A Survey on Faith Ideologies

Among Filipino Students

James B. Laxa
De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines

Introduction

There is no more opportune time but today to conduct a survey on faith

ideologies among the youth in the Philippines when the very difference of good

and evil is directly being made vague at the national level because it is being

done by the country’s top leaders. In the last few months, what started, as what

was referred to, as mere “hyperbole” by the country’s commander-in-chief in

declaring that he personally killed criminals has actually affirmed a mindset of

justifying murder (aka extra-judicial killings or death under investigation or

homicide under investigation (Agence France-Presse , 2017)). It’s not OK to deal

with drugs or steal from the government but it’s OK to have extramarital affairs

(Inquirer.net, 2017). But only the allies are allowed to have affairs, not the

members of the opposition. Double standards!

As religious educators, the situation is deeply disturbing especially when

the voices of dissent are not heard. The opposition, which actually includes not

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only the Liberal Party but also the Catholic Church, has largely been silent or less

vocal. Intellectual discussions have been deeply lacking which suggests that

reflection and discernment may not also be happening in the Catholic Church.

The continuing popularity of the president and support for its war on drugs is

accurately measured by nationwide surveys with very little room for error. The

surveys reveal that Duterte got the most support from the Class A and B, more

than the Class C, D, and E (Asia, 2017).

The Philippine Catholic Church, represented by the CBCP through its

president, Bishop Socrates Villegas, has suddenly move from being the main

cultural reference of the Philippines to a position of being countercultural. This is

based on the overwhelming number of votes garnered by Rