
to both ritual practices domains of religiosity (r=.480, p<.01), hence, the null
hypothesis is rejected.
The data presented signify that the more respondents identified themselves to
the Catholic religion, the more they have knowledge about the teaching of the
Church. The deeper they experience the presence of God, the greater is their
sense of belonging to the Catholic religion, likewise, the more they practice
rituals both in private and in public spheres. (See table 26)
89
T
he results of the Metropolitan Manila study clearly show that the
youth respondents are generally rooted in the faith, are committed
members of the faithful, and are best described as practicing
Catholics. Based on the data and findings of the study, the following
specific conclusions are drawn:
•
The respondents highly endorse what the Catholic religion teaches
about Christian beliefs and moral norms, and regularly practice what
Catholics are expected to do (worship and rituals).
•
The respondents’ pro-social behavior shows that they have a positive
tendency to benefit others or society as a whole more than themselves.
•
The respondents are more collectivist rather than individualist in their
cultural beliefs.
•
The respondents are aware of current sociopolitical issues and have a
strong tendency to actively involve in society’s democratic processes
and exercise their political rights.
•
Respondents who consider themselves with a deeper sense of belonging
to the Catholic Church, wider knowledge about its teachings, and
deeper experience of God have more positive pro-social behaviors and
actively engage in society’s democratic processes.
•
Respondents who identified themselves with the Catholic Church
show a deeper knowledge of its teachings, deeper personal experience
of God, and the more they practice rituals both in private and public
spheres.
90
South Luzon
Demographic and
Place of Origin
T
here are 413 respondents from South Luzon from the following
dioceses: Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan 19.8 percent, Archdiocese
of Caceres 26.2 percent, Diocese of Daet 26.6 percent, Diocese of
Gumaca 23 percent, and no answer 4.4 percent. (See illustration 1)
The mean age of the respondents is 18.11 (SD=4.321). Majority of the
respondents (79.9%) are in their schooling age of 13-22 years old while 19.9
percent are beyond the schooling age of 23-39 years old (See illustration 2). Two
hundred thirty-five (56.9%) of the respondents are females and one hundred
seven-three are males (41.9%). (See illustration 3)
In terms of occupation, the respondents (63.9%) are predominantly full-time
students, 6.1 percent are working students, 13.8 percent are employed, and 10.9
percent are neither employed nor studying. Around 5.3 percent did not declare
their occupation. (See illustration 4)
In terms of educational attainment, the proportion of those who finished and
reached college level (52%) and those who finished and reached high school
level (44.3%) is almost the same. A few (1.5%) have finished vocational
school and only one percent of the respondents reached elementary level
only. (See illustration 5)
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Among the student-respondents at the time of the survey, 54.9 percent are
studying in a Catholic school and 35.5 percent in a public school/state college or
university. Moreover, 6.9 percent are studying in a private non-sectarian school
while 2.6 percent are in a non-Catholic Christian school. (See illustration 6)
Out-of-School Youth
There are 17.9 percent out-of-school youth respondents. Thiry-nine percent said
that they have been out of school less than a year, 33.8 percent between 1 and
3 years, 14.9 percent between 4 and 6 years, and 12.2 percent for more than 6
years. (See illustration 7). The main reason for dropping out of school is poverty
(86.5%); parents lack financial resources, consequentially some respondents
were forced to find a job to augment family income and also to be able to send
their siblings to school. There were respondents who also said that they got
bored of schooling (10.8%), and got sick (5.4%). (See illustration 8)
Family Situation
The average of 5.88 is the number of permanent household members; 47.7
percent of the respondents belong to a household with one to five members
while 45 percent to six to ten household members. (See illustration 9) Most
of them live with their parents and siblings (68.1%) (See illustration 10),
which can be attributed to the age composition of the respondents who are
mostly young dependents. Most of them are either residing in their own
house (49.2%) or in the house owned by their parents or relatives (44.1%).
Most of the young respondents (68%) have parents living together while the
parents of 10.2 percent of the respondents do not live together. One out of ten
respondents (13.1%) has either one of their parents living. About six percent
(5.8%) have either one of their parents working abroad. A few respondents
(1.2%) are already orphaned of both parents. (See illustration 12)
A substantial majority of the respondents’ parents (77.2%) were married in the
Catholic Church, 10.9 percent in civil rites, and 2.9 percent Christian rites. A few
2.7 percent do not know where their parents were married while 1.2 percent did
not declare the marital status of their parents. (See illustration 13)
93
The respondents predominantly have both Catholic parents (93.2%), 4.4
percent have either one Catholic parent, and 0.7 percent have both non-Catholic
parents. (See illustration 14)
In terms of the educational attainment of their parents, 7.9 percent of the
respondents said that their father finished post-graduate studies; 24.4 percent
college; 25.2 percent high school; and 15.8 percent elementary. (See illustration
15) Moreover, 9.4 percent said that their mother finished post-graduate
studies; 30.2 percent finished college; 26 percent high school; and 11.4 percent
elementary. There is a small 1 percent for father and 0.5 percent for mother of
the respondents who said that their parents did not have any formal schooling.
In general, the proportion of respondents decreases as income increases, except
for the highest income bracket. Majority (46.7%) of the respondents claimed that
they have a monthly family income of less than PhP10,000.00, values that may
surround the national poverty threshold of PhP7,980.00 in 2012 for a family of five
(NSCB, 2013). One-fourth (24.7%) have family income between PhP10,000.00
and PhP19,999.00, 13.1 percent between PhP20,000.00 and PhP29,999.00 and a
combined 3.4 percent belonging to an income bracket of PhP50,000.00 and above.
Around 3.9 percent did not declare their monthly family income. (See illustration
17)
Majority of the respondents’ families (55.9%) have the father as the breadwinner
of the family. One out of four households (23.7%) has the mother. Almost five
percent of the households have siblings as the breadwinner. A number of the
respondents indicated relatives (11.4%) as their breadwinner. (See illustration 18)
Most of the respondents’ household source of family income is from employment
(66.8%), less than one out of five (17.4%) from business and 9.0 percent from
remittances abroad. (See illustration 19)
While most of the respondents reported family income near the national poverty
threshold, a substantial majority of them (78.2%) classified their socioeconomic
status as middle class. About one out of five households (18.4%) classified their
households as lower class and 1.9 percent coming from the upper class. (See
illustration 20)
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Leisure Activities
Watching TV and DVD is the prevalent leisure activity of the youth respondents
(53.8%) who reportedly engaged in it three times a week. With the same
frequency, the respondents also engage in the following: Read books (34.6%),
go strolling (19.6%) and play sports (17%). (See table 1)
Discussion
Majority of the respondents are studying and give importance to education. In
general, Filipinos attach strong importance to education. It is considered to be
one of the best means of building a good future (Raymundo, 2003).
Financial constraints, being the top reason for stopping school, reflect that
majority of the respondents come from the lower income strata whose families’
priority is to support survival needs rather than education.
Figures reflecting where respondents’ parents got married in church rites do not
reflect the national trend in 2010 where marriages in the Philippines were mostly
done in civil rites (43.5%) rather than in church ceremony (35%) (Rivera and
Bulan, 2012). Also, the Catholic proportion of the respondents’ parents is higher
than the national proportion of Catholics (82.9%) in 2007 (NSCB, 2010).
The predominant leisure which is watching TV only confirms studies showing
that watching TV has been the leisure activities of the Philippine and US youth
in 1993 and 1996 (Sandoval et al, 1996).
95
T
his section of the study draws attention to the religiosity of the
respondents, how much importance they give to religion, and their
religious beliefs, practices and experiences.
Data show that respondents highly value their group affiliation, drawing a
total mean score of 3.63 indicative of strong agreement, as shown by the
highest and lowest indicators: Being a Catholic is a very important part of
how I see myself (M=3.71, SD=.541), I feel a strong sense of belonging
to the Catholic Church (M=3.57, SD=.576) and my Catholic identity is an
important part of myself (M=3.57, SD=.572). Moreover, only 12.1 percent
says that they have sometimes thought of leaving the Catholic Church
(M=1.64, SD=.7944), while 42.2 percent of the respondents have thought
of becoming priests or nuns (M=2.34, SD=.823). (See table 2)
The respondents manifested their being Catholic by receiving Sacraments,
attending Mass weekly, being active in Church formation, being members of
religious organizations, being loyal to the Catholic faith, going to confession
yearly, allotting prayer time daily and practicing devotions, e.g. praying the
holy rosary, pasyon and observing holy days. However, during the focus
group discussion, majority rated themselves seven as Catholics from a
rating scale of one to ten, with one as the lowest, because of the following
reasons: They still question God’s existence; poor living condition; lack of
participation in the sacraments; and, finding Mass routinary. They also said
that sometimes they lose trust in the Church due to the debates with people
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from other religious groups, ill practices of other Catholics, misbehavior
of some priests, conflict of parents’ religion and influence of mass media
specifically movies.
Ideology
The respondents strongly agreed, with an overall mean of 3.39, about their
beliefs regarding the existence and the essence of transcendent reality and
the relation between the transcendent and the human. This is manifested
by the highest mean rating on God being the Creator (M=3.87, SD=.397),
belief on the Holy Trinity (M=3.79, SD=.456), and Jesus Christ being true
man and true God (M=3.80, SD=.465) and His resurrection (M=3.80,
The respondents only indicated a level of agreement on the following items:
Bishops and priests have the power to absolve sins (M=3.12, SD=.769), and
the Pope is infallible when he speaks in matters of faith and morals (M=2.95,
SD=.744).
In terms of the moral teachings of the Church, the respondents strongly
agreed that our life is a gift from God (M=3.70, SD=.575) and abortion is
a sin (M=3.53, SD=.915). The respondents only agreed that mercy killing
or euthanasia can never be justified (M=3.12, SD=.941), it is a sin to use
contraceptives (pills, condoms, injections, etc.) (M=3.05, SD=.892) and
divorce should never be an option for married couples (M=3.08, SD=.800).
They also disagreed that there is nothing wrong with pre-marital sex
(M=1.93, SD=.874) and did not support the Reproductive Health Law (RA
10354) (M=2.48, SD=1.03).
However, the respondents believed that the the Catholic Church hierarchy
should not be involved in political issues (M=2.53, SD=.928).
Public Practice
This domain covers the public and private practice of religiosity among the
respondents. It refers to the activities that religious youth are expected to
attend as an expression of their communal and personal manifestation of
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beliefs. The respondents were asked how often they attend or participate in
the religious rituals and services of the Church and the frequency of their
performance of their personal religious activities.
The respondents said that they attend the Mass once a week (M=4.96,
SD=1.013), go to confession few times a week (M=3.34, SD=1.020), while
one to three times a month they pray the rosary (M=3.85, SD=1.526),
adore the Blessed Sacrament (M=3.03, SD=1.519) and join pilgrimages to
churches or religious sites (M=3.65, SD=1.341). Moreover, they performed
the following religious activities a few times in a year: attend prayer meetings
(M=3.35, SD=1.414), pray novenas (M=3.33, SD=1.424), attend Bible study
(M=3.31, SD=1.413), attend retreats/recollections (M=3.03, SD=1.111)
and pray the stations of the cross (M=2.91, SD=1.201). (See table 4)
When asked about their usual companions in attending and performing the
above-mentioned religious activities, the respondents have the following
answer in the order of frequency: 1) Barkada (24.51%), 2) friends in religious
organizations (24.33%), 3) others (16.49%), 4) mother (12.03%), 5) cousins
(3.89%), 6) grandparents (3.21%), and 7) siblings (2.53%). Noteworthy is the
fact that the father (1.5%) ranked least as their usual companion in practicing
their faith. (See table 5)
In terms of the influencer in practicing their faith, the respondents considered
that they are very much influenced by the parish priest (M=3.54, SD=.774),
mother (M=3.47, SD=.759) and co-members in religious organizations
(M=3.37, SD=.824). The grandparents (M=2.95, SD=1.027), barkada (M=2.92,
SD=.797), father (M=2.87, SD=.988), teachers (M=2.81, SD=.947) and older
sibling (M=2.43, SD=.986) have somewhat influenced only in practicing their
faith. (See table 6)
Observance of the Liturgical Feasts
In terms of their observance of the various liturgical feasts, almost nine out of
ten regularly celebrated Christmas (88.4%), eight out of ten attended Misa
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de Gallo (80.1%) and seven out of ten participated during Ash Wednesday
(73.8%). There are four out of ten who observed the Easter Vigil (45.3%),
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (42.9%), fasting and abstinence
during Lent (38.7%) and only three out of ten performed the Visita Iglesia
during Holy Week (31.7%). (See illustration 21)
Participation in Religious Organisations and Activities
Most of the respondents reported that they are members of religious
organizations (71.6%). (See illustration 22) There are five out of ten of
the respondents who serve the parish (52.1%), participate in youth camps
(48.9%), and join prayer meetings (44.6%), while only three out of ten
assist in fund raising activities (32.0%), do charity work (31.2%), attend
leadership training programs (28.1%) and attend catechetical instruction
Private Practice
In terms of practicing their religiosity privately, the respondents personally
pray several times a day (M=7.32, SD=1.043) and meditate more than once a
week (M=6.21, SD=1.883). At least once a week, the respondents reported
that they read the Bible (M=4.71, SD=1.703), pray the rosary (M=4.69,
SD=1.759), and adore the Blessed Sacrament (M=4.55, SD=1.784). Also,
they pray the novenas one to three times a month (M=4.16, SD=1.514).
(See table 7)
The overall mean of 3.41 in this domain suggests that the respondents strongly
agreed that they have experienced God in their lives. Respondents strongly
agreed that they feel God’s presence in their life (M=3.63, SD=.545), they have
experienced God’s providence (M=3.62, SD=.539) and God speaks to them
in their prayers (M=3.46, SD=.597). The study suggests that the respondents
feel God guiding them in making decisions and experience God’s intervention
in the events of their life. (See table 8)
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Discussion
In summary, the respondents highly identified themselves as Catholics and
strongly believed in God. They participated in retreats/recollections and
attended the Mass regularly. The parish priest is considered as the most
influential in practicing their faith and their mother influences them in
practicing their faith more than their father. They consider their personal
prayer as a way of feeling God’s presence.
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T
he tests of correlation and difference of means were conducted to
find out the relationship of demographic characteristics and the
socioeconomic profile and the dimensions of religiosity of the
respondents, using the 0.05 level of significance. (See table 9)
The study shows that gender has a significant relationship with group
identification (r=.147, p<.01), ideology (r=.139, p<.01) and religious
experience (r=.156, p<.01) of the respondents. Females are more likely to
have a higher level of group identification, ideology, and religious experience
than their male counterparts.
Age, on the other hand, has a significant relationship with group identification
(r=-.175, p<.01), public practice (r=-.303, p<.01), and private practice
(r=-.160, p<.01). Older Catholic youths in the region are more likely to
have higher level of group identification than their younger counterparts.
However, when it comes to private and public practice, younger Catholic
youths in the region tend to have higher participation than their older
counterparts.
Furthermore, a significant relationship exists between educational attainment
(r=.232, p<.01), occupation (r=-.169, p<.01), socioeconomic status (r=.097,
p<.05) and public practice. Another significant relationship exists between
age (r=-.206), family structure (r=-.108) and private practice as well as gender
(r=.161), socioeconomic status (r=.130) and religious experience.
The rest of the variables do not have a significant relationship.
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T
Pro-social Behavior
The respondents’ total pro-social behavior mean score of 3.14 indicate agreement
with actions that would tend to benefit others and society as a whole. The
respondents manifested a high level of agreement that they listen when others
tell their problems (M=3.54, SD=.554), cheer up others whenever they feel sad
(M=3.30, SD=.576), offer advice to those who need it (M=3.30, SD=.581),
and give time to others when they need it (M=3.11, SD=.602). However,
respondents indicated only agreement concerning acts of volunteerism such
as helping the poor (M=2.98, SD=.537), volunteering for a cause-oriented
organization (M=2.98, SD=.734), and involving in projects for the needy
(M=3.14, SD=612). (See table 10)
Sense of Agency
The total mean score of 2.98 indicates an agreement among the respondents
that they have some sense of accountability about their actions and their
consequences.
SD=.586) and that their achievements are results of their hard works (M=3.31,
SD=.635). However, they disagreed that they influence others to do what they
want (M=2.49, SD=.733). (See table 11)
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Communion
The respondents, with a total mean schore of 3.17, generally agree that they
are sensitive to and willing to work for the interest of others, and consider the
common good above their personal interest. In particular, the respondents
manifested strong agreement that they care about other people (M=3.40,
SD=.529), trust in the goodness of others (M=3.38, SD=.521), respect what
other people feel (M=3.37, SD=.531) and desire to be one with others to further
the good of the majority (M=3.35, SD=.549). (See table 12)
Initiative
The total mean of 3.24 indicates agreement among the respondents that they
desire to act on their own and take responsibility for them.
The respondents strongly agreed that they strive to be better in performing tasks
(M=3.37, SD=.540), always think of how they can do things better (M=3.32,
SD=.545), persevere in all things (M=3.29, SD=.588) and try hard to accomplish
challenging tasks that they can reach their goals (M=3.27, SD=.572). (See table 13)
Risk Behavior
The respondents generally do not engage in highly deviant behaviors that can
negatively alter one’s life course. However, around two out of ten respondents have
experienced getting drunk (21.5%) and surfed prohibited sites on the internet
without supervision (16.2%), while one out of ten has physically injured others
(13.3%), done excessive computer gaming leading to lack of sleep or socialization
(13.1%), used pain killers for non-medical reasons (12.3%), been cutting classes
frequently (11.4%) and engaged into gambling (11.1%). (See table 14)
Satisfaction of Life
The respondents, in general, are slightly satisfied with their lives (M=5.08). They
conveyed that their life conditions are not excellent and are not close to their ideals.
The respondents agreed that they are satisfied with their life (M=5.41,
SD=1.357). However, they slightly agreed that the conditions of their life are
excellent (M=5.23, SD=1.098), that their life is close to the ideal (M=5.03,
SD=1.537), that they have gotten the important things that they want (M=4.80,
SD=1.380) and that they would change almost nothing in their life (M=4.98,
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Discussion
The data imply that the respondents are willing to get involved in volunteer
activities. When adults get involved in the actual experience of providing
help and caring for others, they may be able to see the positive effects of their
behavior as well as gain social approval that will motivate them to do further
pro-social acts. The youth respondents have the ability to do things as long as
they are motivated to perform. According to the study of Raymundo (2003),
seven in ten Filipinos are quite satisfied with themselves or feel they are capable
of doing many good things or exhibit positive attitude towards the self. They
did not engage and are not willing to engage themselves in risk behaviors.
Young people who feel good about themselves tend to be less vulnerable to
pressures from various sources to engage in high-risk behaviors (Puyat, 2003;
Marilao, 2003).
The overall mean score of 2.65 indicates that the respondents are more
collectivist rather than individualist. They believed that team effort is
superior to individual creative ideas (M=3.49, SD=.581), and the group/
community/society they belong to is a significant part of who they are (M=
3.36, SD=.614). However, it is noteworthy that the respondents registered
strong agreement too in the following individualist attributes: relying on
others is a weakness (M=3.35, SD=.574), performing better in competitive
situations (M=3.35, SD=.539) and being a unique individual is important to
them (M=3.32, SD=.583). (See table 16)
The findings indicate that the youth respondents value relationship with a
group; they can work in a team and are sensitive with what is happening in
their community. According to a study, Filipinos are usually collectivists, as
manifested by the way they identify themselves with their families, regional
affiliations and peer groups. Also, Filipinos value relationships among peer
groups or barkada. They are seldom seen alone and are usually found in
clusters especially in public places. Most of the time, individual preferences
are overshadowed by group choices (Shapiro, 2002).
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This covers the respondents’ political knowledge, values, trust, spaces, practices
and identities.
Knowledge
The respondents with an overall mean of 3.06, in general, agree to citizens’
access to reliable reports, portrayals, analyses, discussion and debates about
current affairs in the public sphere. They said that they are updated and
kept informed of sociopolitical issues in the country from various sources
of information such as newspaper, television, radio, social networks, blogs
(M=3.11, SD=.551), and engaged in sociopolitical discussions with their
friends (M=3.00, SD=.619). (See table 17)
Values
With an overall mean of 3.26, the respondents manifest strong agreement
in democratic values such as respecting different political views (M=3.32,
SD=.554) and in the involvement of the Catholic Church in politics as healthy
in a democratic society (M=3.17, SD=.672). They strongly believe that
collaboration with other political groups is important in democracy (M=3.31,
Trust
The overall mean of 3.16 shows that the respondents agreed that they still trust
government leaders that they will be true to their espoused promises (M=3.23,
SD=.658), believe that political parties are still relevant (M=3.06, SD=.602)
and find their participation in civil society important for the advancement of
democratic and political processes (M=3.18, SD=.549). (See table 19)
Spaces
The respondents with a total mean of 2.73 indicate an agreement that they were
using social networking sites as an avenue to maximize their involvement in the
political and democratic processes and to air their grievances. (See table 20)
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Practices
The total mean of 3.31 indicates strong agreement from the respondents to
exercise their political rights and participate in the democratice processes such
as election and local governance activities. (See table 21)
Identities
The total mean of 3.19 indicates an agreement among the respondents to be
identified with groups or take an affinity with other people or even with the
Catholic Church when voicing their opinions or stand regarding political issues.
(See table 22)
Discussion
The youth respondents find their sociopolitical participation relevant in
promoting better governance in the society. They find different ways to express
their ideas about democracy and good governance, and consider mass media
and social networking sites as avenues to air their grievances and participate in
democratic processes.
Valenzuela, Park and Kee (2009) postulate, “The development of social
networking sites dedicated to fostering civil and political engagement among
users, particularly young people, speaks in a loud voice to the potentials of social
media as a tool for collective action”. The youth use social media and other online
platforms to engage in civic and political life.
Today, the youth serve as key informants in selecting people to be in the
government. The platform and programs serve as bases for selecting candidates
because it is rooted on consultations and identification of the problems of the
community that should be addressed.
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A
t 0.05 level of significance, the five dimensions of religiosity
were correlated with psychosocial attributes, cultural beliefs and
sociopolitical beliefs and participation of the respondents. (See
table 23)
Psychosocial attributes were significantly correlated with group
identification (r=.459), ideology (r=.463), public practice (r=.319), private
practice (r=.367), and religious experience (r=.489). Note that the resulting
correlation coefficients vary from low to moderate relationships. The results
indicate that the higher the psychosocial attributes, namely pro-social behavior,
sense of agency, communion and initiative, the higher also the scores in the
stated religiosity domains.
A significant relationship also exists between collectivism and group
identification (r=.374), ideology (r=.387), public practice (r=.259), private
practice (r=.254), and religious experience (r=.417). Although the resulting
coefficients mostly signify low association, the results can still be interpreted
that as collectivism increases, so do the respective religiosity domains.
Furthermore, a significant relationship exists between sociopolitical beliefs
and participation and group identification (r=.332), ideology (r=.334), public
practice (r=.353), private practice (r=.329) and religious experience (r=.290).
These results indicate that as sociopolitical beliefs increase, these religiosity
domains also increase.
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Relationship of the
A
t 0.05 level of significance, the five domains of religiosity are
correlated to each other. (See table 24)
A significant relationship exists between group affiliation
and ideology (r=.511), public practice (r=.336), private
practice (r=.282), and religious experience (r=.440). These coefficients indicate
a combination of low to moderate association among the stated domains.
The results suggest that as group identification strengthens, respondents also
perform more rituals, and experience more the presence of God in their lives.
Ideology has significant relationship with public practice (r=.222), private
practice (r=.243) and religious experience (r=.502). These results indicate
variation of low to moderate association. These results suggest that as the
respondents’ understanding about the teachings of the Church deepens, the
more they practice public and private practice, and the more they have fervent
religious experiences.
Public practice has significant relationship with private practice (r=.555) and
religious experience (r=.268). The result can be interpreted that there is a
moderate association between the two ritual domains. The association
between these two ritual domains suggests the consistency of the
respondents in terms of how often they worship God. The more they
undertake public practice, the more they perform personal form of worship.
Lastly, there exists a low association between public practice and religious
experience. This could indicate that as they practice more rituals, the deeper
their religious experiences.
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Discussion
The data reveal that as the respondents’ religiosity deepens, their positive
behaviors also improve. Moreover, religious teachings reinforce the development
of stronger pro-social behavior of the person. Some researchers highlight the
importance of religious morality and note the versions of the Golden Rule,
“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”, in emphasizing the
contribution of religiosity in developing pro-social behaviors. Other researchers
argue that religion mainly promotes cooperation and pro-social behavior within
culturally defined in-groups (Iannacone & Berman, 2006; Ruffle & Sosis,
2006).
109
T
he results of the South Luzon study indicate that the respondents
highly identify themselves with the Catholic Church, deeply believe
in the teachings of the Church, and have commendable public and
private practice of the faith, and manifested strong belief in the
transcendent reality. In particular, it is noteworthy that:
1. The parish priest is considered as the most influential in practicing their
faith, and their mother influences them in practicing their faith more
than their father.
2. Females are more likely to have higher level of group identification,
ideology and religious experience than their male counterparts.
3. Older Catholic youth in the region are more likely to have a higher level
of group identification than their younger counterparts. However, when
it comes to private and public practice, younger Catholic youth in the
region tend to have higher participation than their older counterparts.
4. Respondents are more collectivist than individualist, and are willing to
volunteer in various cause-oriented groups or similar organizations.
5. Respondents are using mass media and social networking sites as means
to keep themselves informed and updated regarding sociopolitical
events and as avenues to participate in social discussions and to air their
grievances and concerns.
6. The data reveal that as the respondents’ religiosity deepens, their
positive behaviors also improve. Moreover, religious teachings reinforce
the development of stronger pro-social behavior of the person.
110
Visayas
Demographic and
Place of Origin
T
here are a total of 433 Filipino Catholic youth respondents in the
Visayas region. The breakdown per diocese is as follows: Archdiocese
of Capiz 12.7 percent, Archdiocese of Palo 12.9 percent, Diocese of
Bacolod 12.5 percent, Diocese of Dumaguete 12.7 percent, Diocese
of Kabankalan 12.5 percent, Diocese of Kalibo 11.3 percent, Diocese of Maasin
12.7 percent and Diocese of Naval 12.7 percent. (See illustration 1)
The average age of the respondents is 19.26 (SD=.456). The respondents aged 13
to 22 years old comprises the bulk of the sample (80.1%), and only 19.6 percent
are from age 23 to 39 (See illustration 2). The respondents are fairly distributed in
terms of gender; there are 49.9 percent who are males and 48.5 percent who are
females (See illustration 3). In terms of occupation, most of the respondents are
fulltime students (48.5%), followed by the unemployed (25.6%), the employed
(17.8%), and those who are working students (3.9%). (See illustration 4)
Most of the respondents at the time of the survey said that they attained high
school level (31.2%), followed by those who are college graduates (23.6%)
and those at the college level (23.8%). (See illustration 5) This suggests that
almost 32 percent of the respondents are still in high school or have reached
high school level only. Around 24 percent have been attending college, or
have reached college level only, and almost 24 percent have graduated from
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college. Looking closely, student respondents studied mostly in public schools/
state colleges or universities (58.9%) while those who attended private Catholic
schools comprise 31.2 percent. Some student respondents studied in private nonsectarian schools (7.7%) and private Christian schools (2.2%). (See illustration 6)
Out-of-School Youth
Among the respondents from the Visayas, 20.1 percent of them are out-of-school
youth (OSY). From the group of OSY, a portion (9.9%) of them have been out
of school for less than one year, followed by those who have been out of school
for one to three years (5.8%). (See illustration 7) Most of them indicated that
there are varied reasons why they stayed out of school. Majority (44.8%) said
that their parents could no longer financially support them while others (20.7%)
said that they need to find a job so that they can contribute to the family income.
Family Situation
In terms of the current situation of the parents at the time of the survey, most of
the respondents stated that both their parents are alive and are living together
(65.4%), followed by those who said that their father is deceased (11.5%), and
by those who claimed that their parents are both alive but not living together
Most of the parents of the respondents were married in the Catholic Church
(74.1%), followed by a few in civil rites (12.2%), and those who are not married
(10%). (See illustration 10) Most of the fathers and mothers of the respondents
are both Catholics (90.3%). (See illustration 11)
Most of the respondents live with both their parents and siblings (64.7%). (See
illustration 12). The average number of permanent household members of the
respondents is six (SD=2). (See table 1)
The main source of the respondents’ family income is employment (71.8%). (See
illustration 13) Most of the respondents classified their family’s socioeconomic
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status as middle class (73.4%), followed by upper class (23.8%) and then low
status (23.8%). (See illustration 14)
In terms of their father’s educational attainment, a number of the respondents
said that their father graduated from college (27.3%) while those whose fathers
graduated from high school comprises 22.4 percent. (See illustration 15) In terms
of their mother’s educational attainment, several respondents said that they are
college graduates (26.8%) while 24.9 percent said their mothers are high school
graduates. (See illustration 16) Majority of the respondents said that their father
(51%) is the breadwinner of their family followed by their mother (25%). (See
illustration 17) Almost half of the respondents indicated that their average family
monthly income is less than PhP10,000.00 (49.4%) while 20.8 percent said their
family monthly income is between PhP10,000.00 and PhP19,999.00, and 12.5
percent between PhP20,000.00 and PhP29,999.00. (See illustration 18)
A substantial number of the respondents’ residence is owned by them (41.1%)
while 42.5 percent of the respondents’ residence is by their parents/relatives.
Leisure Activities
Watching TV/DVD (49%) and reading a book (31%) three times a week are the
most prevalent leisure activities of the respondents. (See table 2)
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T
his section highlights the religiosity and religious behavior of the
respondent-youth based on the following five domains: group
identification, ideology, rituals that are both public and private, and
religious experience. It is expected that most, if not all, of the five
religiosity domains would associate with the respondents’ demographic and
socioeconomic variables.
The respondents showed a strong identification (M=3.51) with the Catholic
Church. (See table 3) On the average, the respondents strongly agreed that their
Catholic identity is an important part of their lives, that they identify with other
Catholics, that they feel attached to the Catholic Church, that being Catholic
is a very important part of themselves, that they are proud of their Catholic
background, and that they feel a sense of belongingness to Catholicism.
However, it is noteworthy that 12.7 percent entertained thoughts of leaving the
Catholic faith, and that 42.5 percent have thought of becoming a priest/nun.
The FGD participants expressed in general that they take pride in their being
Catholic. Some of the reasons cited were participation in religious activities,
helping the community and the sense of fulfillment and blessings. Ronnie, from
the Diocese of Maasin, succinctly described his experience, “I am proud of being
a member of the Catholic Church because at a young age I am able to participate
in church activities and help the community as well”. Nina, from the Diocese of
Bacolod, said, “It’s fulfilling when you are in the church, you are being blessed.”
115
Ideology
In terms of ideology (See table 4), the respondents strongly agreed (M=3.46)
in the key doctrines of the Catholic Church. They strongly believed that there
are three persons in one God – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit, that God is our Creator, that Jesus Christ is true man and true God, that
He resurrected from the dead, that He ascended body and soul into heaven and
sits at the right hand of the Father, that the Holy Spirit empowers the Church,
that membership in the Church is necessary for the salvation of all humankind,
that the sacraments were instituted by Christ Himself, that the center of the
Church’s public worship is the sacrament of the Eucharist, and that the body and
blood of Jesus Christ are truly, really and substantially present in the Eucharist.
Concerning the moral teachings of the Church, the respondents strongly agreed
that life is a gift from God so they do not have the right to take it. They only
indicated agreement to the Bishops and priests having the power to absolve sins,
to the infallibility of the Pope when he speaks in matters of faith and morals, to
mercy killing or euthanasia as never justifiable, to artificial contraceptive use as a
sin, to premarital sex and homosexual acts as morally wrong, and to divorces as
never an option for married couples.
While the respondents did not support the Reproductive Health (RH) Law,
they believed that the Catholic Church should not be involved in political issues.
It is also interesting that they considered Jesus Christ as just one of the greatest
prophets who walked on earth just like Abraham, Moses, and Mohammad.
Some FGD respondents expressed that they do not only remember but
significantly find meaning in the core teachings of the Catholic Church.
Angelo from the Archdiocese of Capiz put this general sentiments of the FGD
respondents when he said, “I realized that the mystery of the Trinity is the mystery
of mysteries. And because of the story of St. Augustine, in relation to his effort to
understand the Holy Trinity, I became contented of the doctrine of the Church
on the Trinity even if it can’t be fully understood.” Some FGD respondents
have also highlighted the negative impact of growing up in a broken family.
While they think that divorce is not an option, they think that separation can be
accepted if the husband is abusive and irresponsible. The general impressions of
the respondents on this issue is conveyed in the words of Guy from the Diocese
of Dumaguete, “In terms of the issue on divorce, I grew up in a broken family.
I did not agree with my parents when they speak of divorce because I consider
116
marriage as sacred. I am a product of a broken family and I certainly don’t want
others to experience it.”
Public Practice
In terms of public practice, the respondents attend the Mass once a week. They
also pray the rosary one to three times a month. A few times a year, they engage
in the following activities: Going to confession, praying the novenas, attending
prayer meetings, joining in Bible studies, participating in retreats/recollections,
joining pilgrimages to churches or religious sites, and praying the Stations of the
Cross as well as adoring the Blessed Sacrament. (See table 5)
Their usual companions in observing all religious practices mentioned above
are their friends in religious organizations. In going to Mass, praying the rosary,
praying novenas, and adoring the Blessed Sacrament, their usual companions
aside from their friends in the religious organizations are their mothers. Lastly,
aside from their friends, their usual companions also include their peers,
particularly in observing the following religious practices: going to confession,
going to prayer meetings, joining Bible studies, participating in retreats/
recollections, joining pilgrimages to churches or religious sites and praying the
Stations of the Cross. According to the respondents, it is very rare that their father
is with them when observing any of these religious practices. (See table 6)
The respondents’ mothers, parish priests, and co-members in religious
organizations have influenced them very much in practicing their faith. Those
who have somewhat influenced them in practicing their faith include their
grandparents, teachers, barkada, fathers, friends in the neighborhood, aunts or
uncles, classmates and siblings. (See table 7)
In terms of their observance of liturgical feasts, most of the respondents observed
Christmas (77.8%). Sixty-seven percent observed Misa de Gallo and 62.6
117
percent observed Ash Wednesday. More than half of the participants observed
Palm Sunday (53.1%), Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper (52%), Good
Friday procession (58%), and Easter Sunday Mass (56.6%). Less than half of
the participants participated in the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of
Mary (48%), Easter Vigil (43.4%), Solemnity of Mary Mother of God (40.9%),
fasting and abstinence during the Lenten season (31.2%) and Visita Iglesia
during Holy Week (30.5%). (See illustration 20)
Most of the participants (58.9%) are members of religious organizations.
(See illustration 21) In terms of their participation in the activities of religious
organizations, more than half of the participants serve in the parish (53.1%).
Less than half of the participants engage in retreats and recollections (38.5%),
Mass sponsorship (39.2%), and youth camps (47.6%). (See illustration 22)
Private Practice
In terms of practicing their faith privately, the respondents said they say personal
prayers several times a day, pray the rosary once a week, and meditate more
than once a week. They read the Bible one to three times in a month, pray the
novenas and visit the Blessed Sacrament. (See table 8)
The respondents strongly agreed (M=3.41) that they feel God’s presence in their
life, experience God’s providence, feel God speaking to them in prayer, witness
God’s intervention in the events of their life and experience what they believe is
a miracle from God. (See table 9)
Discussion
In summary, the Filipino Catholic youth respondents showed a strong
identification with the Catholic Church. They have a high agreement with the
teachings of the Church, regularly attend communal worship, frequently say
personal prayers, and experience divine providence. The strong identification
with the Catholic Church suggests the presence of significant others who nurture
118
their religiosity, which according to the study are their parish priests, friends in
the religious organizations and mothers. The sense of security and comfort,
which the environment offers to the youth in expressing their faith, are essential
components that help them develop their religious identity (Chaudhury
and Miller, 2008). Both private and public practices of religion and religious
experiences also play important roles in decreasing crime and delinquency
(Evans et al., 1995; Johnson et al., 2000). This high level of religiosity promotes
health-enhancing behaviors among young people ( Jessor, Turbin & Costa,
1998) and general well-being (McIntosh, Poulin, Silver & Holman, 2011).
119
T
he study also examines the predicted relation between the
respondents’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics with
their religiosity.
The demographic profile of the Catholic youth and their religiosity
were analyzed using bivariate correlation. The results indicated that the strength
of the associations among variables is low. (See table 10)
Gender is positively associated with group identification (r=.116, p<.05), which
suggests that females exhibited more group identification with the Catholic
Church than males. On the other hand, educational attainment of the youth is
significantly associated with the sense of being Catholic (r = -.173, p<.01), which
indicates that higher educational attainment relates to stronger identification of
being Catholic.
Age is positively correlated with ideology (r=.131, p<.01), indicating that
as age increases the more likely the respondents become more aware and
knowledgeable about Catholic teachings. Similarly, educational attainment
is significantly correlated with ideology (r=-.234, p<.01), which suggests
that higher educational attainment facilitates higher level of knowledge in
the Catholic faith. Both age (r=-.17, p<.01) and occupation (r=-.16, p<.01)
are significantly associated with public practice. This indicates that the
younger respondents engaged more in communal church activities than the
older respondents.
Gender is positively associated with private practice (r=.151, p<.01), which
indicates that females practice more personal prayer and worship and the like,
as compared to males. Likewise, gender is positively associated with religious
experience (r=.172, p<.01), suggesting that females are more likely to say
that they have experienced God in their lives than males. Lastly, educational
attainment is negatively associated with religious experience (r=-.272, p<.01),
which indicates that higher educational attainment relates to more personal
encounter with God.
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Discussion
The result that females are more religious than males has been validated by
several studies in the past. A few studies (Yinger, 1970; Sasaki, 1979; Lenski,
1953) have found out that females express greater interest in religion. Some
studies have proven that females have stronger personal religious commitment
(Argyle & Beit-Hallahmi, 1975; Donahue & Erickson, 1989) as compared to
males. Batson, Schoenrade and Ventis (1993) have also proven that females
attend church services more frequently. In addition, these gender differences
in terms of religiosity appear to be true in the entire life span (Cornwall, 1989).
Davis and Smith (1991) also established that women are more likely to pray and
read the Bible regularly.
One explanation contends that females are taught to be submissive, passive,
obedient and nurturing compared to males, and that these traits have been
associated with a higher level of religiosity (Mol, 1985; Suziedelis & Potvin,
1981). Another theory suggests that more females exhibit personality traits that
tend to portray them as more religious than males (Miller & Hoffmann, 1995).
Another significant result is the relationship existing between age and three of
the religiosity domains, namely, ideology, public practice and private practice.
The finding suggests that while older respondents perform fewer rituals
(whether in public or in private) as compared to their younger counterparts,
they are more knowledgeable in the teachings of the Church. This result is
contrary to the findings that religiosity increases with age especially among
those aged between 18 to 30 (Argue, Johnson & White, 1999). One possible
explanation for this result is the life course model of Chavez (1989), which
states that the differences in the level of religiosity among different age groups
may be due to the social roles that older youth groups assume, particularly in
their respective families. It could be that the younger respondents have more
time in performing rituals (both in private and in public) since they still do
not have many responsibilities in life or in their own respective families. They
are also less knowledgeable in terms of the teachings of the Church since they
have lesser experience of being involved in Church activities as compared to
older respondents. Older respondents tend to possess higher ideology because
they have been active in the Church when they were still younger. They are
also preoccupied not only with their own personal responsibilities, but also
with their families.
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Another finding that needs to be pointed out is that respondents who have higher
educational attainment have stronger group identification, more knowledgeable
in the teachings of the Church and have more religious experience, as compared
to those who have lower educational attainment. Respondents with higher level
of educational attainment may have also seen the value of group identification
with the Catholic Church because of their education. This is consistent with
the idea that the higher educated a person is, the more knowledge one acquires
about everything including the teachings of the Church. Thus, in terms of Church
teachings, older respondents have also acquired more knowledge compared to
younger respondents. Moreover, these respondents who have achieved higher
education have more experience in terms of God’s presence in their lives since
they have been more exposed to life experiences. Their independence may
allow them to do personal things that would translate to religious experiences
compared to those who are still considered students or have not yet achieved
independence.
Aside from gender, age and educational attainment, occupation and school type
significantly correlate with one ritual domain of religiosity in public practice.
Students and employed respondents practice more rituals than working students
and the unemployed. Working students may be busier and more preoccupied
juggling their studies and their jobs, so they have less or no time to attend
Church activities. Moreover, the unemployed respondents may have feelings
of social alienation or have low self-esteem and are, therefore, not confident
to attend communal church activities. In addition, respondents coming from
Catholic schools attended more communal church activities. This may be due
to the fact that they are more exposed to these communal rituals as part of the
regular religious activities associated with Catholic schools.
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T
Pro-social Behavior
In terms of pro-social behaviors, respondents strongly agreed that they will
listen to others when they tell them their problems (M=3.54, SD=.535), try
to cheer up others whenever they feel sad (M=3.39, SD=.538), give advice
to those who need it (M=3.36, SD=.605), and offer their time to others
when they need it (M=3.32, SD=.520). (See table 11)
Sense of Agency
The respondents strongly agreed that their achievements are a result of their
hard work (M=3.41, SD=.633), that they take care of themselves (M=3.47,
SD=.61), that they do not neglect themselves (M=3.33, SD=.566), and that
they are able to change the things around them (M=2.71, SD=.699). They also
agreed that they can make things happen (M=2.56, SD=.74), that the events in
their life result from the decisions that they make (M=3.07, SD=.743), that they
can influence others to do what they want (M=2.43, SD=.753), and that they get
to correct their bad habits (M=3.18, SD=.551). (See table 12)
Communion
In terms of sense of communion, the respondents strongly agreed that they
care about what others feel (M=3.3, SD=.585), that they care about other
123
people (M=3.41, SD=.55), that they trust in the goodness of others (M=3.38,
SD=.531), that they desire to be one with others in order to further the good of
the majority (M=3.32, SD=.571), and that they respect other people (M=3.42,
SD=.540). They also agreed that they are dismissive of others (M=2.85,
SD=.66), that they care about what happens to other people (M=3.19,
SD=.604), that they are able to experience the world through interaction with
different kinds of people (M=3.23, SD=.592), and that they try not to hurt
other people’s feelings (M=3.22, SD=.604). However, they disagreed that they
are prematurely judging the people who they have yet to know well (M=2.41,
Initiative
The respondents strongly agreed that they always think of how they can do
things better (M=3.38, SD=.531), that they strive to be better in performing
tasks (M=3.43, SD=.527), that they persevere in all things (M=3.36,
SD=.577), that they try hard to accomplish challenging tasks so that they
can reach their goals (M=3.38, SD=.573), that they accept responsibilities
wholeheartedly (M=3.30, SD=.558), and that they make sure that they
finish what they started (M=3.32, SD=.573). They agreed that they do what
they should without being told (M=3.11, SD=.59) and that they do not give
up until they solve a problem (M=3.23, SD=.560). (See table 14)
Risk Behaviors
Most of the respondents do not engage in risky behaviors. However, there
are some risk behaviors that need to be looked into. These include getting
drunk (26%), surfing prohibited sites on the internet without supervision
(18.6%), cutting classes frequently (16.5%), excessive computer gaming
leading to lack of sleep or socialization (15.8%), being out of school
(14.2%), physically injuring others (13.9%), threatening or bullying others
(13.2%) and gambling (12.1%). (See table 15)
Life’s Satisfaction
The respondents agreed that they are satisfied with their lives (M=5.74,
SD=1.3). However, they only slightly agreed that in most ways their life
is close to their ideal (M=5.21, SD=1.4), that the condition of their life is
excellent (M=5.17, SD=1.15), that they have gotten the things they want
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(M=4.79, SD=1.46), and that they would change almost nothing if they
could live their life over (M=4.99, SD=1.7). (See table 16)
Discussion
In general, the Filipino Catholic youth respondents exhibited pro-social
behaviors, a high sense of agency, communion and initiative, and mostly
do not engage in risky behaviors. They were also satisfied with their lives.
Together, these create a picture of a socially and personally responsible
Filipino Catholic youths. Engaging in pro-social behaviors indicates that
the youth demonstrate the ability to understand the views and feelings of
other people, and have a clear indication of empathy (McMahon, Wernsman
& Parnes, 2006). A high sense of agency suggests that the youth’s actions
and decisions have impacts in their lives and in society (Watts & Guessous,
2006), which implies that they are willing to participate in sociopolitical
activities in order to uphold and defend the rights of people. Moreover,
the high sense of communion of the Filipino Catholic youth respondents
supports the collectivist culture among Filipinos wherein harmony in
relationships with others is valued (Church, 1987; Triandis, 2001).
General well-being is negatively associated with engaging in risky behaviors
(Schwartz et al., 2011); it thus suggests that the respondents who mostly
do not engage in risky behaviors are also psychologically fit. This is also
reflected in the exhibited life satisfaction of the respondents, which plays a
key role in mental health (Proctor, Linley & Maltby, 2009).
In terms of collectivism, respondents strongly agreed that team effort is
superior to individual creative ideas (M=3.4, SD=.57) and that the group
or community in which they belong to are a significant part of who they are
(M=3.4, SD=.59). They also agreed that their peers as well as themselves are
accountable for their actions (M=2.9, SD=.69), that one should act keeping
the group’s welfare in mind (M=3.3, SD=.59), that mutual help within a
group means more to their well-being (M=3.4, SD=.58), that communal
ownership is preferable to private ownership (M=3, SD=.68), that personal
salvation is reached only after the salvation of the group (M=2.7, SD=.81)
and that gaining a sense of security is by associating with a group (M=2.7,
SD=.81). Together, this high sense of collectivism corroborates with other
125
findings regarding the culture of Filipinos (Church, 1987; Triandis, 2001).
This indicates the value that the Filipino Catholic youths put in attaining
relatedness and interdependence with others (Markus & Kitayama, 1991).
(See table 18)
In terms of sense of individualism, the respondents strongly agreed that
religion is having a personal relationship with God (M=3.5, SD=.54). They
also agreed that they are responsible for their wrongdoing (M=3.3, SD=.66),
that they work effectively alone than in a group (M=2.4, SD=.78), that they
perform better in competitive situations (M=2.8, SD=.72), that relying
on others is a weakness (M=2.9, SD=.81), that their prayers are personal
(M=2.5, SD=.88), and that it is important to be a unique individual (M=2.9,
SD=.78). All these suggest that the Filipino Catholic youth respondents
also demonstrate a sense of autonomy and the capability to implement their
thoughts and actions (Ryan et al., 1995). At any rate, sense of autonomy
also plays a role in an individual’s development, functioning, and health
(Ryan et al., 1997). (See table 17)
Knowledge
The respondents agreed that they make sure they are updated with social
and political issues around them (M=3.07, SD=.61), engage in discussions
about political and social issues with friends (M=2.9, SD=.66) and refer
to various sources of information (newspaper, television, radio, social
networks, blogs) to keep themselves informed of sociopolitical issues in
the country (M=3.14, SD=.593). (See table 19)
Values
The respondents strongly agreed that Filipinos need to be respectful of
different political views (M=3.36, SD=.565) and that collaboration with
other political groups is important to democracy (M=3.27, SD=.601).
They also agreed that that the Catholic Church’s involvement in politics is
healthy in a democratic society (M=3.05, SD=.745). (See table 20)
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Trust
The respondents agreed that political parties are relevant (M=2.91,
SD=.66), that they are hopeful that government leaders will be true to their
espoused promises (M=3.17, SD=.754), and that participation in civil
society is important for the advancement of political interest (M=3.11,
Space
The respondents agreed that they make use of social networking sites to
participate in political affairs (M=2.65, SD=.829), that it is acceptable to
participate in demonstrations to air one’s grievances (M=2.56, SD=.772)
and that they seize every opportunity to maximize involvement in any
political process (M=2.63, SD=.745). (See table 22)
Practices
The respondents strongly agreed that Filipinos must exercise their right to
vote (M=3.66, SD=.535) and that they will do anything they can to ensure
the credibility of elections (M=3.5, SD=.545). They agreed that they also
participate in the local governance in their community (M=2.77, SD=.719).
(See table 23)
Identities
The respondents strongly agreed that every Filipino as a political actor has
the right to participate in politics (M=3.25, SD=.646) and that they support
the Catholic Church whenever it takes a stand regarding different political
issues (M=3.27, SD=.644). They also agreed that they find some level of
affinity with other people in their opinion regarding politics (M=2.95,
Discussion
In general, all the measures of political participation point to the idea that
the respondents are active and fairly knowledgeable to what is happening in
the country’s political sphere and in society in general. Political knowledge
127
is associated with active involvement in the community (Delli Carpini &
Keeter, 1996). More importantly, trust in the government fosters democratic
governance (Putnam, 2000). Thus, all of these suggest that the Filipino
Catholic youth respondents, noted with active sociopolitical participation,
can instill and effect social change for the betterment of the country.
128
T
he five dimensions of religiosity are also correlated with the
psychosocial attributes, cultural beliefs, and sociopolitical beliefs
and participation. (See table 25)
The sense of being Catholic (r=.458, p<.01), ideology (r=.409,
p<.01), and religious experience (r=.372, p<.01) are moderately correlated with
psychosocial attributes. This suggests that respondents’ stronger identification
with the Catholic Church, deeper understanding of Church teachings, and
deeper experiences of God may facilitate the development of pro-social behavior,
sense of agency, community and initiative.
The sense of being Catholic has moderate correlation with sociopolitical
beliefs and participation (r=.330, p<.01), whereas it has low correlation with
collectivism (r=.153, p<.01). This indicates that respondents who demonstrate
stronger group identification with the Church are more likely to participate in
sociopolitical activities and value harmonious relationships with others.
Ideology is moderately correlated with psychosocial attributes (r=.409, p<.01)
and sociopolitical beliefs and participation (r=.341, p<.01), and show low
significant relationship with collectivism (r=.179, p<.01). This points to the idea
that the respondents with more knowledge of the Catholic faith are more likely
to engage in sociopolitical activities, exhibit psychosocial attributes, and value
the communal way of life.
Public and private practice has low correlation with psychosocial attributes
(r=.171, p<.01); (r=.184, p<.01) and sociopolitical beliefs and participation
(r=.126, p<.01); (r=.121, p<.05). This indicates that the more the respondents
engage in communal and personal worship, the more likely they also exhibit
psychosocial attributes, and engage more in sociopolitical activities.
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Finally, religious experience is moderately correlated with psychosocial
attributes (r=.372, p<.01), shows low significant relationship with collectivism
(r=.099, p<.05), and sociopolitical beliefs and participation (r=.206, p<.01).
This indicates that the more divine intervention the respondents experience
in life, the more they demonstrate psychosocial attributes, foster the value of
relationships with others, and engage in sociopolitical activities.
130
Relationship of the
M
ost of the five domains of religiosity correlate with one another.
Group identification is correlated moderately with ideology
(r=.566, p<.01) and religious experience (r=.528, p<.01),
whereas low correlation is shown between public practice
(r=.128, p<.01) and private practice (r=.132, p<.01). This shows that a stronger
identification with the Catholic community relates to more knowledge of the
Catholic faith (ideology), deeper religious experiences and more engagement in
public and private practices of the Catholic faith. (See table 26)
Ideology is moderately correlated with religious experience (r=.504, p<.01),
which indicates that knowledge of the Catholic faith may help facilitate religious
experiences. Lastly, public practice is moderately correlated with private practice
(r=.562, p<.01), suggesting that the respondents engage in the rituals of the
Catholic faith.
Discussion
Generally, religiosity is found to be significantly correlated with psychosocial
attributes, collectivism and political participation. These results are similar to
those of Duriez, Luten, Snauwaert and Hutsebaut (2002), which suggested that
religiosity is significantly related with political ideology and attitudes. Another
study (Secret, Johnson & Forrest, 1990) suggests that as commitment to one’s
religion increases, so does one’s political participation such as voting, engaging in
protest and even membership in political associations. This relationship may be
due to the fact that people who are more committed to the Church take the latter’s
teachings more seriously and are more inclined to be active in political activities.
A short report (Gebauer, Sedikides & Neberich, 2012) posits that religion
promotes psychological benefits especially to a culture that values religion, like
in the Philippines. They found out that believers claimed to have higher social
131
self-esteem and have higher scores in terms of psychological attributes than nonbelievers. The respondents of this study are mostly active in Church activities,
thus strengthening their identification with the Catholic Church. They also
become socially comfortable due to their contribution as members of the
Church. Their awareness of Church teachings may also contribute to how they
deal with the realities in life. Consequently, they have the willingness to help
others in need and are encouraged to serve their communities.
Religiosity is significantly correlated with collectivism. This result is parallel
to the study of Cukur, de Guzman and Carlo (2004). It, therefore, establishes
that those with a collectivist attitude tend to be more conservative, hence, tend
to value religion more than others. Catholicism tends toward collectivism, as
compared to religions that have sprung from the Catholic reformation. This
association may be due to the basic understanding among Catholics that the
Church is a community of the faithful.
132
A
mid the general perceptions that youths nowadays are not placing
major importance to religion in their lives, the findings of this survey
suggest otherwise. Visayan Catholic youths remain faithful, practice
and express their Catholic faith, participate in social and political
activities, and refer to the values they learned from the Catholic Church in their
life decision-making.
Majority of the respondents are full time students and are living with their
families whose parents are both Catholics and have been married under the
Catholic rite. While they considered themselves as part of the middle class with
their fathers as the main breadwinner whose main source of income is working
as an employee, the average monthly earning is less than PhP10,000.00, which
is considered part of the poor class according to the country’s prevailing socioeconomic indicators.
Visayan youth respondents show a high level of group identification with the
Catholic Church, strongly agree with the main tenets of the Catholic faith,
regularly participate in the communal rituals and perform private religious
activities, and strongly feel the presence of God and experience divine providence.
The study also describes the Visayan youth respondents in terms of the
relationship between demographic/socioeconomic profile and religiosity.
Older Visayan respondents are more knowledgeable in the teachings of the
Church, while younger respondents practice the rituals of the Catholic faith
more than their older counterparts. In general, females are more religious than
males. Lastly, respondents who have higher educational attainment have a
stronger sense of belonging to the Church, are more knowledgeable about her
teachings, and have deeper religious experience compared to those who have
lower educational attainment.
Moreover, the Visayan youth respondents are generally satisfied with their
lives. They also demonstrate more pro-social behaviors, have a high level of
133
sense of agency, communion and initiative and mostly do no not engage in risky
behaviors. This reflects a responsible Visayan Catholic youth to himself and the
society.
Visayan youth respondents are more collectivist than individualist. They
strongly value team effort and consider cooperation and collaboration superior
to individual creative efforts. The respondents’ sense of individualism refers
mainly to their self-autonomy and a personal relationship with God, which for
them, reflects the uniqueness of the individual.
The respondents are aware of the current social and political events and actively
engage in the political and democratic processes through social networking
sites.
The findings of the study provide the baseline data for relevant stakeholders
and institutions to reach out to the Catholic youths in order to optimize their
potential as catalysts for social change guided by their faith.
First, most of the Visayan Catholic youths live together with the entire family.
This reflects the family-centered culture of Filipinos. Thus, a strong and effective
family ministry will develop further the faith and, as a consequence, the positive
attitude of the youth. The youth give very high regard and importance to their
families. For this reason, the easiest way to form good Catholics is to form the
family first.
Second, Visayan Catholic youths have deep religious experiences, strongly
agree with the teachings of the Church, and regularly practice both public and
private rituals. According to the findings, there is a positive correlation between
educational attainment and knowledge of the faith. It is therefore important that
continuing faith instruction and formation be provided at all levels of education,
including post-graduate studies.
Third, while there is a separation of Church and State, at a personal level, Catholic
youth cannot really separate their religious conviction from their sociopolitical
positions. Based on the findings on the existence of a relationship between
religiosity and political participation, the Church may focus in harnessing the
youths’ religiosity, which, as a consequence, will later on translate into their
political and civic engagements in keeping with their Catholic faith.
134
Mindanao
Demographic and
Place of origin
F
our hundred forty (440) respondents from ten dioceses were
covered for the Mindanao region in the National Filipino Catholic
Youth Survey (NFCYS) 2013. The dioceses include the following:
Archdiocese of Cagayan De Oro 9.8 percent, Archdiocese of
Cotabato 9.8 percent, Archdiocese of Zamboanga 9.8 percent, Diocese of
Butuan 9.8 percent, Diocese of Digos 9.3 percent, Diocese of Dipolog 11.4
percent, Diocese of Marbel 10.2 percent, Diocese of Pagadian 9.8 percent,
Diocese of Tagum 10 percent, and the Prelature of Isabela 10 percent. (See
illustration 1)
The average age of the respondents is 20.04 (SD=4.8) years old. (See table 1)
The younger youth from 13-22 years old comprise 79.4 percent, while 20.2
percent for the older youth ages 23-29. (See illustration 2) Gender is grouped
almost evenly between males (50.6%) and females (48.3%). (See illustration 3)
In terms of occupation, 45 percent indicated that they are fulltime students, 19
percent employed, 22 percent unemployed, and 4.3 percent working students.
Among the student-respondents, 60.4 percent reported that they are studying
in public schools and colleges/universities, 25.2 percent are in private Catholic
schools and 11.7 percent are in private non-sectarian schools. (See illustration
5)
136
Regarding highest educational attainment, 30 percent reported to have had
some college education, 28 percent had some high school, 19 percent completed
college, 9 percent had high school education only, 6.6 percent had vocational
education, and only 4.3 percent had post-graduate degrees. (See illustration 6)
Out-of-School Youth
Around 16 percent of the 440 respondents are out-of-school youth (OSY). A
combined 76 percent of them have been out of school for less than a year to as
much as three years. Almost ten percent of them have not been in school for four
to six years and 14 percent have not been studying for more than six years. (See
illustration 7) The top reasons for being out of school are the following: My
parents no longer have the finances to support me (33%), I need to find a job so
I can contribute to the family income (23%), and I had to stop so that my other
siblings can go to school (8%). (See illustration 8)
Family Situation
Majority of the respondents have parents who are both alive and living
together (70.6%). Around 6 percent have at least one parent working abroad.
A combined 14 percent have either a father or a mother who is no longer living.
Seventy-nine percent of the respondents said that their parents are married in
the rites of the Catholic Church, whereas a combined 13 percent reported that
their parents are married through either a civil ceremony or a Christian (nonCatholic) service. Some 4 percent indicated that their parents are not married
at all. (See illustration 10) Most of the respondents have parents who are both
Catholic (90.2%) and a combined 4 percent have at least one parent who is not
Catholic. (See illustration 11)
Majority of the respondents’ fathers have either high school (27.3%) or college
(24.5%) education. The rest have some high school (10.6%), some college
(9.5%), or a vocational degree (5.1%). Only 5.3% of fathers have post-graduate
137
degrees. (See illustration 12) On the other hand, most of the respondents’
mothers have high school education (31.3%) whereas others completed college
(29.2%). Mothers with only elementary education are at 11.5 percent and those
with post-graduate degrees make-up 6.2 percent of the distribution. Less than 1
percent did not have any formal schooling. (See illustration 13)
Majority identified their fathers (62.2%) as the breadwinner of the family. Around
18.8 percent said their mother is the breadwinner. While 5.1 percent of the
respondents indicated that they are the breadwinners themselves, interestingly,
almost 10% reported that neither parents nor their siblings but someone else
instead is the breadwinner of their family. (See illustration 14)
About half of the respondents’ families have an average income of less than
PhP10,000.00 (52.3%), whereas 20 percent have between PhP10,000.00 and
PhP19,999.00. Less than 5 percent fall under the category of PhP50,000.00 and
above. (See illustration 15). Around 78.8 percent of the respondents indicated
employment as the primary source. The rest relied on business (14.5%) and
remittance from abroad (6.6%) to support their families. (See illustration 16)
In terms of socioeconomic status, 75.3 percent of the respondents thought
of themselves as middle class, 22.6 percent as low income and only 2 percent
classified themselves as upper class. (See illustration 17)
When asked about living arrangements in the family, 70 percent of the
respondents from Mindanao said they live with both parents and siblings. A
combined 15 percent live in a single parent setup, whereas the rest either lived
with relatives (6.6%), with other people (1.8%), or by themselves (2.3%). (See
illustration 18)
The average number of household members for a typical respondent is five or
six. (See table 2) Around 50 percent of them indicated owning their place of
residence, 37.9 percent said that their residence is owned by either parents or
relatives, and about 12 percent are renting. (See illustration 19)
Leisure Activities
The Filipino Catholic youth in Mindano engage in leisure activities as much as
their Luzon and Visayas counterparts. Among the most frequently enjoyed (at
least 3 times a week) are the following: 1) Watching TV or DVDs, 2) reading
books, 3) joining church activities (not necessarily related to worship or prayer),
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4) strolling and jogging, 5) playing sports, and 6) playing computer games.
Among the least engaged in (done only a few times per month) are the following:
1) Buying gadgets, 2) doing charity work, 3) partying, 4) joining activities in
social clubs, 5) dining out with family, 6) shopping, and 7) attending prayer
sessions. (See table 3)
Activities that are almost never done are the following: 1) Going on vacation to
foreign destinations, 2) going to a spa, 3) going to the gym, 4) hanging out in
entertainment bars, 5) vacationing in local destinations, 6) going to the beauty
parlor, and 7) watching concerts.
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R
espondents have a high regard for being Catholics. They claimed
that Catholic identity is an integral part of their life (M=3.78,
SD=.42) and has become the source of pride of their own Catholic
life experiences (M=3.76, SD=.47) and that they have identified
themselves strongly with and among Catholics (M=3.69, SD=.49). As revealed
in the FGD, the attachment of a person to the Catholic Church is deeply rooted
in one’s childhood. It means that this has been part of his/her upbringing at
home. (See table 4)
It is a sad reality, however, that some participants in the FGD considered their
membership in the Catholic Church as something that is out of convenience.
It is interesting to note that there are 14.1 percent among the respondents who
entertained thoughts of leaving the Catholic Church. As they have disclosed
in the FGD, being Catholic as compared with being a member of other
religious sects does not burden believers with very strict rules as regards the
manner of dressing, attendance in religious activities and the obligatory nature
of their participation. To these participants, being Catholic provides a freer
space among believers to handle their own time and preferred activities. Very
enticing for the Catholic youth are the lesser restrictions mentioned earlier,
as well as the welcoming aura of the Catholic Church. To many respondents,
being Catholic is not burdensome, for they have enough liberty in deciding
whether to join or not to join in many church activities, when to join and not
to join, as well as the decision to sport the attire they want during a church
service.
Data shows that around 55.3 percent of the respondents have thought of
becoming a priest or a nun. This low level of response toward religious vocations
could be attributed to the strong objections of the FGD participants regarding
140
involvement of some priests in sex scandals, since these are contrary to their
image being respectable authorities as pastors of the Church. Knowing about
a priest involved in a sex scandal is “demoralizing,” and “maka-wala ug respeto,”
and “maka-guba ug religion.” To a certain extent, a sex scandal involving a priest
reduces the appeal of religious life among the youth. The decline of the number
of individuals entering the Catholic religious vocation has also been observed in
North America and most of Western Europe (Stark & Finke, 2000).
Ideology
The survey indicates that the respondents strongly agreed with the main tenets
of the Catholic faith, such as God is our Creator (M=3.91, SD=.297), agreement
in the main tenets of the Catholic faith. Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead
(M=3.86, SD=.375), God through His providence protects and guides all that
He has created (M=3.81, SD=434), the Holy Trinity (M=3.83, SD=4.23), the
Bible is inspired Word of God (M=3.73, SD=.508).
The respondents’ strong agreement likening Jesus to the prophets of other
religions (M=3.47, SD=.79), and moderate agreement that Church membership
is necessary for salvation (M=3.18, SD=.83) are indications of their exposure to
secularism and religious pluralism, which are brought about by globalization.
The FGD showed that respondents are very much exposed to various forms
of information, including those of other religions, through modern means of
communication such as the internet. Besides, they are also living in communities
where there are other religious traditions such as Islam, indigenous beliefs
and other Christian sects. As a consequence of this continuing exposure, the
perception that Christ is just one of the prophets and that salvation can be
attained in many ways other than membership in the Church is expected. For
this reason, one FGD participant may have particularly expressed the general
sentiment of the participants when he said, “I am actively searching for a good
religion to embrace by attending other church services.”
The respondents also posted only an agree answer regarding the priests’ and
bishops’ power to absolve sins (M=3.07, SD=.84). This may be attributed to
the common perception that they are also human beings; hence, susceptible to
mistakes and wrongdoings. The FGD showed that respondents’ reservations
regarding this power of Bishops and priests are due mainly to the abuses and
scandals committed by clergy. Interestingly, some respondents took a more
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accepting and forgiving stance on this issue, saying that priests can also be
vulnerable to such temptations because they are also human beings.
The respondents indicated slight agreement concerning the infallibity of the
Pope (M=2.99, SD=.77). The less enthusiastic view of the respondents may be
attributed to the fact that it is not a widely understood doctrine. Even in the
face of modern changes introduced by the new Pope Francis into his papacy,
that is, adopting a more populist persona to make himself more accessible to the
ordinary faithful beyond the cordon, the respondents could not readily associate
his teachings as Pope being free from error.
When contemporary moral issues were raised, they strongly agreed that life is a
gift from God and they do not have the right to take it (M=3.72, SD=.532), that
abortion is a sin (M=3.70, SD=.74) and that pre-marital sex is wrong (M=1.85,
SD=.82, Reverse-Scored). Interestingly, the respondents posted only an agree
answer to such contentious topics such as mercy killing (M=3.17, SD=.90), the
use of contraceptives (M=3.09, SD=.89), homosexuality (M=3.10, SD=.99,
Reverse-Scored), reproductive health and divorce (M=2.37, SD=1).
It should be noted that the respondents also agreed that the Catholic Church
hierarchy should not be involved in political issues (M=2.81, SD=.94). (See table 5)
The FGD reveals the various moral convictions of the respondents. The agree
only answer and the various moral stands of the respondents on issues such as
divorce and use of contraceptives are indicative of the fact that the respondents
are taking these issues with a degree of caution. The FGD shows that respondents
tend to prefer independent thinking and personal analysis as a basis of moral
decision than simply accepting the moral precepts provided by the Church.
Public Practice
Respondents from Mindanao do hear Mass more than once a week (M=5.18,
SD=.80), and one to three times a month pray the rosary (M=4, SD=1.424),
attend prayer meetings (M=3.71, SD=1.412), attend Bible study (M=3.60,
SD=1.413), adore the Blessed Sacrament (M=3.54, SD=1.416) and pray
novenas (M=3.46, SD=1.320). (See table 6) While it is encouraging to note
their communal religious practices, it appears that the traditional rosary prayer
that binds the Catholic family everyday at six o’clock in the evening is no longer
regularly practiced. On an individual basis, however, respondents claimed to be
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praying the rosary once a week (M=4.68) although their responses are varied as
indicated by SD of 1.797. (See table 9)
In observing the above-mentioned communal religious practices, the
respondents said that their usual companions are the following: Friends in
religious organizations (37.5%), barkada (19.1%), mother (16.4%), others
(14%), cousins (5%), siblings (4.5%), grandparents (3%) and father (3%).
(See table 7)
Regarding the influencers in practicing their faith, respondents considered the
parish priest (M=3.5, SD=.775), mother (M=3.39, SD=.822) and co-members
in religious organizations (M=3.3, SD=.865) very much influential. They said
that they are somewhat influenced only by their father (M=2.96, SD=.973),
barkada (M=2.94, SD=.867), teachers (M=2.92, SD=.931) and grandparents
(M=2.86, SD=1.078). (See table 8)
Christmas, Misa de Gallo, Easter Sunday, Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday
Mass during Lent are the liturgical feasts most highly observed by the
respondents. (See illustration 19)
Around 75 percent of the respondents are members of religious organizations.
(See illustration 20) As members, they engaged in the following activities of their
religious organizations: Prayer meetings (51.1%), serving the parish (49.1%),
retreats and recollections (45.5%), Mass sponsorship (45%), youth camps
(44.8%), leadership trainings (33.9%), sports activities (32.7%), charity work
(31.8%) and fund-raising activities (31.4%). (See illustration 21)
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Private Practice
Prayerfulness as a primary indicator of religiosity is evident among the
respondents as they claimed that they do their personal prayer several times a
day (M=7.26, SD=1.1), meditate more than once a week (M=5.72, SD=2.076),
read the Bible (M=4.85, SD=1.725) and pray the rosary (M=4.68, SD=1.797)
once a week, and one to three times a month pray the novenas (M=4.08,
SD=1.698) and adore the Blessed Sacrament (M=4.42, SD=1.883). (See table
9) FGD participants mentioned that their being Catholic introduced them to
a life of prayer. Prayer, for some, becomes an instrument for solving personal
problems and changing bad attitudes, among others.
Respondents affirmed having an intimate relationship with God as manifested
by God’s active participation in their lives, as they were strongly agreeing that
God is present in their lives (M=3.72, SD=.48), that they have experienced
His providence (M=3.57, SD=.55) and that they feel God talking to them
through their prayers (M=3.48, SD=.59). This intimate relationship with God
motivates them to say their daily personal prayers. (See table 10)
These findings are indicative of the realness of the role of God in the respondents’
lives. This result is a clear show that they generally live their Catholic faith,
as they are being cognizant of the guidance and intervention of God in their
daily undertakings. This confidence of having an active God in one’s life makes
a person stable amidst adversities. The resilient character among Filipinos has
even been lauded by the international media, and practically by the international
community, in the wake of the disaster brought about by Super Typhoon Yolanda
(Yahora, 2013).
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T
he relationship between the
demographic variables are
associations are found in
demographic/socioeconomic
Mindanao data set.
subdomains of the religiosity and
also explored. Several significant
testing for relationship between
variables and religiosity using the
Ideology is found to be significantly associated with age (r=.14, p<.01), gender
(r=.104, p<.05), and educational attainment (r=-.224, p<.01). The resulting
coefficients suggest that all three associations are slight. (See table 24) The
results further suggest that the higher the age and educational attainment of
the respondent, the higher also is his/her propensity toward beliefs regarding
the existence and the essence of a transcendent reality and the relation
between the transcendent and the human. Moreover, it suggests that females
tend to have deeper belief in God than their male counterparts. The variable
educational attainment was reversed-scored, wherein scoring one meant having
a post-graduate degree and scoring nine meant not having achieved any formal
schooling at all.
Slight but significant associations are also found between public practice and
educational attainment (r=.11, p<.05) and socioeconomic status (r=.15,
p<.01). The results suggest that the higher the economic standing in life, the
greater the participation in communal religious activities. Moreover, the higher
the educational attainment, the greater is the tendency to participate in public
rituals.
Religious experience is found to be significantly associated with age (r=.146,
p<.01), gender (r=.115, p<.05), and educational attainment (r=-.239, p<.01).
The findings suggest that as a person grows older, the deeper is his/her
experience of God. Moreover, females tend to experience God more than their
male counterparts. Finally, the higher the educational attainment, the deeper is
one’s religious experience. (See table 24)
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T
he Filipino Catholic youth of Mindanao were also assessed in terms
of the attitudes they held regarding several relevant aspects of life,
particularly on psychosocial attributes, cultural beliefs, and political
participation. The results help to feature the dominant opinions and
positions of the Catholic youth of Mindanao on items such as helping others,
satisfaction with life, insights into community, and sense of citizenship.
This covers the respondents’ pro-social behaviors, sense of agency, communion,
initiative, risk behavior, and life satisfaction.
Pro-social Behavior
What is the attitude of the Catholic youth in Mindanao toward helping others?
Results show that the Catholic youth respondents from Mindanao have a
generally positive attitude toward altruism, obtaining a general mean of 3.16
(SD=.6325) on a ten-item pro-social behavior scale. Respondents scored
lowest on the item “I find it tiring to do things for others” (M=2.14, SD=.777),
and highest on the item “I listen to others when they tell me their problems”
(M=3.55, SD=.542). Both answers indicate receptivity among the respondents
toward being good to others. (See table 11)
Sense of Agency
Sense of agency refers to the youth’s experience or sense of themselves or their
actions as the cause of important outcomes or changes in their lives, in the lives
146
of others, or in their environment. Through an eight-item four-point scale, the
youth were measured whether or not they acknowledge having some sense of
control in their lives.
The results of the survey show that the young Filipino Catholic respondents
from Mindanao believed, on average, to have a solid sense of control in their
lives (M=3.05, SD=.653). This suggests that they are fairly confident that events
in their lives, whether good or bad, are caused by controllable factors such as
the attitudes they keep, preparations they make, and the amount of effort they
put in. Respondents scored highest in the item “I take care of myself ” (M=3.49,
SD=.576), and scored lowest on the item “I influence others to do what I want”
(M=2.54, SD=.780). (See table 12)
Communion
The communion scale (ten-item four-point measure) gauges the extent to which
the respondents show caring, benevolence and friendliness toward others.
Persons having the quality of communion are sensitive, and they work toward
the common good.
Filipino Catholic respondents from Mindanao showed a remarkably high
tendency for communion (M=3.17, SD=.610). Respondents scored highest in
the item “I care about other people” (M=3.39, SD=.578), and lowest on the item
“I am easily dismissive of others” (M=2.22, SD=.683). (See table 13)
Initiative
Do young Filipino Catholics in Mindanao believe that they possess the
ability to assess and initiate things independently? Results of the survey
demonstrate that they appear to believe so. Using an eight-item four-point
measure, respondents from Mindanao obtained a mean of 3.30 (SD=.575),
indicating a strong belief toward having initiative. Respondents scored
highest in the item “I strive to be better in performing tasks” (M=3.38,
SD=.544) and relatively lowest in the item “I do what I should without being
told” (M=3.10, SD=.630). (See table 14)
Risk Behavior
Using a thirty-item dichotomous (Yes/No) measure, respondents were assessed
on their engagement in highly deviant behaviors such as smoking, taking drugs,
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drinking, damaging property, engaging in premarital sex and having early
pregnancy, violent behavior, and school truancy.
The top five risk behaviors most engaged in by Mindanao respondents are the
following: Getting drunk (27.8%), being out of school (22.6%), excessive
computer gaming (18.6%), surfing prohibited websites (18.2%), and cutting
classes (16.6%). In addition, it is quite striking that 11.3 percent of the Mindanao
respondents answered Yes to engaging in sexual activity, whereas 13.6% percent
admitted to engaging in gambling.
The top five risk behaviors least engaged in are the following: Sniffing rugby
(98.9%), engaging in paid sex (99.1%), taking prohibited drugs (98%), taking
sleeping pills without prescription (97.3%), and appearing in pornography
(97.3%). (See table 15)
Satisfaction with Life
How satisfied are young Filipino Catholics in Mindanao? The results of the
assessment, using the seven-point Satisfaction with Life Scale developed by
Ed Diener and colleagues in 1985, show that, on average, respondents from
Mindanao are fairly satisfied with life (M=5.21, SD=1.337). The same score,
however, also indicate that, whereas there is a general sense of satisfaction in
their lives, improvements in several aspects of life still remain to be desired.
Respondents scored highest in the item “I am satisfied with my life” (M=5.64,
SD=1.3). The lowest scoring item is “So far, I have gotten the important things I
want” (M=4.97, SD=1.4). (See table 16)
With a total mean score of 3.08 (SD=.657) the respondents said that they
consider team effort and communal work more superior than individual efforts.
Their responses range from agree to strongly agree in the following: 1) My
barkada is accountable for my actions as I am (M=2.89, SD=.67), 2) I believe
one should act keeping the group’s welfare in mind (M=3.3, SD=.62), 3) Team
effort is superior to individual creative ideas (M=3.4, SD=.61), 4) Mutual help
within a group means much for my well-being (M=3.4, SD=.58), 5) Communal
ownership is preferable to private ownership (M=2.96, SD=.70), 6) My personal
salvation is reached only after the salvation of the group (M=2.7, SD=.81), 7)
I gain a sense of security by associating myself with a strong group (M= 2.71,
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SD=.725), h) The group/community/society I belong to is a significant part of
who I am (M=3.35, SD=.58).
In terms of individualism, respondents moderately agreed on the following
statements: “I am responsible if I do something wrong” (M=3.3, SD=.6), “It
is more effective to work alone than in a group” (M=2.4, SD=.78), “I usually
perform better in competitive situations” (M=2.8, SD=.69), “Relying on others
is a weakness” (M=2.9, SD=.79), “Religion is having a personal relationship
with God” (M=3.5, SD=.54), “I do not share my prayers with others, they are
personal” (M=2.5, SD=.85) and “Being a unique individual is important to me”
(M=2.9, SD=.76). (See table 17)
How knowledgeable are the Catholic youth of Mindanao on issues that affect the
nation? What is their attitude toward democracy, politics, or the government?
Respondents were surveyed on their political participation on six subdomains.
Knowledge
The subdomain of knowledge refers to the citizens’ access to reliable reports,
portrayals, analyses, discussion and debates about current affairs in the public
sphere. Young Catholics from Mindanao who participated in the survey said that
they are updated with current sociopolitical news (M=3.03, SD=.64) and appear
to have easy access to various sources of information (i.e., newspaper, television,
radio, social networks, blogs) to keep themselves informed of sociopolitical
issues in the country (M=2.10, SD=.63). On the question of whether or not
they are engaged in discussions about politics and social issues with friends,
the extent of agreement of respondents from Mindanao dips slightly (M=2.95,
SD=.690). This suggests that talking about politics and current events does not
occupy the bulk of their typical daily conversation with peers. (See table 18)
Values
This subdomain concerns tolerance and willingness to follow democratic
principles and procedures grounded in everyday life, minimal shared commitments
to the visions of democracy, as well as taken-for-granted sensibilities. In terms of
values, the Mindanao respondents show strong agreement to the statements “I
149
think that Filipinos need to be respectful of different political views” (M=3.37,
SD=.540) and “Collaboration with other political groups is important to
democracy” (M=3.24, SD=.62). Indications of disagreement, however, were
seen in the item “The Catholic Church’s involvement in politics is healthy in a
democratic society” (M=2.95, SD=.771). (See table 19)
Trust
The subdomain of trust refers to the capacity to extend a suitable degree of hope
or belief to strangers, which facilitates collective civic effort. The respondents
did not seem to fully agree that political parties are relevant (M=2.93, SD=.656).
Yet the young Catholics of Mindanao showed clear agreement on the statements
“I am hopeful that government leaders will be true to their espoused promises”
(M=3.22, SD=.71) and “My participation in civil society is important for the
advancement of political interest” (M=3.01, SD=.616). (See table 20)
Space
Space refers to public spheres where individuals can express communicative
participation. The respondents from Mindanao scored an average mean of 2.63
(SD=.520) on all three items measuring this subdomain (i.e., making use of
social networking sites, the use of Facebook and/or Twitter, and the need to
participate in political affairs). This suggests that Catholic youth in Mindanao
do not completely agree that opportunities for communicative participation
regarding sociopolitical issues are actually available to them. (See table 21)
Practices
Practices in political participation refer to actions that generate personal and
social meaning to the ideals of democracy, having in them an element of the
routine and of the taken-for-granted, if they are to be part of civic engagement.
The Mindanao respondents strongly agreed that Filipinos must exercise their
right to vote (M=3.62, SD=.552) and that they will do anything that they can
(e.g. serve as watchdog, be vigilant againt election fraud) to ensure the credibility
of election (M=3.42, SD=.595). Respondents, however, slightly agreed that they
participate in the local governance in their own community (M=2.83, SD=.747).
(See table 22)
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Identities
This subdomain refers to the conception of the self, the characters that have an
individual component, and are therefore a part of each person’s subjectivity in
terms of civic cultures. This also involves some sense of the self as part of a political
community, and some level of affinity with other like-minded people. Mindanao
respondents indicated fairly strong agreement on the items “Every Filipino as a
political actor has the right to participate in politics” (M=3.25, SD=.612) and
“I support the Catholic Church whenever it takes a stand regarding different
political issues” (M=3.20, SD=.67). Lesser agreement, however, was observed in
the item “I find some level of affinity with other people in terms of my opinions
regarding politics” (M=2.94, SD=.635). (See table 23)
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Profile and Attitude
S
everal significant associations are also found between demographic
variables and subdomains of attitude.
Psychosocial attributes are found to be significantly related to age
(r=.159, p<.01), and inversely related to educational attainment (r=
-.187, p<.01). This would suggest that the higher the educational attainment is,
the lower the score on such psychosocial attributes as demonstrating intrinsic
motivation when helping others, having openness to listen to other peoples’
difficulties, possessing an overall satisfaction with life, etc.
Individualism is correlated with sense of being Catholic (r=.182, p<.01),
public practice (r=.134, p<.01), private practice (r=.127, p<.01), sociopolitical
participation (r=.384, p<.01) and psychosocial attributes (r=.332, p<.01).
This would indicate that the higher the sense of individualism, the deeper is
the sense of being Catholic, the more individuals devote themselves to God
in individualized activities and rituals in private spaces, and the greater is the
concern about social and political environment, as well as perception of self in
relation to others.
Finally, sociopolitical beliefs and participation are found to be related with age
(r=.118, p<.05), and inversely related to educational attainment. It appears that
the older the person is, the higher the score also on the domains of sociopolitical
beliefs and participation or that domain which describes a person’s interest or
intent to engage, directly or indirectly, in activities that involve issues related to
government and implementation of public policy. (See table 25)
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I
n testing for association between the subdomains of religiosity and the
subdomains of attitude, several significant associations were found.
Psychosocial attributes, which include scores on the domain of pro-social
behavior, sense of agency, communion and initiative, are found to be
significantly related to sense of being Catholic (r=.46, p<.01), ideology (r=.465,
p<.01), public practice (r=.188, p<.01), and religious experience (r=.514,
p<.01). Observe that the resulting coefficients can be considered as either
moderate or strong associations. The results suggest that the higher the score on
psychosocial attributes, the higher also the scores in the mentioned subdomains
of religiosity. (See table 26)
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Relationship of the
T
he data from Mindanao respondents reveal the low but significant
positive correlations that group identification or sense of being a
Catholic has established in some religiosity domains. With r=0.237,
the low correlation between sense of being Catholic and public
practice implies that an increased sense of belongingness to Catholicity leads to
a commitment to stick to traditional Catholic faith practices like going to Mass,
praying the rosary and attending prayer meetings. With r=0.202, the correlation
between sense of being Catholic and private practice suggests that an increased
level of group identification (awareness of one’s religious affiliation) raises the
frequency of observance of Catholic practices on the personal level, which may
include prayer and meditation.
On a positive note, the data have established significant positive moderate
correlations of group identification or sense of being Catholic individually to
ideology (r=0.581, p<.01) and religious experience (r=0.533, p<.01). These
coefficients describe the substantial relationships that explain the direct
associations of the respondents’ strong Catholic identity to their knowledge or
beliefs of the Catholic faith, knowledge or belief on ethical issues, as well as their
experience of God’s providence in their lives especially during crisis and faithchallenging situations. Thus, the more the respondents are conscious of their
being Catholics, the more they commit themselves to their beliefs and the more
they experience and recognize God’s presence in their lives. (See table 27)
Similarly, ideology has established a significant relationship with public practice,
private practice and religious experience. The stronger relationship of ideology
with religious experience (r=0.498, p<.01) implies that their credence to
Catholic teachings, beliefs and doctrines has been translated into something
concrete, as their daily undertakings are guided by God’s providence.
Public practice on the other hand, is also significantly related with private practice
(r=0.576, p<.01) and religious experience (r=0.109, p<.05). The more evidently
154
direct relationship existing between public practice and private practice means
that the more an individual practices personal prayer, meditation, rosary and
reading the Bible, the more he/she would participate in communal activities such
as the Holy Eucharist, prayer meetings and Bible studies. Finally, the significant
negligible correlation that is being established between private practice and
religious experience (r=0.114, p<.05) implies that the essence of keeping and
nurturing a relationship with God through personal prayer, meditation, rosary,
and reading the Bible is the recognition of God’s presence in one’s life.
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F
our hundred forty (440) respondents from ten dioceses were
covered for Mindanao in the National Filipino Catholic Youth
Survey (NFCYS) 2013. Respondents were fairly distributed
in terms of gender, with an average age of 20. Majority of the
respondents belong to younger youth (13-22 years old), half of whom are
students, while the rest are either employed or unemployed with around 16
percent out-of-school youth. They enjoy watching TV or DVDs, reading
books, joining church activities (not necessarily related to worship or
prayer), strolling and jogging, engaging in sports, and playing computer
games.
Many of the respondents come from typical family situations. They live
with their families, whose parents are both Catholics and generally attained
either high school or college education, belonging to either low or middle
income classes, with the father as the breadwinner.
Respondents considered their Catholic identity as an integral part of their
lives; it is deeply rooted in their life since childhood.
Respondents from Mindanao showed strong agreement to the basic tenets
and moral teachings of the Catholic faith. Many respondents, however,
indicated that the Catholic Church hierarchy should not be involved in
political issues.
Christmas, Misa de Gallo, Easter Sunday, Ash Wednesday and Holy
Thursday Mass during Lent are the liturgical feasts mostly observed by the
respondents and that many preferred to celebrate these events with friends
in their religious organization, barkada and mother. Prayer is considered
as personal and a private experience. For some, prayer is a way of solving
problems and changing bad attitudes, among others.
Respondents affirmed having a deep experience of God. They believed that
God is present in their lives through His providence and that prayer is a way
of talking to Him.
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The Filipino Catholic youth of Mindanao is also found to demonstrate
positive attitudes toward helping others and becoming instruments of
positive change for the welfare of others and the good of the community.
While they expressed satisfaction with their life, improvements in several
aspects remain wanting.
Young Catholics from Mindanao are updated with current sociopolitical
news mainly because of easy access to various sources of information such
as television, radio, social networks, blogs and newspapers. However, results
suggest that talking about politics and current events does not occupy the
bulk of their typical daily conversation with peers.
Several interesting associations are also found between measured domains.
Noteworthy associations found using the data gathered from Mindanao are
ideology, religious experience, individualism, and sociopolitical beliefs and
participation. Ideology and religious experience are found to be significantly
associated with age, gender and educational attainment. Individualism is
correlated with sense of being Catholic, public practice, private practice,
sociopolitical participation and psychosocial attributes. Sociopolitical
beliefs and participation are found to be related to age and are inversely
related to educational attainment.
The results of the survey in Mindanao appear to resemble that of
the national picture in many respects. Similar to young Catholics in
other parts of the country, the youth in Mindanao also show a strong
appreciation, affiliation and commitment to beliefs central to the
Catholic faith. Their family situations, choice of leisure activities,
attitudes toward certain concepts and practices, some of the things they
value, the beliefs that they are passionate about and even their problems
also bear some similarities.
Therefore, the religiosity and attitude of the Catholic youths in
Mindanao may not be as different from the other parts of the country
as commonly perceived. Whereas differences undoubtedly exist among
the youth given the variation in geographical, cultural and sociopolitical
conditions that give each of the country’s regions a degree of uniqueness,
the similarities found in the survey could indicate a certain level of
constancy, or even possibly some amount of uniformity, in terms of a
Filipino-Catholic-experience across the nation’s Catholic population.
Could it be that the Catholic faith (and also likely the practices) is
the glue that binds the Filipino Catholic youth together – influencing
the attitudes and beliefs they hold, the identities they form and the
meanings they create?
157
The NFCYS2013 in Mindanao has, to some point, demonstrated a
connectedness among Filipino Catholic youth in the Philippines. This is a
connection that deserves more research interest for the future.
158
APPENDICES
Tables and Illustrations
National Study
Illustration 1: Origin
19.3
19.1
20.5
20
20.9
0.2
North Luzon
Manila
South Luzon
Visayas
Mindanao
No response
Illustration 2: Age
80.3
18.9
0.8
13-22
23-39
160
No response
Illustration 3: Gender
51.2
47.3
1.5
Female
Male
No response
Illustration 4: Occupation
52.8
4.5
Full-time
Students
Working
Students
16.5
18.3
Employed
Unemployed
7.9
No answer
Illustration 5: School Attended
55.15
33.54
8.89
Catholic School
2.41
Non-sectarian
School
Christian (nonCatholic) School
161
Public School/
State College/
University
Illustration 6: Educational Attainment
33.9
28.8
19
8.9
Not indicated
No formal schooling
Elementary
Some Elementary
0.8 0.4 0.1 1.6
Some High School
High School
Some College
College
Post-Graduate
Vocational
3.4
3.2
Illustration 7: Number of Years as Out of School Youth
40.9
34.1
Less than 1
12.3
12.6
4 to 6
more than 6
1 to 3
Illustration 8: Reasons for Being Out of School
50.4
24
Parents no funds
Need job to
support family
14
Siblings to study
162
8
Got bored
2.8
Got sick
Illustration 9: Current Situation of Parents
68.8
9.4
Both are
alive and
living
together
Both are
alive but
not
living
together
3.6
Both are
alive but
father is
working
abroad
3.2
2
Both are Mother is
alive but deceased
mother is
working
abroad
10.1
1.2
1.6
Father is Both are No response
deceased deceased
Illustration 10: Living Arrangement
68.6
No response
With non-relatives
With uncles/aunts/others
With grandparents
With siblings only
With mother & only child
0.8 1.2 1.2 3.4 4 1.7 0.7
With father & only child
With father & siblings
With family
Alone
12.3
With mother & siblings
4.2
1.9
Illustration 11: Parents’ Religion
92.3
Both are Catholic
4.3
0.6
2.8
Only one
is Catholic
Both are
not Catholic
No response
163
Illustration 12: Parents’ Marital Status
77.7
11.2
2
Married in
the RCC
In Christian rites
In Civil rites
5.8
2
1.3
Not Married
I don’t know
No response
Illustration 13: Father’s Educational Attainment
25.5
12.8
0.8 1.6
No response
4.8
No formal schooling
Some High School
High School
Vocational
Some College
4.4
College
Post-Graduate
6.7
8.3
Some Elementary
10.4
Elementary
24.8
Illustration 14: Mother’s Educational Attainment
27.5
164
10.9
No response
0.6 1.4
No formal schooling
3.6
Some Elementary
High School
Vocational
Some College
College
3.3
Some High School
7.4
Elementary
9.8
7.9
Post-Graduate
27.4
Illustration 15: Breadwinner of the Family
57.3
20.7
Father
Mother
3.6
5.1
Self
Sibling
11.4
1.8
Others
No response
Illustration 16: Average Family Income
49
21.9
Less than
10,000.00
Between
10-19,999
11.1
Between
20-29,999
5.1
2.7
Between
30-39,999
Between
40-49,999
6.2
4.1
50,000above
No response
Illustration 17: Main Source of Family Income
70.6
16
Employment
Business
165
8.2
5.2
Remittance
from abroad
No response
Illustration 18: Residence Status
46.5
43.8
9.6
Owned
Owned by
parents/relatives
Rented
Illustration 19: Perceived Economic Status
76
21.3
1.8
Upper
0.9
Middle
Low
166
Not indicated
Table 1: Leisure Activities
3XWk 2XWk 1XWk
2-3X
Mo
1XMo FewXMo Never
Don’t
Know
1. Watch movies
170
90
107
56
216
719
584
129
2. Watch TV, DVD
1066
265
215
110
85
283
41
30
3. Play computer games
352
219
262
101
122
472
490
68
4. Play favorite sports
337
241
326
131
187
538
262
75
5. Go to the gym
35
39
66
24
64
250
1479
127
6. Take local vacation
trip
8
10
20
21
121
658
1104
140
7. Take foreign vacation
trip
6
3
9
4
31
66
1789
160
8. Dine out with family
71
74
157
111
360
784
440
92
9. Dine out with friends
287
174
245
167
302
644
209
68
10. Go to the coffee
shop
94
78
101
74
120
436
1080
114
11. Go shopping
53
54
191
144
421
799
360
79
12. Watch concert
11
20
27
23
108
679
1103
117
13. Give donation/do
charity work
102
69
184
126
276
988
229
117
14. Attend prayer
meeting
165
150
436
128
217
683
231
84
15. Join church activities
478
217
357
134
200
539
101
58
16. Throw parties
61
80
126
79
370
868
397
110
17. Buy gadgets
14
12
27
25
133
1134
565
185
18. Go to a spa
7
9
12
7
84
236
1613
122
19. Go to the beauty
parlor
16
9
13
23
172
545
1187
116
20. Join social clubs
116
79
104
84
193
845
531
133
21. Hangout in
entertainment bars
29
39
46
33
126
329
1399
92
22. Read a book
713
286
221
158
119
492
75
28
23. Go strolling/jogging
400
209
273
148
203
599
204
50
24. Play sports
353
192
274
125
190
679
232
50
25. Others
222
70
84
59
74
292
166
371
167
Illustration 20: Importance of Religion
89.5
8.7
Very
Somewhat
1.4
0.04
Not very
Not at all
Illustration 21: Self-Assessment of Religiosity
47.6
38.5
13
1
Not at all
Not very
Somewhat
168
Very
Table 2: Group Identity
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
.475
Strongly agree
My Catholic identity is an important part of myself.
3.76
3.75
.457
Strongly agree
I identify strongly with Catholics.
3.67
.516
Strongly agree
I feel a strong attachment to the Catholic Church.
3.63
.543
Strongly agree
3.63
2.41
.537
.833
1.67
.854
Indicator
I am proud of my Catholic background.
Being a Catholic is a very important part of how I see myself.
I have thought of becoming a priest/nun.
I have entertained thoughts of leaving the Catholic faith.
Strongly agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Table 3: Influencers in Practicing their Faith
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
Mother
3.46
0.776
Very much influenced
Father
2.94
0.971
Somewhat influenced
Older Sibling
2.68
1.007
Somewhat influenced
Younger Sibling
2.49
1.009
Not very much influenced
Grandparents
2.99
1.036
Somewhat influenced
Aunt or Uncle
2.7
0.94
Somewhat influenced
Cousin
2.63
0.88
Somewhat influenced
Barkada
2.93
0.833
Somewhat influenced
Classmates
2.65
0.861
Somewhat influenced
Teachers
2.88
0.916
Somewhat influenced
Parish Priest
3.54
0.744
Friends in Neighborhood
2.73
0.854
Somewhat influenced
Co-members in Religious Organization
3.33
0.853
Very much Influenced
169
Illustration 22: Membership in Religious Organization
71.3
28.7
5.4
Yes
No
No answer
Table 4: Organization Activities
Prayer meetings
Retreats and recollections
Mass sponsorship
Youth camps
Leadership training programs
Sports activities
Catechetical instruction
Charity work
Serving in the parish
Fund raising activities
Other activities
170
F
%
975
879
848
950
616
682
505
604
1055
647
64
46.2
41.7
40.2
45
29.2
32.3
23.9
28.6
50
30.7
3
Table 4: Ideology
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
There are three persons in one God—God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
3.84
0.403
Strongly Agree
God is our Creator.
3.9
0.328
Strongly Agree
Jesus Christ is true man and true God.
3.84
0.396
Strongly Agree
Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead.
3.85
0.395
Strongly Agree
Jesus Christ ascended body and soul into Heaven and is seated at
the right hand of the Father.
3.78
0.483
Strongly Agree
Jesus Christ is just one of the greatest prophets who walked on
earth like Abraham, Moses and Mohammad.
3.45
0.795
Strongly Agree
The Holy Spirit empowers the Church.
3.68
0.543
Strongly Agree
Membership in the Church is necessary for the salvation of all
mankind.
3.26
0.762
Strongly Agree
The sacraments were instituted by Christ Himself.
3.54
0.61
Strongly Agree
The center of the Church’s public worship is the Sacrament of the
Eucharist.
3.66
0.536
Strongly Agree
The body and blood of Jesus Christ are truly, really and
substantially present in the Eucharist.
3.48
0.747
Strongly Agree
Bishops and priests have the power to absolve sins.
3.12
0.805
Agree
The Sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation to those
who, after Baptism, fall into grievous sin.
3.47
0.658
Strongly Agree
The Pope is infallible when he speaks in matters of faith and
morals.
3
0.783
Agree
At the end of the world, Christ will come again to pronounce
judgment.
3.45
0.686
Strongly Agree
The Bible is the inspired word of God.
3.74
0.487
Strongly Agree
God, through His providence, protects and guides all that He has
created.
3.81
0.428
Strongly Agree
Abortion is a sin.
3.57
0.885
Strongly Agree
Mercy killing or euthanasia can never be justified.
3.15
0.938
Agree
Our life is a gift from God, so we do not have the right to take it.
3.73
0.558
Strongly Agree
It is a sin to use artificial contraceptives (pills, condom, injection,
IUD).
3.06
0.897
Agree
There is nothing wrong with pre-marital sex.
3.09
0.851
Agree
Homosexual acts are morally wrong.
3.06
0.967
Agree
Divorce should never be an option for married couples.
3.14
0.851
Agree
The Catholic Church hierarchy should not be involved in political
issues.
2.34
0.955
Disagree
I support the Reproductive Health Law (R.A. 10354).
2.61
1.024
Agree
171
Table 6:
Observance of Religious Practices
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
1. Going to Mass
5.04
0.944
More than once a week
2. Going to confession
3.21
1.065
Few times a year
3. Praying the rosary
3.91
1.443
1-3 times a month
4. Praying novenas
3.38
1.369
Few times a year
5. Going to prayer meetings
3.5
1.414
1-3 times a month
6. Bible study
3.51
1.421
1-3 times a month
7. Retreats/Recollections
3.02
1.104
Few times a year
8. Pilgrimages to churches or religious sites
3.47
1.356
Few times a year
9. Stations of the Cross
2.94
1.137
Few times a year
10. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
3.56
1.467
1-3 times a month
Table 7:
Observance of Religious Feasts
f
%
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
996
47.2
Christmas
1779
84.5
Misa de Gallo
1565
74.2
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
1079
51.1
Ash Wednesday
1446
68.5
Fasting and abstinence during Lent
759
36
Palm Sunday
1229
58.2
Visita Iglesia during Holy Week
704
33.4
Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper
1204
57.1
Good Friday Procession
1324
62.7
Easter Vigil
973
46.1
Easter Sunday Mass
1376
65.2
Other Catholic traditions
192
9.1
172
Table 8: Private Practice
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
1. Personal prayer
7.27
1.145
Several times a day
2. Meditation
6.01
1.915
3. Reading the Bible
4.7
1.752
Once a week
4. Praying novenas
4.06
1.667
1-3 times a month
4.7
1.796
Once a week
4.44
1.915
1-3 times a month
Table 9: Religious Experience
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. I feel God’s presence in my life.
3.69
0.505
Strongly Agree
2. I have experienced God’s providence.
3.6
0.564
Strongly Agree
3. I feel that God is not guiding my decision.
3.17
0.908
Agree
4. I feel God speaking to me in my prayers.
3.47
0.617
Strongly Agree
5. I do not feel God’s intervention in the events of my life.
3.29
0.803
Strongly Agree
6. I have witnessed or experienced what I believe is a
miracle from God.
3.25
0.691
Strongly Agree
173
Table 10: Relationship between
Demographic/Socioeconomic Variables and Religiosity
IV
DV
Age
Gender
Sense of Being
Catholic
r
r²
.021
.080**
Ideology
.0064
r
Private
Practice
Public Practice
r²
r
r²
r
Religious
Experience
r²
r
r²
.079**
.0062 -.155** .0240
-.073** .0053
.056*
.0031
.077**
.0059
.021
.068**
.0046
.138**
.0190
.028
.117**
.0137
.022
-.094** .0088
-.038
Educational
Attainment
.009
-.009
Occupation
-.032
-.031
-.134** .0180
Socioeconomic
Status
.067**
.024
.120**
School Attended
-.023
.0045
.0144
-.127** .0161 -.104** .0108
.041
.020
-.118** .0139 -.082** .0067
Spearman’s rho Correlation for Family Structure and Religiosity
Family Structure
-.018
-.022
-.029
-.030
.011
No Asterisk=significant;
*= Significant at .05;
**=Significant at.01
Table 11: Pro-social Behavior
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
I listen to others when they tell me their problems.
3.55
.545
Strongly Agree
I get involved in projects for the needy.
3.15
.575
Agree
I help the poor.
3.04
.551
Agree
I find it tiring to do things for others.
2.89
.758
Agree
I try to cheer up others whenever they feel sad.
3.37
.562
Strongly Agree
I give advice to those who need it.
3.35
.600
Strongly Agree
I give my time to others when they need me.
3.31
.549
Strongly Agree
I volunteer for cause-oriented groups.
3.18
.607
Agree
I am a member of a cause-oriented organization.
3.00
.754
Agree
I often make excuses to people who need
something from me.
2.85
.745
Agree
174
Table 12: Sense of Agency
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
I can make things happen.
2.62
.733
Agree
The events in my life result from the decisions I
make.
3.06
.747
Agree
My achievements are a result of my hard work.
3.38
.623
Strongly Agree
I influence others to do what I want.
2.51
.749
Agree
I take care of myself.
3.44
.609
Strongly Agree
I get to correct my bad habits.
3.16
.582
Agree
I make sure I do not neglect myself.
3.29
.592
Strongly Agree
I am able to change the things I want to change
around me.
2.72
.732
Agree
Table 13: Sense of Communion
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
I am easily dismissive of others.
2.79
.712
Agree
I care about what others feel.
3.32
.602
Strongly Agree
I care about other people.
3.41
.559
Strongly Agree
I trust in the goodness of others.
3.40
.549
Strongly Agree
I desire to be one with others in order to further the
good of the majority.
3.35
.570
Strongly Agree
I care about what happens to other people.
3.23
.607
Agree
I am able to experience the world through my
interaction with different kinds of people.
3.26
.592
Strongly Agree
I find myself prematurely judging the people who I
have yet to know well.
2.36
.778
Disagree
I try not to hurt other people’s feelings.
3.26
.600
Strongly Agree
I respect what other people feel.
3.43
.540
Strongly Agree
175
Table 14: Initiative
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
I always think of how I can do things better.
3.36
.546
Strongly Agree
I strive to be better in performing tasks.
3.41
.542
Strongly Agree
I persevere in all things.
3.35
.588
Strongly Agree
I try hard to accomplish challenging tasks so that
I can reach my goals.
3.35
.573
Strongly Agree
I accept responsibilities wholeheartedly.
3.29
.576
Strongly Agree
I do what I should without being told.
3.10
.605
Agree
I do not give up until I solve a problem.
3.21
.585
Agree
I make sure that I finish what I started.
3.30
.575
Strongly Agree
Table 15: Risk Behaviors
Indicator
Yes
%
No
%
Cutting classes frequently
303
14.4
1799
85.6
Surfing prohibited sites on the internet without supervision
388
18.4
1715
81.6
Compromising safety while meeting with a stranger
190
9
1914
90.9
Stealing other people’s things
126
6
1976
94
Taking sleeping pills without doctor’s prescription
37
1.8
2065
98.2
Engaging in paid sex
40
1.9
2061
98
Getting drunk
514
24.5
1586
75.5
Gambling
266
12.6
1836
87.3
Physically injuring others
303
14.4
1801
85.6
Being pregnant (for females) or getting someone pregnant
(for males)
52
2.5
2045
97.5
Being out of school
324
15.4
1774
84.5
Using pain killers for non-medical reasons
233
11.1
1867
88.9
Damaging property
127
6
1976
93.9
Having regular sexual contact
96
4.6
1993
95.4
Excessive computer gaming leading to lack of sleep or
socialization
352
16.8
1744
83.2
Smoking marijuana
54
2.6
2050
97.4
Being caught by authorities for violating laws or regulations
84
4
2010
95.9
176
Frequenting unfamiliar and /or dark places such as bars,
videoke restaurants, dark streets, etc.
207
9.9
1888
90.1
Having sex with more than one person
86
4.1
2010
95.9
Taking prohibited drugs
36
1.7
2069
98.3
Being kicked-out of school
41
2.0
2060
98
Drinking alcohol regularly
154
7.3
1945
92.7
Participating in violent gang fights
70
3.3
2028
96.6
Engaging in unprotected sex
164
7.9
1922
92.1
Threatening or bullying others
207
9.8
1895
90.2
Smoking cigarettes regularly
156
7.4
1947
92.6
Physically hurting oneself
185
8.8
1917
91.2
Appearing in pornography
44
2.1
2055
97.9
Sniffing rugby
13
0.6
2089
99.4
Engaging in violent behavior
113
5.4
1985
94.5
Table 16: Satisfaction with Life
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
In most ways my life is close to my ideal.
5.10
1.484
Slightly Agree
The conditions of my life are excellent.
5.20
1.108
Slightly Agree
I am satisfied with my life.
5.59
1.347
Agree
So far, I have gotten the important things I
want.
4.86
1.470
Slightly Agree
If I could live my life over, I would change
almost nothing.
4.98
1.620
Slightly Agree
177
Table 17: Cultural Beliefs: Collectivism vs. Individualism
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I am responsible if I do something wrong*.
3.29
.621
Strongly Agree
My barkada is as accountable for my action as I am.
2.93
.677
Agree
I believe one should act keeping the group’s welfare in mind.
3.33
.585
Strongly Agree
Team effort is superior to individual creative ideas.
3.38
.602
Strongly Agree
It is more effective to work alone than it is to work in a group*.
2.60
.780
Agree
I usually perform better in competitive situations*.
2.90
.693
Agree
Mutual help within a group means much for my well being.
3.38
.599
Strongly Agree
Communal ownership is preferable to private ownership.
3.00
.698
Agree
Relying on others is a weakness*.
2.12
.814
Disagree
Religion is about having a personal relationship with God*.
3.54
.576
Strongly Agree
My personal salvation is reached only after the salvation of the
group.
2.81
.798
Agree
I do not share my prayers with others; they are personal*.
2.45
.873
Disagree
I gain a sense of security by associating myself with a strong
group.
2.69
.780
Agree
Being a unique individual is important to me*.
2.86
.797
Agree
The group/community/society I belong to is a significant part
of who I am.
3.40
.596
Strongly Agree
Indicator
(* indicates reverse items; Individualism items)
Table 18: Knowledge
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
I make sure that I am updated with social and
political issues around me.
3.08
.630
Agree
I engage in discussions about political and social
issues with my friends.
2.98
.651
Agree
I refer to various sources of information
(newspaper, television, radio, social networks,
blogs) to keep myself informed of sociopolitical
issues in the country.
3.16
.595
Agree
178
Table 19: Values
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I think that Filipinos need to be respectful of different
political views.
3.37
.566
Strongly Agree
Collaboration with other political groups is important
to democracy.
3.31
.595
Strongly Agree
Catholic Church involvement in politics is healthy in a
democratic society.
3.08
.737
Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I believe that political parties are relevant.
2.99
.640
Agree
I am hopeful that government leaders will be true to
their espoused promises.
3.22
.694
Agree
My participation in civil society is important for the
advancement of political interest.
3.12
.610
Agree
Table 20: Trust
Indicator
Table 21: Spaces
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I make use of social networking sites (e.g. Facebook,
Twitter) to participate in political affairs.
2.75
.816
Agree
It is okay to participate in demonstrations to air one’s
grievances.
2.61
.787
Agree
I seize every opportunity to maximize my
involvement in any political process (e.g. debates,
discussions, seminars, educational campaigns).
2.68
.752
Agree
Table 22: Practices
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I believe that Filipinos must exercise their right to vote.
3.62
.557
Strongly Agree
I will do anything that I can (e.g. serve as watchdog, be vigilant
against election fraud) to ensure the credibility of elections.
3.45
.575
Strongly Agree
I participate in the local governance of our community (e.g.
barangay sessions, town meetings).
2.84
.727
Agree
Indicator
179
Table 23: Identities
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I find some level of affinity with other people in
terms of my opinions regarding politics.
3.00
.637
Agree
Every Filipino as a political actor has the right to
participate in politics.
3.32
.637
Strongly Agree
I support the Catholic Church whenever it takes a
stand regarding different political issues.
3.22
.667
Agree
Table 24: Relationship between Religiosity and Attitude
Psychosocial
Attributes
IV
DV
Cultural Beliefs
Sociopolitical Beliefs
and Participation
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
Sense of Being Catholic
.443**
.196
.340**
.116
.303**
.092
Ideology
.439**
.193
.366**
.134
.299**
.0894
Public Practice
.239**
.057
.146**
.021
.226**
.0511
Private Practice
.282**
.080
.152**
.023
.238**
.0566
.429**
.184
.314**
.099
.246**
.0605
(** = Significant at .001; * = Significant at .05)
Psychosocial attributes only include pro-social behavior, sense of agency,
communion and initiative.
Table 25: Religiosity and Its Domains
IV
DV
Sense
of Being
Catholic
Ideology
Sense of Being
Catholic
r
r²
Ideology
Public Practice
Private Practice
Religious
Experience
r
r2
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
.560**
.3136
.267**
.0713
.231**
.0534
.487**
.2371
.178**
.0317
.196**
.0384
.501**
.2510
.564**
.3181
.116**
.0134
.160**
.0256
Public
Practice
Private
Practice
Religious
Experience
180
North Luzon
12.3 12.6 13.6 13.1 11.4 13.3
8.1
1.7
Tabuk
Balanga
Bangued Cabanatuan
Iba
Ilagan
San Jose No answer
Nueva Ecija
Illustration 2: Age
80.3
19.7
13-22
23-39
181
50.4
48.6
1
Female
Male
No answer
49.9
Full-time
Students
15.8
15.8
Employed
Unemployed
14.4
4.1
Working Students
No answer
59.9
27.8
10.5
Public School/
State College/
University
Catholic School
Non-sectarian
School
182
1.7
33.6
30.4
16.3
7.1
Some College
Some
High School
College
6.1
3
1.5
High School Post-Graduate Vocational
Elementary
44.3
35.7
14.3
Less than 1
1 to 3
5.7
More than 6
4 to 6
56.7
17.9
Parents
no funds
19.4
Siblings to study Need job to support family
183
3
6
9
Got sick
Got bored
Other reasons
70.1
Live
together
10.4
9.4
Live
separately
Deceased
father
3.5
0.7
4
2
Deceased
mother
Both
deceased
Father
works
abroad
Mother
works
abroad
79.8
12
2
Catholic rite
Christian rite
5.6
Civil rite
Unmarried
95.3
Have Catholic
parents
2.7
1.7
0.2
Have Catholic
mother and nonCatholic father
Have Catholic
father and nonCatholic mother
Non-Catholic
parents
184
27.4
0.5 1.7
No answer
5.2
No formal schooling
9.6
Some Elementary
Some High School
High School
Some College
College
Post-Graduate
6.7
5.2
Vocational
9.4
7.4
Elementary
26.9
26.7
0.5 1.2
No answer
4.2
No formal schooling
9.9
Some Elementary
High School
Vocational
Some College
4
College
Post-Graduate
7.7
Elementary
10.6
8.4
Some High School
26.9
58.9
20.4
Father
Mother
11.6
Other members of
the family
185
5.2
4
Siblings
Themselves
47.6
24.7
11.7
Less than
PhP10,000
Between
PhP10,000 and
PhP19,999
Between
PhP20,000 and
PhP29,999
4
No answer
73.4
16.4
Employment
10.2
Business
Remittance from
abroad
82.4
6.4
Middle
Low
186
1.2
2
Upper
No answer
69.4
13
Live with their
parents and
siblings
Live with their
mother and
siblings
5.1
4
Live with their
father and
siblings
Other relatives
such as aunts,
uncles or cousins
Table 1: Permanent Household Members
Number of household members
Mean
SD
6.04
2.2
47.7
45.2
6.8
Owned by oarents
or relatives
Owned
187
Renting houses
3XWk
2XWk
1XWk
2-3X
Mo
1XMo
FewXMo
Never
Don’t
Know
1. Watch movies
34
13
18
13
49
159
98
22
2. Watch TV, DVD
211
39
48
21
16
61
8
5
3. Play computer
games
71
37
53
24
19
89
104
9
4. Play favorite
sports
70
40
59
31
33
109
53
15
5. Go to the gym
6
7
13
1
12
58
285
24
6. Take local
vacation trip
1
1
6
6
25
141
205
22
7. Take foreign
vacation trip
1
no resp
2
2
5
14
349
31
8. Dine out with
family
17
20
32
25
70
158
71
16
9. Dine out with
friends
58
41
44
39
59
132
30
5
10. Go to the
coffee shop
12
17
22
14
20
107
200
17
11. Go shopping
8
11
38
37
87
156
56
16
12. Watch concert
1
1
4
6
20
145
208
23
13. Give donation/
do charity work
24
10
34
28
55
200
34
20
14. Attend prayer
meeting
23
41
89
23
46
130
35
22
15. Join church
activities
102
46
68
22
31
110
14
12
16. Throw parties
14
14
25
17
70
184
69
15
17. Buy gadgets
4
3
6
5
22
233
95
40
18. Go to a spa
no resp
1
1
1
18
52
312
22
19. Go to the
beauty parlor
1
3
no resp
4
36
105
239
18
20. Join social
clubs
37
13
17
19
25
172
94
30
21. Hangout in
entertainment
bars
4
2
8
7
21
71
267
27
22. Read a book
145
62
35
26
27
90
11
10
188
23. Go strolling/
jogging
87
40
61
36
38
107
34
5
24. Play sports
66
39
57
27
44
121
37
16
25. Others
49
12
16
14
11
43
31
81
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.74
0.446
Strongly Agree
3.70
0.484
Strongly Agree
3.67
0.506
Strongly Agree
3.65
0.522
Strongly Agree
3.75
0.458
Strongly Agree
I feel a strong sense of belonging to Catholicism.
3.62
0.556
Strongly Agree
I have thought of becoming a Priest/Nun.
2.40
0.785
Agree
1.61
0.800
Strongly
Disagree
Indicator
189
Table 4: Ideology
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. there are three persons in one God-God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
3.86
0.409
Strongly Agree
2. God is our Creator.
3.91
0.317
Strongly Agree
3. Jesus Christ is true man and true God.
3.81
0.426
Strongly Agree
4. Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead.
3.87
0.340
Strongly Agree
5. Jesus Christ ascended body and soul into Heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
3.81
0.459
Strongly Agree
6. Jesus Christ is just one of the greatest prophets
who walked on earth like Abraham, Moses and
Mohammad.
3.41
0.825
Strongly Agree
7. the Holy Spirit empowers the Church.
3.68
0.522
Strongly Agree
8. membership in the Church is necessary for the
salvation of all mankind.
3.21
0.780
Agree
9. the sacraments were instituted by Christ Himself.
3.50
0.606
Strongly Agree
10. the center of the Church’s public worship is the
Sacrament of the Eucharist.
3.65
0.511
Strongly Agree
11. the body and blood of Jesus Christ are truly,
really and substantially present in the Eucharist.
3.44
0.771
Strongly Agree
12. Bishops and priests have the power to absolve
sins.
3.10
0.774
Agree
13. the Sacrament of Penance is necessary for
salvation to those who, after Baptism, fall into
grievous sin.
3.44
0.642
Strongly Agree
14. the Pope is infallible when he speaks in matters
of faith and morals.
2.91
0.769
Agree
15. at the end of the world, Christ will come again to
pronounce judgment.
3.37
0.673
Strongly Agree
16. the Bible is the inspired word of God.
3.73
0.479
Strongly Agree
17. God, through His providence, protects and
guides all that He has created.
3.83
0.397
Strongly Agree
18. abortion is a sin.
3.62
0.795
Strongly Agree
19. mercy killing or euthanasia can never be
justified.
3.11
0.914
Agree
20. our life is a gift from God, so we do not have the
right to take it.
3.69
0.604
Strongly Agree
I believed that…
190
21. it is a sin to use contraceptives (pills, condom,
injection, IUD, etc).
3.07
0.847
Agree
22. there is nothing wrong with pre-marital sex.
1.86
0.807
Disagree
23. homosexual acts are morally wrong.
3.00
0.945
Agree
24. divorce should never be an option for married
couples.
3.15
0.822
Agree
25. the Catholic Church hierarchy should not be
involved in political issues.
2.66
0.912
Agree
26. I support the Reproductive Health Law (R.A.
10354).
2.43
0.997
Disagree
OVERALL MEAN
3.39
StronglyAgree
Table 5: Observance of Religious Practices
Verbal
Description
Mean
SD
1. Going to Mass
5.13
0.879
Once a week
3.10
1.106
Few times a year
3.76
1.394
1-3 times a month
4. Praying novenas
3.36
1.336
1-3 times a month
3.55
1.433
1-3 times a month
6. Bible study
3.52
1.387
1-3 times a month
3.09
1.104
Few times a year
8. Pilgrimages to churches or
religious sites
3.41
1.336
Few times a year
2.97
1.126
Few times a year
10. Adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament
3.60
1.421
1-3 times a month
191
Table 6: Usual Companion Observing Religious Practices
MOTHER
FATHER
F
%
72 18.80
F
5
FRIENDS IN
BARKADA
SIBLINGS /CLASSMATES GRANDPARENT RELIGIOUS RELATIVES OTHERS
ORGS.
% F %
F
%
F
%
F
%
F % F
%
1.30 33 8.60 74 19.40 11
2.90 127 33 27 7.10 33 8.60
30
5
1.30 14 3.70
84
22.00
11
2.90
143 37.50 15 3.90 79 20.70
48 12.50
3
0.80 11 2.90
45
11.70
23
6.00
174 45.30 25 6.50 55 14.30
37 9.70
2
0.50
2.10
44
11.60
21
5.50
171 45.00 26
29 7.50
3
0.80 14 3.60
59
15.30
6
1.60
192 49.90 21 5.50 61 15.80
24 6.20
6
1.60 13 3.40
62
16.00
10
2.60
202 52.20
12 3.10
1
0.30
7
1.80 121 31.10
8
2.10
184 47.30 10 2.60 46 11.80
32 8.40
7
1.80
5
1.30
67
17.70
2
0.50
193 50.90 18 4.70 55 14.50
24 6.40
6
1.60
8
2.10
43
11.40
12
3.20
204 54.10 17 4.50 63 16.70
34 9.00
5
1.30
4
1.10
38
10.10
13
3.40
192 50.90 26
INDICATOR
1. Going to Mass
2. Going to
Confession
3. Praying the
rosary
4. Praying
Novenas
5. Going to Prayer
Meetings
6. Bible study
7. Retreats/
Recollections
8. Pilgrimages
to churches or
religious sites
9. Stations of the
Cross
10. Adoration
of the Blessed
Sacrament
8
8
8
7
71 18.70
2.10 62
7
65 17.20
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
Mother
3.49
.734
Father
2.96
.951
Somewhat influenced
Older Sibling
2.74
1.021
Somewhat Influenced
Younger Sibling
2.50
.989
Somewhat Influenced
Grandparents
3.13
1.001
Somewhat influenced
Aunt or Uncle
2.78
.913
Somewhat influenced
Cousin
2.67
.887
Somewhat influenced
Barkada
3.00
.803
Somewhat influenced
Classmates
2.70
.840
Somewhat influenced
Teachers
2.91
.883
Somewhat influenced
Parish Priest
3.61
.681
2.83
.813
Somewhat influenced
Co-members in Religious
Organization
3.41
.819
192
16
193
46.7
29.6
4
Others
Easter ...
Easter Vigil
66.7
Others
Yes
Fund raising
25.4
Good ...
58.5
Serving the Parish
33.6
Holy ...
59.3
Charity work
30.1
Visita ...
36.8
Catechetical ...
71.4
Palm Sunday
Fasting and ...
56.5
Sports activities
39.5
Ash Wednesday
75.8
Leadership training ...
47.4 45.4
Solemnity ...
50.1
Youth camps
Misa de Gallo
Christmas
Solemnity ...
84.2
Mass sponsorship
Retreat and ...
Prayer meetings
Illustration 20: Observance of Religious Feasts
68.9
32.3
47.9
7.9
73.2
26.8
No
Illustration 22: Participation in Religious Organization Activities
52.1
35.6
2.5
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. Personal prayer
7.26
1.154
Several times a day
2. Meditation
6.11
1.768
4.70
1.721
Once a week
4. Praying novenas
4.04
1.667
1-3 times a month
4.55
1.775
Once a week
4.38
1.956
1-3 times a month
OVERALL MEAN
5.17
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.72
0.502
Strongly Agree
3.62
0.556
Strongly Agree
3. I feel that God is not guiding my
decision.
1.80
0.920
Disagree
4. I feel God speaking to me in my
prayers.
3.52
0.590
Strongly Agree
5. I do not feel God’s intervention in the
events of my life.
1.65
0.738
Strongly Disagree
6. I have witnessed or experienced what
I believe is a miracle from God.
3.24
0.668
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.44
194
Strongly Agree
IV
DV
Sense of
Being Catholic
r
Ideology
r²
r
r²
Public
Practice
r
Private
Practice
r²
r
Religious
Experience
r²
r
Age
0.006
.101*
-.178**
-.102*
0.002
Gender
0.014
0.019
0.004
0.086
.121*
Educational
Attainment
-.101*
-.180**
0.097
0.05
-.109*
Occupation
-.151**
-0.076
-.193**
-.137*
-0.1
Socioeconomic
Status
.114*
.124*
.111*
0.057
.136**
School
Attended
-.031
-.146
-.074
-.155*
-.002
r²
Family Structure
.038
.028
.030
.029
.068
(No Asterisk means not significant; * = Significant at .05; ** = Significant at .01)
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.55
0.513
Strongly Agree
3.16
0.545
Agree
I help the poor.
3.05
0.506
Agree
2.05
0.713
Disagree
3.33
0.533
Strongly Agree
3.31
0.571
Strongly Agree
3.23
0.545
Strongly Agree
3.19
0.594
Agree
3.09
0.721
Agree
I often make excuses to people who need something
from me.
2.07
0.680
Disagree
OVERALL MEAN
3.18
195
Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.65
0.734
Agree
The events in my life result from the decisions
I make.
3.03
0.711
Agree
3.33
0.661
Strongly Agree
2.48
0.724
Disagree
3.38
0.602
Strongly Agree
3.12
0.576
Agree
3.27
0.572
Strongly Agree
around me.
2.69
0.727
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
2.99
Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.14
0.684
Disagree
3.30
0.592
Strongly Agree
3.39
0.554
Strongly Agree
3.38
0.556
Strongly Agree
I desire to be one with others in order to further
the good of the majority.
3.34
0.573
Strongly Agree
3.25
0.602
Strongly Agree
3.25
0.583
Strongly Agree
I find myself prematurely judging the people who
I have yet to know well.
2.61
0.768
Agree
3.20
0.585
Agree
3.37
0.549
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.17
196
Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.30
0.554
Strongly Agree
3.35
0.540
Strongly Agree
3.31
0.604
Strongly Agree
I try hard to accomplish challenging tasks so that I can
reach my goals.
3.30
0.573
Strongly Agree
3.22
0.596
Agree
3.10
0.597
Agree
3.18
0.589
Agree
3.27
0.573
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.25
Strongly Agree
Yes
%
No
%
51
12.5
358
87.5
Surfing prohibited sites on the internet without
supervision
71
17.4
338
82.6
35
8.6
374
91.4
34
8.3
375
91.7
10
2.4
399
97.6
9
2.2
400
97.8
Getting drunk
119
29.3
287
70.7
Gambling
58
14.2
350
85.8
80
19.6
329
80.4
Being pregnant (for females) or getting someone
pregnant (for males)
11
2.7
397
97.3
Being out of school
68
16.7
339
83.3
49
12
358
88
Damaging property
36
8.8
373
91.2
Having regular sexual contacts
13
3.2
394
96.8
197
socialization
67
16.4
342
83.6
Smoking marijuana
7
1.7
402
98.3
Being caught by authorities for violating laws or
regulations
22
5.4
385
94.6
Frequenting unfamiliar and/or dark places such as
bars, videoke restaurants, dark streets, etc.
47
11.5
362
88.5
13
3.2
396
96.8
7
1.7
402
98.3
8
2
399
98
35
8.6
374
91.4
19
4.7
387
95.3
28
6.9
377
93.1
42
10.3
367
89.7
35
8.6
374
91.4
42
10.3
365
89.7
8
2
400
98
Sniffing rugby
3
0.7
405
99.3
Engaging in violent behaviors
25
6.1
382
93.9
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
5.02
1.521
Slightly Agree
5.12
1.137
Slightly Agree
5.59
1.285
Agree
So far, I have gotten the important things I want.
4.77
1.486
Slightly Agree
If I could live my life over, I would change almost
nothing.
4.97
1.578
Slightly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
5.09
198
Slightly Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I am responsible if I do something
wrong.*
3.32
0.624
Strongly Agree
It is more effective to work alone
than it is to work in a group.*
2.32
0.778
Disagree
I usually perform better in
competitive situations.*
2.91
0.649
Agree
Relying on others is a weakness.*
2.80
0.811
Agree
Religion is about having a personal
relationship with God.*
3.53
0.610
Strongly Agree
I do not share my prayers with others;
they are personal.*
2.46
0.853
Agree
Being a unique individual is
important to me.*
2.82
0.784
Agree
My barkada is as accountable for my
action as I am.
2.93
0.631
Agree
I believe one should act keeping the
group’s welfare in mind.
3.32
0.607
Strongly Agree
Team effort is superior to individual
creative ideas.
3.33
0.631
Strongly Agree
Mutual help within a group means
much for my well-being.
3.40
0.577
Strongly Agree
Communal ownership is preferable to
private ownership.
2.99
0.710
Agree
My personal salvation is reached only
after the salvation of the group.
2.80
0.756
Agree
I gain a sense of security by
associating myself with a strong
group.
2.66
0.757
Agree
The group/community/society I
belong to is a significant part of who
I am.
3.39
0.589
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
2.64
Agree
199
Table 18: Knowledge
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I make sure that I am updated with social and political issues
around me.
3.07
.628
Agree
I engage in discussions about political and social issues with
my friends.
2.96
.602
Agree
I refer to various sources of information (newspaper,
television, radio, social networks, blogs) to keep myself
informed of sociopolitical issues in the country.
.601
Agree
3.16
OVERALL MEAN
3.07
Agree
Table 19: Values
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
political views.
3.36
0.589
Strongly Agree
Collaboration with other political groups is important to
democracy.
3.32
0.604
Strongly Agree
0.728
Agree
democratic society.
3.04
OVERALL MEAN
3.24
Agree
Table 20: Trust
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.00
0.605
Agree
I am hopeful that government leaders will be true to their
espoused promises.
3.23
0.684
Agree
3.13
0.604
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.12
200
Agree
Table 21: Spaces
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I make use of social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter)
to participate in political affairs.
2.73
0.782
Agree
grievances.
2.62
0.728
Agree
I seize every opportunity to maximize my involvement in
any political process (e.g. debates, discussions, seminars,
educational campaigns).
2.66
0.706
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
2.67
Agree
Table 22: Practices
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I believe that Filipinos must exercise their right to vote.
3.63
0.545
Strongly Agree
I will do anything that I can (e.g. serve as watchdog, be
vigilant against election fraud) to ensure the credibility of
elections.
3.44
0.583
Strongly Agree
I participate in the local governance of our community (e.g.
barangay sessions, town meetings).
2.88
0.693
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.32
Strongly Agree
Mean
I find some level of affinity with other people in terms of my
opinions regarding politics.
3.02
Every Filipino as a political actor has the right to participate
in politics.
3.31
I support the Catholic Church whenever it takes a stand
regarding different political issues.
3.22
OVERALL MEAN
3.19
201
SD
0.613
0.637
0.671
Verbal
Description
Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Agree
IV
DV
and Participation
Cultural Beliefs
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
Sense of Being
Catholic
.461**
0.213
.250**
0.063
.393**
0.155
Ideology
.443**
0.196
.271**
0.073
.402**
0.162
Public Practice
.275**
0.076
.097*
0.009
.201**
0.040
Private Practice
.319**
0.102
.109*
0.012
.289**
0.084
Religious
Experience
.439**
0.193
.342**
0.117
.398**
0.158
IV
Ideology
DV
r
r2
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
.556**
.309
.341**
.116
.312**
.097
.493**
.243
.229**
.052
.265**
.070
.509**
.259
.664**
.441
.169**
.029
.210**
.044
Sense
of Being
Catholic
Ideology
Public Practice
Public
Practice
Private
Practice
202
Private Practice
Metropolitan Manila
26.9
25.3
26.4
21
0.4
Manila
Military
Ordinariate
Kalookan
Puerto Princesa
Illustration 2: Age
80.6
18.9
13-22
23-39
203
No answer
52.5
45.8
1.7
Female
Male
No answer
58.1
16.7
Full-time
Students
Unemployed
15.9
Employed
3.9
5.4
Working Students
No answer
Table 1: Age
Age
204
Mean
SD
18.25
4.734
63.3
24.7
8.9
Public School/
State College/
University
Catholic School
3.09
Non-sectarian
School
44.4
20.6 19.9
No answer
Some ...
Elementary
1.5 0.7 0.2 2.9
Post-Graduate
1.5
Vocational
High School
College
Some ...
Some High ...
8.3
6.4
6.9
3.7
2.5
Less than 1
1-3
4-6
205
More than 6
49
19
12
Parents no funds
Siblings to study
Need job to
support family
2
5
Got sick
Got bored
72.3
Live
together
9.8
8.6
Live
separately
Deceased
father
2.2
1
Deceased
mother
Both
deceased
2.7
Father works Mother works
abroad
abroad
94.4
Both Catholic
4.6
1
Mix Marriage
Non-Catholic
206
2.2
80.4
9.8
Married in
Catholic Church
Married in
civil rights
2.2
4.4
2.2
Married in
Christian rights
Did not
get married
Didn’t know
26.5
21.6
13.7 13.2
Highschool
College
Some ... Elementary
7.8
Some
high ...
5.9
4.7
0.7
Vocational Some ... No formal ...
28.2 26
207
No formal
Vocational
2.9 2.7 0.5
Some ...
Post-...
6.9 6.4
Some high ...
Some College
Elementary
College
Highschool
13.5 12.5
60.8
My father
16.4
13.5
My mother
Others
4.2
3.4
Myself
My siblings
53.3
21.6
No answer
100,000 or higher
Between 90-99,999
Between 80-89,999
Between 70-79,999
1.8 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.5 2.8
Between 60-69,999
3
Between 50-59,999
Between 40-49,999
Between 30-39,999
Between 20-29,999
Between 10-19,999
Less than P10,000
7.6 5.8 2.3
68.6
17.6
Employment
Business
208
7.1
Remittance from
abroad
72.3
25.2
Middle class
1.2
Low class
Upper class
72.1
Mean
SD
5.81
2.278
209
No response
With non-relatives
With uncles/aunts/others
With grandparents
With siblings only
0.5 0.2 1.5 2.5 3.9 3.4 0.5
8.6
With family
Live alone
5.1
1.7
45.6
44.6
9.1
Owned by
parents/relatives
Owned by
parents/relatives
Rented
3X
Wk
2X
Wk
1X
Wk
2-3X
Mo
1X
Mo
FewX
Mo
Never
Don’t
Know
1. Watch movies
34
19
18
8
48
141
107
25
2. Watch TV, DVD
207
47
47
20
9
53
12
10
3. Play computer games
89
38
45
21
29
78
94
11
52
48
64
25
40
93
63
21
5. Go to the gym
1
8
13
5
10
34
306
25
6. Take local vacation trip
1
1
4
3
20
137
208
30
trip
No resp
1
1
No resp
6
9
350
31
11
16
32
20
72
134
99
20
51
26
49
34
55
126
46
19
10. Go to the coffee shop
18
10
15
14
18
70
229
32
11. Go shopping
7
15
31
27
79
155
79
11
2
5
4
21
126
228
20
14
34
23
63
193
41
23
12. Watch concert
charity work
No
resp
15
210
14. Attend prayer
meeting
37
27
80
21
37
138
53
13
15. Join church activities
91
44
65
29
36
104
23
14
16. Throw parties
13
10
23
14
82
161
84
19
1
3
4
3
24
225
109
37
4
No resp
11
32
324
32
17. Buy gadgets
18. Go to a spa
No resp No resp
parlor
1
3
1
3
24
104
234
33
21
13
19
12
42
169
102
25
21. Hangout in
entertainment bars
3
10
11
3
18
60
279
22
22. Read a book
125
59
54
28
23
97
15
5
23. Go strolling/jogging
61
31
64
21
46
118
49
12
24. Play sports
66
33
46
18
45
143
49
6
25. Others
34
12
15
5
8
53
40
72
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.74
.491
Strongly Agree
3.62
.569
Strongly Agree
3.59
.603
Strongly Agree
3.58
.572
Strongly Agree
3.75
.473
Strongly Agree
3.62
.542
Strongly Agree
I have thought of becoming a Priest/Nun.
2.34
.911
Agree
1.84
.949
Disagree
OVERALL MEAN
3.42
Indicator
211
Strongly Agree
Table 5: Ideology
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. there are three persons in one God–
God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit.
3.84
.396
Strongly Agree
3.90
.325
Strongly Agree
3.84
.380
Strongly Agree
4. Jesus Christ resurrected from the
dead.
3.83
.465
Strongly Agree
5. Jesus Christ ascended body and soul
into Heaven and is seated at the right
hand of the Father.
3.74
.572
Strongly Agree
6. Jesus Christ is just one of the greatest
prophets who walked on earth like
Abraham, Moses and Mohammad.
3.38
.870
Strongly Agree
3.63
.605
Strongly Agree
8. membership in the Church is
necessary for the salvation of all
mankind.
3.26
.743
Strongly Agree
9. the sacraments were instituted by
Christ Himself.
3.59
.609
Strongly Agree
10. the center of the Church’s public
worship is the Sacrament of the
Eucharist.
3.68
.536
Strongly Agree
11. the body and blood of Jesus Christ
are truly, really and substantially
present in the Eucharist.
3.49
.787
Strongly Agree
12. Bishops and priests have the power
to absolve sins.
3.15
.831
Agree
13. the Pope is infallible when he speaks
in matters of faith and morals.
3.50
.708
Strongly Agree
14. at the end of the world, Christ will
come again to pronounce judgment.
3.00
.813
Agree
3.52
.718
Strongly Agree
16. God, through His providence,
protects and guides all that He has
created.
3.77
.484
Strongly Agree
3.83
.441
Strongly Agree
I believed that…
212
18. mercy killing or euthanasia can
never be justified.
3.44
1.007
Strongly Agree
19. our life is a gift from God, so we do
not have the right to take it.
3.15
.947
Agree
20. it is a sin to use contraceptives (pills,
condom, injection, IUD, etc).
3.75
.523
Strongly Agree
21. there is nothing wrong with premarital sex.*
2.93
.993
Agree
2.03
.924
Disagree
23. divorce should never be an option
for married couples.
3.11
.920
Agree
24. the Catholic Church hierarchy should
not be involved in political issues.*
3.04
919
Agree
25. I support the Reproductive Health
Law (R.A. 10354) .*
2.59
1.004
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.40
Strongly Agree
*refers to reverse items, and are reverse coded in computing for the overall
mean.
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. Going to Mass
4.92
1.050
Once a week
3.20
1.139
Few times a year
3.89
1.488
1-3 times a month
4. Praying novenas
3.26
1.376
Few times a year
3.47
1.429
Few times a year
6. Bible study
3.85
1.457
1-3 times a month
2.96
1.248
Few times a year
8. Pilgrimages to churches or
religious sites
3.52
1.341
1-3 times a month
2.98
1.215
Few times a year
Sacrament
3.63
1.564
1-3 times a month
OVERALL MEAN
3.57
1-3 times a month
213
Table 7: Usual Companions
Item
1. Going to Mass
2. Going to
confession
4. Praying novenas
5. Going to prayer
meetings
6. Bible study
7. Retreats/
Recollections
8. Pilgrimages to
churches or religious
sites
9. Stations of the
Cross
10. Adoraiton of the
Blessed Sacrament
Mother
Father
f
84
%
20.6
f
25
%
6.1
f %
23 5.6
Sib
Barkad
%
19.9
f
9
%
2.2
f
106
%
26.0
f
19
%
4.7
f
42
%
10.3
46
11.3
11
2.7
15 3.7 116 28.4
2
.5
102
25.0
7
1.7
75
18.4
67
16.4
10
2.5
8
2.0
52
12.7 15
3.7
129
31.6
30
7.4
63
15.4
73
17.9
5
1.2
5
1.2
50
12.3 13
3.2
113
27.7
26
6.4
77
18.9
36
8.8
10
2.5
6
1.5
76
18.6 14
3.4
159
39.0
16
3.9
55
13.5
36
8.8
15
3.7
13 3.2
77
18.9
7
1.7
147
36.0
10
2.5
62
15.2
28
6.9
6
1.5
8
2.0
94
23.0
5
1.2
143
35.0
17
4.2
54
13.2
41
10.0
13
3.2
6
1.5
76
18.6
8
2.0
140
34.3
19
4.7
47
11.5
34
8.3
13
3.2
6
1.5
66
16.2
5
1.2
136
33.3
24
5.9
52
12.7
61
15
11
2.8
8
2.0
55
13.5
6
1.5
123
30.1
16
3.9
78
19.1
f
81
GrandP
FOrg
Cous
Oth
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
Mother
3.48
.762
Father
3.02
.964
Somewhat influenced
Older Sibling
2.64
1.007
Somewhat influenced
Younger Sibling
2.50
.975
Somewhat influenced
Grandparents
2.97
1.021
Somewhat influenced
Aunt or Uncle
2.66
.915
Somewhat influenced
Cousin
2.59
.874
Somewhat influenced
Barkada
2.86
.861
Somewhat influenced
Classmates
2.60
.888
Somewhat influenced
Teachers
2.83
.920
Somewhat influenced
Parish Priest
3.56
.730
2.68
.862
Somewhat influenced
3.30
.841
OVERALL MEAN
2.90
214
Somewhat influenced
215
31
20.3
28.4
53.3
31
4
Others
Easter ...
Easter Vigil
62.7
Fund raising
47.5
Serving the Parish
Yes
Good ...
Holy ...
38.1
61.7
Charity work
30.2
Visita ...
60.4
Catechetical ...
Palm Sunday
Fasting and ...
70.8
Sports activities
43.7 42.1
52.3
Ash Wednesday
75.9
Youth camps
Solemnity ...
47
Mass sponsorship
47
Misa de Gallo
Christmas
86
Retreat and ...
Prayer meetings
Solemnity ...
71.3
34
47
8.6
71.7
28.3
No
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. Personal prayer
7.32
1.196
Several times a day
2. Meditation
6.43
1.734
Once a day
4.87
1.790
Once a week
4. Praying novenas
3.99
1.753
1-3 times a month
4.81
1.880
Once a week
Sacrament
4.53
2.041
Once a week
OVERALL MEAN
5.33
Once a week
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.69
.502
Strongly Agree
2. I have experienced God’s
providence.
3.58
.629
Strongly Agree
3. I feel that God is not guiding my
decision.
1.80
.930
Disagree
4. I feel God speaking to me in my
prayers.
3.40
.705
Strongly Agree
5. I do not feel God’s intervention
in the events of my life.
1.80
.903
Disagree
6. I have witnessed or experienced
what I believe is a miracle from
God.
3.25
.714
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
2.93
Agree
216
Table 11: Relationship between Demographic/Socioeconomic
Variables and Religiosity
IV
DV
Sense of
Being Catholic
r
Ideology
r²
r
r²
Public
Practice
Private
Practice
r
r
r²
Religious
Experience
r²
r
Age
.118*
.089
-.069
-.025
.091
Gender
.090
.101*
-.022
.004
.126*
Educational
Attainment
-.018
-.011
-.004
.037
.011
Occupation
.003
.013
-.066
-.118*
-.031
Socioeconomic
Status
.017
.030
.174**
.029
-.076
School
Attended
-.077
-.090
.000
-.061
-.058
r²
Family
Structure
.051
.054
.046
-.009
.037
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
3.55
.580
Strongly Agree
3.20
.561
Agree
I help the poor.
3.02
.611
Agree
I find it tiring to do things for others.*
2.20
.841
Disagree
3.47
.590
Strongly Agree
3.40
.664
Strongly Agree
3.40
.579
Strongly Agree
3.22
.627
Agree
3.02
.783
Agree
from me.*
2.22
.830
Disagree
OVERALL MEAN
3.19
Agree
mean.
217
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.68
.753
Agree
make.
3.14
.772
Agree
3.44
.575
Strongly Agree
2.57
.745
Agree
3.42
.668
Strongly Agree
3.16
.672
Agree
3.32
.649
Strongly agree
around me.
2.72
.799
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.06
Indicator
Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I am easily dismissive of others.*
2.33
.837
Agree
3.35
.673
Strongly Agree
3.48
.582
Strongly Agree
3.47
.556
Strongly Agree
3.42
.590
Strongly Agree
3.30
.615
Strongly Agree
3.34
.585
Strongly Agree
have yet to know well.*
2.76
.821
Agree
3.38
.577
Strongly Agree
3.49
.552
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.21
Indicator
Agree
mean.
218
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I always think of how I can do things
better.
3.44
.549
Strongly Agree
3.49
.547
Strongly Agree
3.46
.611
Strongly Agree
I try hard to accomplish challenging
tasks so that I can reach my goals.
3.46
.542
Strongly Agree
3.38
.565
Strongly Agree
3.14
.611
Agree
3.24
.603
Agree
3.38
.596
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.37
Indicator
Strongly agree
Yes
%
No
%
Indicator
60
14.7
344
84.3
87
21.3
319
78.2
37
9.1
370
90.7
20
4.9
386
94.6
2
.5
404
99.0
12
2.9
395
96.8
Getting drunk
70
17.2
336
82.4
Gambling
46
11.3
360
88.2
63
15.4
344
84.3
Being pregnant (for females) or getting someone pregnant (for
males)
13
3.2
389
95.3
Being out of school
40
9.8
364
89.2
42
10.3
364
89.2
Damaging property
24
5.9
382
93.6
31
7.6
372
91.2
socialization
80
19.6
325
79.7
219
Smoking marijuana
11
2.7
395
96.8
16
3.9
388
95.1
Frequenting unfamiliar and /or dark places such as bars, videoke
restaurants, dark streets, etc.
31
7.6
370
90.7
20
4.9
386
94.6
6
1.5
400
98.0
6
1.5
399
97.8
25
6.1
380
93.1
16
3.9
389
95.3
35
8.6
365
89.5
38
9.3
366
89.7
32
7.8
374
91.7
41
10.0
365
89.5
6
1.5
400
98.0
Sniffing rugby
3
.7
403
98.8
18
4.4
384
94.1
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
5.06
1.610
Slightly Agree
5.30
1.171
Agree
5.57
1.481
Agree
So far, I have gotten the important things I
want.
4.98
1.591
Slightly Agree
If I could live my life over, I would change
almost nothing.
4.96
1.765
Slightly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
5.17
220
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I am responsible if I do something
wrong.*
3.35
.629
Strongly Agree
It is more effective to work alone than it
is to work in a group.*
2.50
.808
Agree
I usually perform better in competitive
situations.*
3.00
.722
Agree
Relying on others is a weakness.*
2.91
.821
Agree
Religion is about having a personal
relationship with God.*
3.52
.602
Strongly Agree
I do not share my prayers with others;
they are personal.*
2.60
.903
Agree
Being a unique individual is important
to me.*
2.88
.904
Agree
My barkada is as accountable for my
action as I am.
2.94
.745
Agree
I believe one should act keeping the
group’s welfare in mind.
3.39
.604
Strongly Agree
Team effort is superior to individual
creative ideas.
3.40
.625
Strongly Agree
Mutual help within a group means much
for my well-being.
3.43
.654
Strongly Agree
Communal ownership is preferable to
private ownership.
3.00
.735
Agree
My personal salvation is reached only
after the salvation of the group.
2.87
.867
Agree
I gain a sense of security by associating
myself with a strong group.
2.72
.824
Agree
The group/community/society I belong
to is a significant part of who I am.
3.46
.600
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
2.63
Indicator
Agree
mean.
221
Table 19: Knowledge
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
I make sure that I am updated with social and
political issues around me.
3.17
.665
Agree
I engage in discussions about political and
social issues with my friends.
3.11
.654
Agree
I refer to various sources of information
(newspaper, television, radio, social networks,
blogs) to keep myself informed of sociopolitical
issues in the country.
3.28
.584
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.19
Agree
Table 20: Values
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
I think that Filipinos need to be respectful
of different political views.
3.44
.580
Strongly Agree
Collaboration with other political groups is
important to democracy.
3.39
.605
Strongly Agree
Catholic Church involvement in politics is
healthy in a democratic society.
3.20
.727
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.34
Strongly Agree
Table 21: Trust
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.07
.659
Agree
I am hopeful that government leaders will be true
to their espoused promises.
3.28
.654
Strongly Agree
3.18
.645
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.18
Indicator
222
Agree
Table 22: Spaces
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I make use of social networking sites (e.g.
Facebook, Twitter) to participate in political
affairs.
2.87
.855
Agree
It is okay to participate in demonstrations to air
one’s grievances.
2.63
.858
Agree
2.79
.768
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
2.76
Indicator
Agree
Table 23: Practices
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I believe that Filipinos must exercise their right to
vote.
3.60
.602
Strongly Agree
I will do anything that I can (e.g. serve as
watchdog, be vigilant against election fraud) to
ensure the credibility of elections.
3.48
.586
Strongly Agree
I participate in the local governance of our
community (e.g. barangay sessions, town
meetings).
2.85
.765
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.31
Strongly Agree
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.07
.696
Agree
3.39
.601
Strongly Agree
3.23
.679
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.24
223
Agree
Table 25: Relationship between Religiosity and Attitude
IV
Psychosocial
Attributes
Sociopolitical Beliefs and
Participation
DV
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
Sense of Being
Catholic
.427**
0.182
.155**
0.024
.256**
0.066
Ideology
.442**
0.195
.097
.203**
0.041
Public Practice
.237**
0.056
.132**
0.017
.255**
0.065
Private Practice
.283**
0.080
.126*
0.016
.250**
0.063
.366**
0.134
.149**
0.022
.136**
0.018
Cultural Beliefs
IV
Sense of
Being
Catholic
Ideology
Public
Practice
Private
Practice
DV
r
r
r
r
Sense of
Being Catholic
Ideology
r²
r2
r²
r²
Religious
Experience
r
r²
.612** 0.375 .275**
.076
.266** .071 .494**
.234
.207**
.043
.210** .044 .530**
.281
Public
Practice
.480** .230
Private
Practice
.030
.205**
Religious
Experience
224
.042
South Luzon
19.8
26.2
26.6
23
4.4
Calapan
Caceres
Daet
Gumaca
Illustration 2: Age
79.9
19.9
13-22
23-39
225
No answer
56.9
41.9
Female
Male
63.9
6.1
Full-time Students Working Students
13.8
10.9
Employed
Unemployed
5.3
No answer
52
Some College or
Finished College
44.3
Some High School
or Finished High
School
226
1.5
1
Vocational
Elementary
54.9
35.5
6.9
Public School/
State College/
University
Catholic School
Non-sectarian
School
2.6
39.2
33.8
14.9
Less than 1
1-3
4-6
12.2
More than 6
86.5
10.8
Parents no funds; Need
job to support family;
Siblings to study
Got bored
227
5.4
Got sick
Illustration 9: Number of Family Members
47.7
45
1 to 5 members
6 to 10 members
68.1
14.3
2.5
I live
alone
With
parents ...
I live
with ...
4.2
1.7
With My sblings ...
father ...
3.2
3.5
0.7
My ...
My
relatives ...
With
non-...
49.2
44.1
Owned
Owned by their
parents or relatives
228
68
Parents living
together
10.2
13.1
Parents do not
live together
Either one of their
parents living
5.8
1.2
Either one of their
Already
parents working orphaned of both
abroad
parents
77.2
10.9
Married in the
Catholic Church
Married in civil
rites
2.9
2.7
1.2
Married in
Christian rites
Do not know
No answer
93.2
Both Catholic
parents
4.4
0.7
Either one Catholic
parent
Both non-Catholic
parents
229
3
1
230
8.9
0.5 0.8
Post-Graduate
4
Post-Graduate
3.7
College
10.4
Php100,000 or ...
26
College
25.2
Between ...
5.9
Some college
Vocational
6.7
Some college
Vocational
High school
15.8
Between ...
2
Between ...
11.4
High school
Some high school
Elementary
Some elementary
No formal schooling
4.7
Between ...
3.8
Between ...
13.6
Some high school
Elementary
4
Between ...
Between ...
0.5
Some elementary
No formal schooling
1
Between ...
Less than ...
24.4
7.9
30.2
9.4
48.6
25.7
1
48.6
1
PhP50,000 to 59,000
PhP60,000 to 69,000
0.5 0.8
1
PhP100,000 or higher
2
PhP80,000 to 89,000
3
PhP70,000 to 79,000
3.8
PhP40,000 to 49,000
PhP20,000 to 29,000
PhP10,000 to 19,000
Les than PhP10,000
13.6
PhP30,000 to 39,000
25.7
66.8
17.4
Employment
Business
9
Remittances
abroad
Illustration 20: Perceived Economic Satus
78.2
18.4
Middle class
Lower class
231
1.9
Upper class
1. Watch
movies
2. Watch TV,
DVD
3. Play
computer
games
4. Play favorite
sports
5. Go to the
gym
6. Take local
vacation trip
7. Take foreign
vacation trip
8. Dine out
with family
9. Dine out
with friends
10. Go to the
coffee shop
11. Go
shopping
12. Watch
concert
13. Give
donation/do
charity work
14. Attend
prayer meeting
15. Join church
activities
16. Throw
parties
3X
Wk
2X
Wk
1X
Wk
2-3X
Mo
1X
Mo
FewX
Mo
Never
Don’t
Know
23
21
18
10
41
140
125
30
222
60
33
24
18
44
2
3
49
56
61
17
25
101
84
13
65
57
58
26
36
124
32
12
2
7
8
5
11
59
295
19
0
2
0
6
24
112
232
26
0
1
0
0
2
13
360
25
12
9
22
17
76
174
77
20
66
40
40
27
64
127
34
13
22
21
13
12
23
89
213
16
3
9
28
25
96
177
56
17
1
7
6
1
16
146
214
14
30
32
84
17
49
144
56
24
32
31
93
23
42
129
46
11
93
47
66
30
45
96
17
12
7
24
25
14
65
166
85
20
232
17. Buy
gadgets
18. Go to a spa
19. Go to the
beauty parlor
20. Join social
clubs
21. Hangout in
entertainment
bars
22. Read a
book
23. Go
strolling/
jogging
24. Play sports
25. Others
3
1
6
8
18
229
112
32
1
1
0
0
12
51
322
21
0
1
2
8
40
110
225
22
13
20
26
17
39
183
82
26
7
7
10
11
23
61
275
14
143
53
43
34
20
100
12
4
81
34
45
30
35
132
45
6
71
43
34
14
57
15
29
13
24
13
142
49
43
36
8
81
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.70
.512
Strongly Agree
My Catholic identity is an important
part of myself.
3.65
.548
Strongly Agree
3.57
.572
Strongly Agree
I feel a strong attachment to the
Catholic Church.
3.58
.570
Strongly Agree
3.71
.541
I feel a strong sense of belonging to
Catholicism.
3.57
.576
Strongly Agree
I have thought of becoming a priest/
nun.
2.34
.823
Disagree
I have entertained thoughts of leaving
the Catholic faith.
1.64
.794
TOTAL
3.63
Being a Catholic is a very important
part of how I see myself.
233
Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Table 3: Ideology
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. there are three persons in one God–God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
3.79
.456
Strongly Agree
3.87
.397
Strongly Agree
3.80
.465
Strongly Agree
3.80
.442
Strongly Agree
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
3.76
.469
3.48
.736
3.68
.536
3.31
.731
3.49
.629
3.65
.566
11. the body and blood of Jesus Christ are truly, really
and substantially present in the Eucharist.
3.31
.821
3.12
.769
3.47
.629
2.95
.744
I believed that…
who walked on earth like Abraham, Moses and
Mohammad.
12. Bishops and priests have the power to absolve
sins.
13. the Sacrament of Penance is necessary for
salvation to those who, after Baptism, fall into
grievous sin.
14. the Pope is infallible when he speaks in matters of
faith and morals.
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
pronounce judgment.
3.33
3.68
17. God, through His providence, protects and guides
all that He has created.
3.74
3.53
.915
Strongly Agree
19. mercy killing or euthanasia can never be justified.
3.12
.941
Agree
234
.699
.512
.485
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
20. our life is a gift from God, so we do not have the
right to take it.
3.70
.575
Strongly Agree
3.05
.892
Agree
22. there is nothing wrong with pre-marital sex.*
1.93
.874
Disagree
3.06
.956
Agree
couples.
3.08
.800
Agree
2.53
.928
10354).*
2.48
1.030
OVERALL MEAN
3.39
involved in political issues.*
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Agree
*refers to reverse items, and are reverse coded in computing for the
overall mean.
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. Going to Mass
4.96
1.013
Once a week
3.34
1.020
Few times a week
3.85
1.526
1-3 times a month
4. Praying novenas
3.33
1.424
Few times a year
3.35
1.414
Few times a year
6. Bible study
3.31
1.413
Few times a year
3.03
1.111
Few times a year
3.65
1.341
1-3 times a month
2.91
1.201
Few times a year
3.57
1.519
1-3 times a month
OVERALL MEAN
3.53
235
1-3 times a month
Table 5: Usual Companions in practicing their faith
Item
1. Going to mass.
2. Going to
confession.
3. Praying the
Rosary
4. Praying Novenas
5. Going to Prayer
Meetings
6. Bible study
7. Retreats
/Recollections
8. Pilgrimages
to Churches or
Religious Rites
9. Station of the
Cross
10. Adoration
of the Blessed
Sacraments
Mother Father
Sib
Barkad GrandP
f % f % f % F % f %
88 21.3 10 2.4 19 4.6 106 25.7 7 1.7
FOrg
Cous
Oth
f
% f % f %
68 16.5 20 4.8 54 13.1
45 10.9 10 2.4
9
73 17.7 7
78 18.9
3
.7
18 4.4 83 20.1 31 7.5
85 20.6 20 4.8 63 15.3
61 14.8
5
1.2
7
1.7 84 20.3 20 4.8
96 23.2 18 4.4 77 18.6
28
6.8
5
1.2
7
1.7 83 20.1 12 2.9 143 34.6 13 3.1 70 16.9
29
7.0
8
1.9 13 3.1 94 22.8 14 3.4 119 28.8 11 2.7 68 16.5
23
5.6
0
0
6
1.5 160 38.7 9
48 11.6
6
1.5
6
1.5 100 24.2 11 2.7 114 27.6 18 4.4 64 15.5
46 11.1
9
2.2
7
1.7 75 18.2 11 2.7 107 25.9 22 5.3 75 18.2
51 12.3
6
1.5 12 2.9 80 19.4 11 2.7
2.2 147 35.6 6
1.5
2.2 111 26.9 8
1.7 85 20.6
1.9 48 11.6
89 21.5 24 5.8 77 18.6
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
Mother
Father
Older Sibling
Younger Sibling
Grandparents
Aunt or Uncle
3.47
2.87
2.62
2.43
2.95
2.59
.759
.988
.986
.958
1.027
.946
Somewhat influenced
Somewhat influenced
Not very much influenced
Somewhat influenced
Somewhat influenced
Cousin
2.56
.861
Somewhat influenced
Barkada
Classmates
Teachers
Parish Priest
OVERALL MEAN
2.92
2.60
2.81
3.54
2.69
3.37
2.88
.797
.825
.947
.774
.855
.824
Somewhat influenced
Somewhat influenced
Somewhat influenced
Somewhat influenced
Somewhat influenced
236
237
48.9
28.4
Yes
No
31.2
4
Others
Easter ...
Easter Vigil
65.1
Others
71.6
Fund raising
26.6
Good ...
58.8
Serving the Parish
36.3
Holy ...
58.6
Charity work
Visita ...
38.7
Catechetical ...
28.1
Palm Sunday
73.8
Sports activities
56.2
Fasting and ...
80.1
44.6 42.6
40.7
Ash Wednesday
Solemnity ...
42.9
Youth camps
Misa de Gallo
Christmas
Solemnity ...
88.4
Mass sponsorship
Retreat and ...
Prayer meetings
65.4
31.7
45.3
7
52.1
32
3.6
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. Personal prayer
7.32
1.043
Several times a day
2. Meditation
6.21
1.883
4.71
1.703
Once a week
4. Praying novenas
4.16
1.514
1-3 times a month
4.69
1.759
Once a week
4.55
1.784
Once a week
OVERALL MEAN
5.27
Once a week
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.63
.545
Strongly Agree
3.62
.539
Strongly Agree
3. I feel that God is not guiding my decision.*
1.83
.855
Disagree
3.46
.597
Strongly Agree
5. I do not feel God’s intervention in the events
of my life.*
1.67
.713
Strongly Disagree
6. I have witnessed or experienced what I believe
is a miracle from God.
3.23
.711
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.41
Agree
*refers to reverse items, and are reverse coded in computing for the
overall mean.
238
Sense of Being
Catholic
IV
DV
r
Ideology
r²
r
Public Practice
r²
r
Private
Practice
r²
r
r²
r
Age
-.175**
-.087
-.303**
Gender
.147**
.139**
.002
-.009
.156**
Educational
Attainment
..062
-.089
.232**
.158**
-.053
Occupation
-.090
-.071
-.169**
-.062
-.106*
.107*
.075
.097*
.016
.081
.097*
-.005
.074
.002
.072
Socio
economic
Status
School
Attended
0.092 -.160**
Religious
Experience
r²
-.081
Spearman’s rho Correlation between family structure and Religiosity domains
Family
Structure
-.074
-.040
-.059
-.056
.004
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.54
.554
Strongly Agree
3.14
.612
Agree
I help the poor.
2.98
.537
Agree
I find it tiring to do things for others.*
2.07
.684
Disagree
3.30
.576
Strongly Agree
3.30
.581
Strongly Agree
3.25
.531
Strongly Agree
3.11
.602
Agree
2.98
.734
Agree
from me.*
2.16
.733
Disagree
OVERALL MEAN
3.14
Indicator
Agree
*refers to reverse items, and are reverse coded in computing for the overall mean.
239
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.57
.749
Agree
The events in my life result from the decisions I make.
2.99
.753
Agree
3.31
.635
Strongly Agree
2.49
.733
Disagree
3.44
.586
Strongly Agree
3.13
.551
Agree
3.22
.596
Agree
I am able to change the things I want to change around me.
2.68
.720
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
2.98
Indicator
Agree
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I am easily dismissive of others.*
2.20
.670
Disagree
3.33
.556
Strongly Agree
3.40
.529
Strongly Agree
3.38
.521
Strongly Agree
3.35
.549
3.22
.568
3.25
.590
have yet to know well. *
2.63
.785
Agree
3.21
.608
Agree
3.37
.531
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.17
Strongly Agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
*refers to reverse items, and are reverse coded in computing for the overall mean.
240
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.32
.545
Strongly Agree
3.37
.540
Strongly Agree
3.29
.558
Strongly Agree
I try hard to accomplish challenging tasks so that I
can reach my goals.
3.27
.572
Strongly Agree
3.22
.572
Agree
3.07
.598
Agree
3.15
.583
Agree
3.20
.565
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.24
Indicator
Agree
Yes
%
No
%
Indicator
47
11.4
365
88.4
67
16.2
345
83.5
26
6.3
386
93.5
14
3.4
396
95.9
4
1.0
407
98.5
6
1.5
405
98.1
Getting drunk
89
21.5
323
78.2
Gambling
46
11.1
366
88.6
55
13.3
356
86.2
Being pregnant (for females) or getting someone pregnant
(for males)
5
1.2
405
98.1
Being out of school
55
13.3
357
86.7
51
12.3
360
87.2
Damaging property
18
4.4
394
95.4
9
2.2
398
96.4
241
socialization
54
13.1
356
86.2
Smoking marijuana
6
1.5
406
98.3
12
2.9
396
95.9
Frequenting unfamiliar and/or dark places such as bars,
videoke restaurants, dark streets, etc.
25
6.1
385
93.2
7
1.7
402
97.3
2
.5
410
99.3
5
1.2
407
98.5
19
4.6
393
95.2
5
1.2
407
98.5
12
2.9
397
96.1
32
7.7
379
91.8
21
5.1
391
94.7
28
6.8
383
92.7
3
.7
407
98.5
Sniffing rugby
0
0
411
99.5
Engaging in violent behaviors
15
3.6
396
95.9
OVERALL MEAN
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
5.03
1.537
Slightly Agree
5.23
1.098
Slightly Agree
5.41
1.357
Agree
4.80
1.380
Slightly Agree
nothing.
4.93
1.613
Slightly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
5.08
Indicator
242
Slightly Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I am responsible if I do something wrong.
3.27
.584
Strongly Agree
It is more effective to work alone than it is to work in a group.
3.00
.633
Agree
I usually perform better in competitive situations.
3.35
.539
Strongly Agree
Relying on others is a weakness.
3.35
.574
Strongly Agree
Religion is about having a personal relationship with God.
2.39
.738
Disagree
I do not share my prayers with others, they are personal.
2.91
.667
Agree
Being a unique individual is important to me.
3.32
.583
Strongly Agree
My barkada is accountable for my action as I am.
3.05
.663
Agree
I believe one should act keeping the groups welfare in mind.
2.86
.832
Agree
3.49
.581
Strongly Agree
Mutual help within a group means much for my well being.
2.92
.752
Agree
2.60
.872
Agree
group.
2.67
.790
Agree
group.
2.80
.741
Agree
The group/community/society I belong to is a significant part of
who I am.
3.36
.614
OVERALL MEAN
2.65
Indicator
Strongly Agree
Agree
Table 17: Knowledge
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
around me.
3.06
.
.600
Agree
I engage in discussions about political and social issues with my
friends.
3.00
.619
I refer to various sources of information (newspaper, television,
radio, social networks, blogs) to keep myself informed of socio
political issues in the country.
3.11
.551
OVERALL MEAN
3.06
Indicator
243
Agree
Agree
Agree
Table 18: Values
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I think that Filipinos need to be respectful of different political
views.
3.32
.554
Strongly Agree
Collaboration with other political groups is important to
democracy.
3.31
.536
Strongly Agree
democratic society.
3.17
.672
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.26
Strongly Agree
Table 19: Trust
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. I believe that political parties are relevant.
3.06
.602
Agree
2. I am hopeful that government leaders will be
true to their espoused promises.
3.23
.658
Agree
3. My participation in civil society is important for
the advancement of political interest.
3.18
.549
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.16
Indicator
Agree
Table 20: Spaces
Indicator
1. I make use of social networking sites (Facebook,
2. It is okay to participate in demonstrations to air one’s
grievances.
3. I seize every opportunity to maximize my
involvement in any political process (debates,
OVERALL MEAN
Mean
SD
2.82
.775
2.67
.788
2.70
.756
2.73
244
Verbal
Description
Agree
Agree
Agree
Agree
Table 21: Practices
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. I believe that Filipinos must exercise their right to vote.
3.60
.552
Strongly Agree
2. I will do anything that I can (serve as watchdog, be vigilant
against election fraud) to ensure the credibility of elections.
3.43
.564
3. I participate in the local governance of our community
(barangay sessions, town meetings).
2.89
.706
OVERALL MEAN
3.31
Indicator
Strongly Agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Indicator
Mean
SD
1. I find some level of affinity with other people in terms
of my opinions regarding politics.
3.03
.638
2. Every Filipino as a political actor has the right to
3.35
.626
3. I support the Catholic Church whenever it takes a
3.18
.672
OVERALL MEAN
3.19
Verbal
Description
Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Agree
IV
Psychosocial
Attributes
DV
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
.438**
.192
.250**
.063
.329**
.108
Ideology
.436**
.190
.256**
.066
.319**
.102
Public Practice
.313**
.098
.142**
.020
.350**
.123
Private Practice
.363**
.132
.099*
.009
.306**
.094
.469**
.220
.307**
.094
.284**
.081
Cultural Beliefs
(** = Significant at .001; * = Significant at .05)
245
and Participation
IV
Sense of
Being
Catholic
Ideology
Public
Practice
Private
Practice
Religious
Experience
DV
r
r
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
r²
r2
Sense
of Being
Catholic
.486** .236 .318**
.101
.281**
.079
.410**
.168
Ideology
.207**
.043
.249**
.062
.485**
.235
.544**
.296
.245**
.060
.227**
.052
Public
Practice
Private
Practice
Religious
Experience
246
Visayas
12.5
12.9
12.5 12.7 12.5
12.7 12.7
11.3
Capiz
Palo
Bacolod Dumaguete Kabankalan
Kalibo
Maasin
Illustration 2: Age
80.1
19.6
13 to 22
23 to 39
247
Naval
49.9
48.5
Male
Female
48.5
25.6
17.8
3.9
Full-time Students
Unemployed
Employed
Working Students
31.2
Some high school
23.6
23.8
College
Some college
education
248
58.9
31.2
7.7
Public School/
State College/
University
Catholic School
2.2
Non-sectarian
School
9.9
5.8
Less than 1
Between 1 to 3
44.8
20.7
Parents no funds
Need job to support family
249
65.4
Both alive and
living together
11.5
10.4
Father is deceased
Both alive but not
living together
74.1
12.2
9.9
In civil rites
No
0.9
Married in RCC In Christian rites
1.2
1.6
I don’t know
No answer
90.3
Both are Catholics
1.6
3.5
0.2
0.2
My father is
Catholic, but my
mother is
My mother is
Catholic, but my
father is
Both are not
Catholic
I don’t know
250
With siblings only
5.1
5.1
1.8
0.5
No answer
1.2
With non-relatives
0.9
With aunts/uncles/other...
1.4
with family
Alone
1.6
14.8
3
With grandparents only
64.7
Mean
6.03
Median
6.00
Mode
5
Std. Deviation
2.315
Minimum
2
Maximum
18
71.8
15.7
Employment
8.8
Business
Remittances
abroad
251
3.7
No answer
252
9 8.8
4.2
No answer
5.8
No answer
2.3
No formal schooling
Upper
No formal schooling
12
Some Elementary
9.9
Some Elementary
Middle
Elementary
23.8
Elementary
3.9
Some High School
9.9
Some High School
26.8
High School
27.3
High School
10.4
Vocational
Low
Vocational
9.2
Some College
College
Post-Graduate
8.1
Some College
College
Post-Graduate
73.4
23.8
0.7
No answer
22.4
1.2 1.2
Illustation 16: Mother’s Educational Attainment
24.9
0.9 1.8
51
24.9
3.5
My father
My mother
Myself
7.2
10.9
My sibling
Others
2.5
No answer
100,000 or higher
0.2
Between 90-99,999
Between 80-89,999
Between 70-79,999
Between 60-69,999
0.7
Between 50-59,999
3.9 1.6 2.1 1.2 1.2
Between 40-49,999
12.5
Between 20-29,999
Between 10-19,999
Less than P10,000
20.8
Between 30-39,999
49.4
41.1
42.5
13.6
2.8
Owned
Owned by
parents/relatives
Rented
253
No answer
3XWk 2XWk 1XWk
2-3X
FewX
Don’t
No
1XMo
Never
Mo
Mo
Know Answer
12
37
131
139
29
10
26
24
65
7
5
1
1. Watch movies
2. Watch TV, DVD
3. Play computer
games
5. Go to the gym
trip
trip
shop
11. Go shopping
12. Watch concert
charity work
14. Attend prayer
meeting
15. Join church
activities
30
211
20
50
25
44
72
52
43
15
27
106
97
17
4
82
11
54
11
71
20
22
6
44
14
95
55
47
286
16
28
2
2
2
4
5
2
20
135
227
35
3
3
0
4
0
9
15
359
37
6
15
49
15
21
32
55
20
28
74
72
156
139
99
50
20
18
5
1
19
12
20
17
30
70
236
28
1
16
5
10
5
46
8
27
7
79
20
151
128
80
231
22
26
2
3
19
18
38
22
49
205
52
26
4
36
24
85
29
50
136
54
16
3
100
30
86
22
45
114
24
7
5
16. Throw parties
12
15
22
16
81
168
85
30
4
17. Buy gadgets
18. Go to a spa
parlor
21. Hangout in
entertainment bars
2
3
4
2
7
1
3
2
30
26
214
48
131
329
40
20
2
2
5
1
5
2
31
104
257
21
7
28
16
16
16
41
156
132
24
4
7
8
3
5
33
66
299
11
1
135
60
44
37
27
107
18
3
2
82
56
49
35
44
119
34
11
3
75
54
51
17
58
15
26
14
32
21
133
75
49
33
7
63
2
141
22. Read a book
23. Go strolling/
jogging
24. Play sports
25. Others
254
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. My Catholic identity is an important part of myself.
3.80
.400
Strongly Agree
2. I identify strongly with Catholics.
3.71
.476
Strongly Agree
3. I feel a strong attachment to the Catholic Church.
3.64
.504
Strongly Agree
4. Being a Catholic is a very important part of how I see
myself.
3.69
.478
Strongly Agree
5. I am proud of my Catholic background.
3.80
.432
Strongly Agree
6. I feel a strong sense of belongingness to Catholicism.
3.67
.490
Strongly Agree
7. I have thought of becoming a priest/nun .
2.39
.784
Disagree
8. I have entertained thoughts of leaving the Catholic faith.
1.64
.849
Strongly Disagree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. There are three persons in one God – God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
3 .90
0.315
Strongly Agree
3.92
0.301
Strongly Agree
3.89
0.319
Strongly Agree
3.88
0.337
Strongly Agree
5. Jesus Christ ascended body and soul into Heaven and sits at
the right hand of the Father.
3.80
0.465
Strongly Agree
6. Jesus Christ is just one of the greatest prophets who walked
on earth just like Abraham, Moses, and Mohammad.
3.52
0.75
Strongly Agree
7. The Holy Spirit empowers the Church.
3.72
0.497
Strongly Agree
8. Membership in the Church is necessary for the salvation of
all mankind.
3.35
0.707
Strongly Agree
9. The Sacraments were instituted by Christ Himself.
3.62
0.562
Strongly Agree
10. The center of the Church’s public worship is the Sacrament
of the Eucharist.
3.69
0.524
Strongly Agree
11. The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are truly, really and
substantially present in the Eucharist.
3.63
0.588
Strongly Agree
12. Bishops and priests have the power to absolve sins.
3.17
0.793
Agree
13. The Sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation to
those who, after Baptism, fall into grievous sin.
3.51
0.636
Strongly Agree
Indicator
Table 4: Ideology
Indicator
255
14. The Pope is infallible when he speaks in matters of faith
and morals.
3.15
0.793
Agree
15. At the end of the world, Christ will come again to
pronounce judgment.
3.51
0.682
Strongly Agree
16. The Bible is the inspired word of God.
3.77
0.446
Strongly Agree
17. God through His providence protects and guides all that
He has created.
3.84
0.376
Strongly Agree
18. Abortion is a sin.
3.53
0.934
Strongly Agree
19. Mercy killing or euthanasia can never be justified
3.16
0.991
Agree
20. Our life is a gift from God so we do not have the right to
take it.
3.74
0.554
Strongly Agree
21. It is a sin to use artificial contraceptives (e.g., pills,
condom, injection, IUD, etc).
3.15
0.842
Agree
22. There is nothing wrong with pre-marital sex.
1.89
0.824
Disagree
23. Homosexual acts are morally wrong.
3.03
1.021
Agree
24. Divorce should never be an option for married couples.
3.21
0.86
Agree
25. The Catholic Church hierarchy should not be involved in
political issues.
2.71
0.965
Agree
26. I support the Reproductive Health Law (R.A. 10354).
2.25
1.006
Disagree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. Going to Mass
5.02
.925
Once a week
3.25
.973
A few times a year
4.03
1.368
1 to 3 times a month
4. Praying novenas
3.45
1.374
A few times a year
3.39
1.363
A few times a year
6. Bible study
3.29
1.363
A few times a year
2.91
1.024
A few times a year
3.31
1.298
A few times a year
2.84
1.036
A few times a year
3.47
1.415
A few times a year
256
Table 6: Usual Companions in Observing Religious Practices
Item
1. Going to
Mass
2. Going to
confession
3. Praying the
rosary
4.Praying
novenas
5. Going
to prayer
meetings
6. Bible study
7. Retreats/
Recollections
8. Pilgirmages
to churches or
religious sites
9. Stations of
the Cross
10. Adoration
of the Blessed
Sacrament
Mother
f
%
Father
f %
Sib
f
%
Barkada
f
%
GrandP
F %
f
FOrg
%
Cous
f %
Others
f
%
111
256
9
2.1 33 7.6
74 17.1 17
3.9 118 27.3 26
60 32
58
13.4
7
1.6 16 3.7 115 26.6 15
3.5 146 33.7 11
25 49 11.3 16 3.7
97
22.4
9
2.1 25 5.8
35
8.1
49 11.3 133 30.7 20
74
17.1
7
1.6 11 2.5
37
8.5
55 12.7 138 31.9 18 4.2 68 15.7 25 5.8
48
11.1
4
0.9
8
1.8
55 12.7 13
3
33
7.6
11 2.5 13
3
72 16.6 23
5.3 182
21
4.8
1
0.2
1.8 116 26.8 13
41
9.5
4
0.9 12 2.8
47
62
3
22 5.1
201 46.4 23 5.3 53 12.2 28 6.5
42
19 4.4 57 13.2 23 5.3
8.3
23 5.3
14
3.2 193 44.6 32 7.4 33
7.6
26
10.9 11 2.5 13 3.0
53 12.2 12
2.8 192 44.3 22 5.1 52
12
31 7.2
14.3
55 12.7 18
4.2 163 37.6 12 2.8 64 14.8 39
1.8 12 2.8
78
18
3
9.9
13
204 47.1 11 2.5 36
8
8
46 43
7.7
Missing
f %
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
Mother
3.44
.798
Father
2.87
.968
Somewhat influenced
Older Sibling
2.70
.997
Somewhat influenced
Younger Sibling
2.51
1.052
Somewhat influenced
Grandparents
3.06
1.028
Somewhat influenced
Aunt or Uncle
2.71
.940
Somewhat influenced
Cousin
2.66
.862
Somewhat influenced
Barkada
2.92
.832
Somewhat influenced
Classmates
2.65
.855
Somewhat influenced
Teachers
2.91
.899
Somewhat influenced
Parish Priest
3.52
.752
2.76
.856
Somewhat influenced
3.26
.907
257
6
9
258
38.1
22.2 22.4
43.4
4
Others
Easter ...
58
Others
No
Easter Vigil
Good ...
Holy ...
30.5
Fund raising
28.2
52
Serving the Parish
23.1
Visita ...
53.1
Charity work
33.3
31.2
Catechetical ...
Yes
Palm Sunday
40.9
Fasting and ...
62.6
Sports activities
41.6
Ash Wednesday
67
31.2
Solemnity ...
48
Youth camps
Misa de Gallo
Christmas
Solemnity ...
77.8
Mass sponsorship
Retreat and ...
Prayer meetings
Illustartion 20: Observance of Religious Feasts
56.6
9.9
58.9
31.9
9.2
Missing
43.4
23.1
2.1
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
1. Personal prayer
7.19
1.225
Several times a day
2. Meditation
5.63
1.975
4.40
1.795
1-3 times a month
4. Praying novenas
4.00
1.701
1-3 times a month
4.81
1.772
Once a week
4.31
1.906
1-3 times a month
Means
SD
Verbal Description
3.70
.497
Strongly Agree
3.61
.547
Strongly Agree
3. I feel that God is not guiding my decisions.
1.89
.927
Disagree
3.48
.594
Strongly Agree
5. I do not feel God’s intervention in the events of my
life.
1.70
.788
Strongly Disagree
6. I have witnessed or experienced what I believe is a
miracle from God.
3.27
.665
Strongly Agree
IV
DV
Sense of
Being
Catholic
r
r2
.047
.116* Low
Age
Gender
Educational
-.173** low
Attainment
Socioeconomic
.023
Status
Occupation
.037
Family Structure -.043
School
-.043
Attended
Public
Practice
Ideology
r
.131**
-.017
r2
Low
-.234**
Low
Private
Practice
r
r2
r
r2
-.177** Low -.030
.094
.151** low
Religious
Experience
r
.093
.172**
.085
.019
-.036
.042
.061
.013
-.025
-.021
-.157**
-.045
-.054
-.024
.079
-.061
-.112
-.158*
-.105
-.087
259
r2
Low
-.272** Low
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.54
.535
Strongly Agree
3.16
.548
Agree
I help the poor.
3.08
.526
Agree
2.11
.748
Disagree
3.39
.538
Strongly Agree
3.36
.605
Strongly Agree
3.32
.520
Strongly Agree
3.18
.559
Agree
2.98
.742
Agree
from me.
2.15
.713
Disagree
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.56
.738
Agree
make.
3.07
.743
Agree
3.41
.633
Strongly Agree
2.43
.753
Disagree
3.47
.609
Strongly Agree
3.18
.551
Agree
3.33
.566
Strongly Agree
around me.
2.71
.699
Agree
Indicator
260
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
2.15
.660
Disagree
3.30
.585
Strongly Agree
3.41
.550
Strongly Agree
3.38
.531
Strongly Agree
3.32
.571
Strongly Agree
3.19
.604
Agree
3.23
.592
Agree
have yet to know well.
2.59
.771
Agree
3.22
.604
Agree
3.42
.540
Strongly Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
3.38
.531
Strongly Agree
3.43
.527
Strongly Agree
3.36
.577
Strongly Agree
I try hard to accomplish challenging tasks so that I
can reach my goals.
3.38
.573
Strongly Agree
3.30
.558
Strongly Agree
3.11
.590
Agree
3.23
.560
Agree
3.32
.573
Strongly Agree
Indicator
261
Indicator
Yes
%
No
%
71
16.5
359
83.5
80
18.6
351
81.4
47
10.9
384
89.1
30
7
401
93
8
1.9
423
98.1
8
1.9
423
98.1
Getting drunk
112
26.0
319
74.0
Gambling
52
12.1
379
87.9
60
13.9
371
86.1
males)
5
1.2
426
98.8
Being out of school
61
14.2
370
85.8
47
10.9
384
89.1
Damaging property
26
6.0
405
94.0
20
4.7
409
95.3
socialization
68
15.8
363
84.2
Smoking marijuana
13
3.0
418
97.0
20
4.6
410
95.3
videoke restaurants, darks streets, etc.
48
11.1
383
88.9
25
5.8
405
94.2
11
2.6
420
97.4
7
1.6
424
98.4
38
8.8
392
91.2
11
2.6
418
97.4
39
9.0
392
91.0
57
13.2
374
86.8
32
7.4
399
92.6
36
8.4
395
91.6
14
3.3
416
96.7
Sniffing rugby
1
0.2
430
99.8
30
7.0
401
93.0
262
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
5.21
1.405
Slightly Agree
5.17
1.151
Slightly Agree
5.74
1.272
Agree
4.79
1.457
Slightly Agree
nothing.
4.99
1.655
Slightly Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
3.26
.661
Strongly Agree
It is more effective to work alone than it is to work in
a group.
2.36
.779
Agree
2.85
.720
Agree
2.87
.816
Agree
Religion is about having a personal relationship with
God.
3.58
.543
Strongly Agree
I do not share my prayers with others, they are
personal.
2.53
.884
Agree
2.88
.780
Agree
Table 17: Individualism
Indicator
Table 18: Collectivism
Indicator
Mean
SD
I believe one should act keeping the group’s welfare in mind.
Mutual help within a group means much for my well-being.
group.
I gain a sense of security by associating myself with a strong group.
The group/community/society I belong to is a significant part of
who I am.
2.89
3.32
3.43
3.37
3.00
.694
.589
.569
.583
.680
Verbal
Description
Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Agree
2.74
.793
Agree
2.68
.805
Agree
3.42
.592
Strongly agree
263
Table 19: Knowledge
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
around me.
3.07
.614
Agree
I engage in discussions about political and social issues with
my friends.
2.90
.658
Agree
informed of sociopolitical issues in the country.
3.14
.593
Agree
Table 20: Values
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
political views.
3.36
.565
Strongly Agree
Collaboration with other political groups is important
to democracy.
3.27
.601
Strongly Agree
democratic society.
3.05
.745
Agree
Table 21: Trust
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.91
.664
Agree
I am hopeful that government leaders will be true to
their espoused promises.
3.17
.754
Agree
3.11
.619
Agree
Indicator
264
Table 22: Spaces
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
2.65
.829
Agree
grievances.
2.56
.772
Agree
2.63
.745
Agree
Table 23: Practices
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
vote.
3.66
.535
Strongly Agree
I will do anything that I can (e.g. serve as watchdog,
be vigilant against election fraud) to ensure the
credibility of elections.
3.50
.545
Strongly Agree
I participate in the local governance of our community
(e.g. barangay sessions, town meetings).
2.77
.719
Agree
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal Description
2.95
.594
Agree
3.25
.646
Strongly Agree
I support the Catholic church whenever it takes a
3.27
.644
Strongly Agree
265
IV
Psychosocial
Attributes
Cultural Belief
(Collectivism)
DV
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
Sense of Being
Catholic
.458**
Moderate
.153**
low
.330**
Moderate
Ideology
.409**
Moderate
.179**
low
.341**
Moderate
Public Practice
.171**
Low
.001
.126**
Low
Private Practice
.184**
Low
-.068
.121*
Low
Religious
Experience
.372**
Moderate
.099*
.206**
Low
low
Sociopolitical Beliefs and
Participation
IV
DV
Sense
of Being
Catholic
Ideology
Public
Practice
Private
Practice
Religious
Experience
Sense of
Being
Catholic
r r²
Ideology
r
r²
Public
Practice
r
r²
Private Practice
r
.566** moderate .128** low .132**
.060
r²
Low
.071
.562** Moderate
Religious
Experience
r
.528** moderate
.504** Moderate
.022
.058
266
r²
Mindanao
Illustration 2: Age
79.4
20.2
13-22
23-39
267
0.5
No answer
10
Isabela
Tagum
Pagadian
10.2 9.8 10
Marbel
11.4
Dipolog
Digos
Butuan
Zamboanga
Cotabato
Cagayan de Oro
9.8 9.8 9.8 9.8 9.3
50.6
48.3
Male
Female
45
22
19.1
9.5
4.3
Full-time Students Working Students
Employed
Unemployed
Table 1: Mean Age
Mean
Standard Deviation
20.04
4.8
268
No answer
60.4
25.2
Public School/
State College/
University
11.7
Catholic School
Non-sectarian
School
2.6
29.9
28.3
19.3
9.1
6.6
4.3
Post-Graduate College
Some
college
0.7
Vocational High School
0.5
Some Elementary No formal
High School
schooling
76
Not more than 3
10
14
4-6
More than 6
269
33
23
8
Parents no funds
Need job to support
family
Sibling to study
70.6
14
6
Both alive and
living together
At least one parent
working abroad
Either father or
mother is no
longer living
79.1
2.3
Catholic rite
Christian rite
11.1
Civil rite
270
3.9
3.5
Don’t know
No answer
90.2
4
Both Catholic
One parent is not
Catholic
27.3
High School
24.5
College
10.6
9.5
Some
High School
Some
college
5.1
5.3
Vocational
degree
Post-graduate
31.3
29.2
11.5
High School
College
Elementary
271
6.5
Post-graduate
1
No formal
Schooling
62.2
18.8
10
5.1
My father
My mother
Myself
My parents nor my
siblings
52.3
PhP100,000 or higher
PhP80,000 to 89,000
PhP70,000 to 79,000
PhP60,000 to 69,000
PhP50,000 to 59,000
PhP40,000 to 49,000
PhP30,000 to 39,000
PhP20,000 to 29,000
11.6 8.1
3.8 2.1 0.7 0.5 0.2 0.7
PhP10,000 to 19,000
Less than PhP10,000
20
78.8
14.5
Employment
Business
272
6.6
Remittance from
abroad
75.3
22.6
Middle
2
Low
Upper
70
15
I live with both
my parents and
siblings
I live in single
parent set-up
6.6
1.8
2.3
I live with relatives
I live with other
people
Alone
Mean
SD
5.69
2.25
273
50
37.9
12
Owned
Owned by parents
or relatives
Rented
3Xwk
2X Wk 1XWk
2-3X
Mo
1XMo
FewX
Mo
Never
Don’t
Know
1. Watch movies
49
17
28
13
41
146
113
23
2. Watch TV, DVD
211
69
43
19
18
60
12
7
3. Play computer
games
70
36
59
22
22
98
111
18
67
41
74
27
34
115
67
11
5. Go to the gym
15
5
12
7
17
44
305
30
trip
4
2
5
4
32
132
230
26
trip
2
No Res
2
2
9
15
368
36
16
17
39
29
67
160
93
16
62
46
56
39
51
119
49
13
shop
23
18
31
17
29
99
200
20
11. Go shopping
19
9
48
28
80
157
84
13
12. Watch concert
4
5
4
5
31
132
220
34
charity work
22
9
47
24
54
201
51
29
14. Attend prayer
meeting
37
27
89
32
42
148
41
22
15. Join church
activities
91
50
72
31
43
115
21
12
274
16. Throw parties
15
17
31
18
71
188
73
26
17. Buy gadgets
4
1
4
5
39
230
118
36
18. Go to a spa
2
5
6
4
17
53
324
26
parlor
9
1
5
6
41
122
228
22
17
17
26
20
45
165
118
28
21. Hangout in
entertainment bars
7
12
14
7
31
71
276
18
22. Read a book
164
51
45
33
22
98
17
6
23. Go strolling/
jogging
88
48
53
26
40
122
42
16
24. Play sports
74
35
56
25
45
137
54
13
25. Others
42
15
23
13
21
71
26
72
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.78
.423
Strongly Agree
3.69
.493
Strongly Agree
3.66
.518
Strongly Agree
3.62
.535
Strongly Agree
Being a Catholic is a very important part of how I see
myself.
3.76
.465
Strongly Agree
3.66
.511
Strongly Agree
I have thought of becoming a priest/nun.
2.55
.836
Agree
1.63
.847
Strongly Disagree
Indicator
275
Table 5: Ideology
Verbal
Description
Mean
SD
1. there are three persons in one God- God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
3.83
.423
3.91
.297
Strongly Agree
3.84
.378
Strongly Agree
3.86
.375
Strongly Agree
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
3.80
.445
3.44
.790
3.67
.554
3.18
.831
3.52
.636
3.63
.544
11. the body and blood of Jesus Christ are truly, really
and substantially present in the Eucharist.
3.54
.722
12. Bishops and priests have the power to absolve sins.
3.07
.843
Agree
13. the Sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation
to those who, after Baptism, fall into grievous sin.
3.44
.675
Strongly Agree
14. the Pope is infallible when he speaks in matters of
faith and morals.
2.99
.770
Agree
pronounce judgment.
3.51
.644
3.73
.508
17. God, through His providence, protects and guides
all that He has created.
3.81
.434
3.70
.742
Strongly Agree
19. mercy killing or euthanasia can never be justified.
3.17
.897
Agree
20. our life is a gift from God so we do not have the
right to take it.
3.74
.532
Strongly Agree
I believed that…
who walked on earth just like Abraham, Moses and
Mohammad.
276
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Agree
3.09
.891
Agree
22. there is nothing wrong with pre-marital sex.
1.85
.817
Disagree
3.10
.988
Agree
couples.
3.21
.837
Agree
2.81
.939
10354).
2.37
1.02
OVERALL MEAN
3.41
involved in political issues.
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. Going to Mass
5.18
.802
more than once a week
3.15
1.072
few times a year
4.00
1.424
1-3 times a month
4. Praying novenas
3.46
1.320
1-3 times a month
3.71
1.412
1-3 times a month
6. Bible study
3.60
1.413
1-3 times a month
3.09
1.021
few times a year
8. Pilgrimages to churches or religious
sites
3.47
1.438
few times a year
2.98
1.100
few times a year
3.54
1.416
1-3 times a month
OVERALL MEAN
3.62
277
1-3 times a month
Table 7: Usual Companion in Observing Religious Practices
Item
Mother
Father
Sib
Barkad
GrandP
FOrg
Cous
Oth
f
%
f
%
f
%
F
%
f
%
f
%
f
%
f
%
1. Going to
mass
142
33.6
19
4.50
28
6.60
75
17.70
12
2.80
91
22
22
5.20
34
8.00
2. Going to
confession
62
14
12
2.70
17
3.90
109
24.90
7
1.60
133
30.40
14
3.20
83
19.00
3. Praying the
rosary
113
26.5
10
2.30
26
5.90
40
9.40
22
5.20
127
29.80
30
7.00
58
13.60
4. Praying
novenas
83
20.0
10
2.40
17
4.10
45
10.90
27
6.50%
128
30.90
31
8
73
17.60
5. Going
to prayer
meetings
43
10.40
8
1.90
19
4.60
76
18.40
7
1.70
192
46.50
15
3.60
53
12.80
6. Bible study
41
9.90
16
3.80
18
4.30
67
16.10
9
2.20
182
43.80
21
5.00
62
15
7. Retreats/
Recollections
21
5.00
8
1.90
11
2.60
112
26.50
12
2.80
195
46.10
15
3.50
49
11.60
8. Pilgrimages
to churches or
religious sites
54
13.3
7
1.70
16
3.90
69
17.00
14
3.40
188
46.20
13
3.20
46
11.30
9. Stations of
the Cross
59
14.1
26
6.20
23
5.50
42
10.00
10
2.40
176
42.10
24
5.70
58
13.90
10. Adoration
of the Blessed
Sacrament
70
17.2
14
3.40
16
3.90
47
11.50
17
4.20
152
37.30
23
6
69
16.90
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
Mother
3.39
0.822
Father
2.96
0.973
Somewhat influenced
Older Sibling
2.65
1.024
Somewhat influenced
Younger Sibling
2.51
1.061
Somewhat influenced
Grandparents
2.86
1.078
Somewhat influenced
Aunt or Uncle
2.73
0.97
Somewhat influenced
Cousin
2.65
0.911
Somewhat influenced
Barkada
2.94
0.867
Somewhat influenced
Classmates
2.69
0.89
Somewhat influenced
Teachers
2.92
0.931
Somewhat influenced
Parish Priest
3.5
0.775
2.68
0.868
Somewhat influenced
3.3
0.865
278
279
45.5 45 44.8
31.8
4
Others
Easter ...
37.5
Others
Yes
Easter Vigil
61.1
Fund raising
Good ...
55.5
Serving the Parish
25.5
Holy ...
59.8
Charity work
33.9 32.7
Visita ...
35.7
Catechetical ...
64.5
Palm Sunday
49.5
Sports activities
Fasting and ...
72.5
Ash Wednesday
Solemnity ...
48.2
Youth camps
Misa de Gallo
Christmas
Solemnity ...
82.7
Mass sponsorship
51.1
Retreat and ...
Prayer meetings
47
64.8
12
74.9
25.1
No
49.1
31.4
4.3
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
1. Personal prayer
7.26
1.092
Several times a day
2. Meditation
5.72
2.076
4.85
1.725
Once a week
4. Praying novenas
4.08
1.698
1-3 times a month
4.68
1.797
Once a week
4.42
1.883
1-3 times a month
OVERALL MEAN
5.17
Once a week
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.72
0.476
Strongly Agree
3.57
0.547
Strongly Agree
3. I feel that God is not guiding my decisions.
1.83
0.897
Disagree
3.48
0.592
Strongly Agree
5. I do not feel God’s intervention in the events of
my life.
1.74
0.852
Strongly Disagree
6. I have witnessed or experienced what I believe
is a miracle from God.
3.29
0.692
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.42
280
Strongly Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.55
0.542
Strongly Agree
3.1
0.595
Agree
I help the poor.
3.06
0.563
Agree
2.14
0.777
Disagree
3.35
0.56
Strongly Agree
3.37
0.571
Strongly Agree
3.33
0.554
Strongly Agree
3.18
0.643
Agree
2.93
0.765
Agree
from me.
2.17
0.754
Disagree
OVERALL MEAN
3.16
Indicator
Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.65
0.686
Agree
The events in my life result from the decisions I make.
3.07
0.748
Agree
3.39
0.605
Strongly Agree
2.54
0.78
Agree
3.49
0.576
Strongly Agree
3.22
0.553
Agree
3.29
0.570
Strongly Agree
I am able to change the things I want to change around
me.
2.77
0.716
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.05
Indicator
281
Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.22
0.683
Disagree
3.31
0.599
Strongly Agree
3.39
0.578
Strongly Agree
3.38
0.572
Strongly Agree
I desire to be one with others in order to further
the good of the majority.
3.32
0.558
Strongly Agree
3.18
0.635
Agree
I am able to experience the world through my i
nteraction with different kinds of people.
3.22
0.605
Agree
I find myself prematurely judging the people
who I have yet to know well.
2.60
0.738
Agree
3.30
0.611
Strongly Agree
3.47
0.522
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.17
Indicator
Agree
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.36
.546
Strongly Agree
3.38
.544
Strongly Agree
3.34
.583
Strongly Agree
I try hard to accomplish challenging tasks so that I can
reach my goals.
3.32
.584
Strongly Agree
3.32
.572
Strongly Agree
3.10
.630
Agree
3.25
.588
Strongly Agree
3.32
.556
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.30
Indicator
282
Strongly Agree
Indicator
Yes
%
No
%
73
16.6
368
83.4
80
18.2
359
81.8
44
10
396
90
26
5.9
415
94.1
12
2.7
428
97.3
4
0.9
434
99.1
Getting drunk
122
27.8
317
72.2
Gambling
60
13.6
380
86.4
43
9.8
397
90.2
males)
17
3.9
424
96.1
Being out of school
99
22.6
340
77.4
43
9.8
397
90.2
Damaging property
21
4.8
419
95.2
22
5
415
95
socialization
81
18.6
355
81.4
Smoking marijuana
16
3.6
425
96.4
13
3
427
97
videoke restaurants, darks streets, etc.
56
12.8
383
87.2
20
4.6
416
95.4
9
2
432
98
14
3.2
427
96.8
36
8.2
401
91.8
18
4.1
423
95.9
49
11.3
386
88.7
36
8.2
403
91.8
36
8.2
403
91.4
36
8.2
405
91.8
12
2.7
427
97.3
Sniffing rugby
5
1.1
435
98.9
24
5.4
417
94.6
283
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
5.17
1.38
Agree
5.21
1.043
Agree
5.64
1.312
Agree
4.97
1.437
Slightly Agree
nothing.
5.07
1.514
Slightly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
5.21
Indicator
High
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
3.29
0.601
Strongly Agree
It is more effective to work alone than it is to work in a group.
2.44
0.784
Disagree
2.84
0.695
Agree
2.93
0.789
Agree
Religion is about having a personal relationship with God.
3.54
0.543
Strongly Agree
I do not share my prayers with others; they are personal.
2.55
0.854
Agree
2.90
0.765
Agree
2.89
0.672
Agree
I believe one should act keeping the groups welfare in mind.
3.27
0.580
Strongly Agree
3.37
0.607
Strongly Agree
Mutual help within a group means much for my well-being.
3.37
0.589
Strongly Agree
2.96
0.696
Agree
group.
2.73
0.808
Agree
group.
2.71
0.726
Agree
The group/community/society I belong to is a significant part
of who I am.
3.35
0.581
Strongly Agree
OVERALL MEAN
2.61
Indicator
284
Agree
Table 18: Knowledge
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I make sure that I am updated with social and political
issues around me.
3.03
.637
Agree
I engage in discussions about political and social issues
with my friends.
2.95
.691
Agree
informed of socio-political issues in the country.
3.10
.626
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.03
Agree
Table 19: Values
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
I think that Filipinos need to be respectful of
different political views.
3.37
.540
Strongly Agree
Collaboration with other political groups is
important to democracy.
3.24
.616
Agree
Catholic Church involvement in politics is
healthy in a democratic society.
2.95
.771
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.19
Agree
Table 20: Trust
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.93
.656
Agree
I am hopeful that government leaders will be true
to their espoused promises.
3.22
.709
3.01
OVERALL MEAN
3.06
Indicator
285
Agree
.616
Agree
Agree
Table 21: Spaces
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.67
.815
Agree
grievances.
2.56
.784
Agree
I seize every opportunity to maximize my involvement in
any political process (e.g. debates, discussions, seminars,
educational campaigns).
2.65
.776
OVERALL MEAN
2.63
Indicator
Agree
Agree
Table 22: Practices
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
vote.
3.62
.552
Strongly Agree
I will do anything that I can (e.g. serve as watchdog,
be vigilant against election fraud) to ensure the
credibility of elections.
3.42
.595
Strongly Agree
I participate in the local governance of our community
(e.g. barangay sessions, town meetings).
2.83
.747
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.29
Strongly Agree
Indicator
Mean
SD
Verbal
Description
2.94
0.635
Agree
3.25
0.612
Strongly Agree
3.20
0.666
Agree
OVERALL MEAN
3.13
286
Agree
Sense of
Being
Catholic
IV
DV
r
Ideology
r²
r
r²
Public
Practice
r
Private
Practice
r²
r
Religious
Experience
r²
r
r²
Age
.095*
.140**
-0.085
-0.023
.146**
Gender
0.068
.104*
0.003
0.071
.115*
Educational Attainment -.123*
-.224**
.108*
0.023
-.239**
Occupation
.000
-0.019
-0.071
-0.058
-0.02
-0.004
-0.032
.150**
0.012
0.01
School Attended
-0.072
-0.111
0.007
-0.014
-0.096
Spearman’s rho correlation between family structure and religiosity domains
Family Structure
-.017
-.067
-.073
-.053
.065
Demographic/Socioeconomic Variables and Attitude
Age
Sense of Being
Catholic
Ideology
Public Practice
Private Practice
Religious
Experience
Educational
Attainment
Individualism
Collectivism
Political
Participation
Sense of
Religious Educ.
Pol
Psycho
Public Private
Individ Collect
Being Ideology
Exper- Attain
ParticipSoc
Practice Practice
ualism ivism
Catholic
ience
ment
ation Attributes
.095*
.140**
-0.085
-0.023
.146**
-.527** -0.012
0.001
.118*
.159**
.581**
.239**
.204**
.533**
-.123*
.182**
.343**
.288**
.461**
.179**
.217**
.576**
.498**
.109*
.114*
-.224** 0.092
.108* .134**
0.023 .127**
.317**
.193**
.162**
.288**
.217**
.212**
.465**
.188**
.266**
-.239**
0.04
.228**
.244**
.514**
0.03
-0.024
-.122*
-.187**
.474**
.384**
.569**
.332**
.592**
.573**
*significant at .05, **significant at .01
287
IV
Psychosocial
Attributes
Cultural
Beliefs
and Participation
DV
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
.461**
0.213
.189**
0.036
.288**
0.083
Ideology
.465**
0.216
.244**
0.060
.288**
0.083
Public Practice
.188**
0.035
0.077
.217**
0.047
Private Practice
.266**
0.071
0.052
.212**
0.045
.514**
0.264
.199**
.244**
0.060
0.040
(** = Significant at .001; * = Siginficant at .05)
IV
Ideology
Public
Practice
DV
r
r2
r
r²
r
r²
r
r²
.581**
.338
.239**
.057
.204**
.042
.533**
.284
.179**
.032
.217**
.047
.498**
.248
.576**
.332
.109*
.012
.114*
.013
Sense
of Being
Catholic
Ideology
Public
Practice
Private Practice
Private
Practice
288
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301
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Episcopal Commission on Youth of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP-ECY) and the Catholic Educational Association
of the Philippines (CEAP) are deeply grateful to everyone who have, in
various ways, contributed to and collaborated in this project, among
them:
• The archbishops and bishops of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines;
• The presidents of the member-schools of the Catholic
Educational Association of the Philippines, especially those of
the partner higher educational institutions (HEIs);
• The researchers from the partner-HEIs and their collaborators;
• The NFCYS2014 Secretariat composed of officers and staff from
both secretariats of the CBCP-ECY and the CEAP;
• Youth ministers and youth leaders from the ecclesiastical
territories, especially those which have served as sample
dioceses, and from the member organizations of the Federation
of National Youth Organizations (FNYO);
• The respondents as well as the parish priests, leaders and
volunteers from the sample parishes; and
• Rex Printing Company, Inc.
Maraming salamat!

the national filipino catholic youth study 2014

Transcription

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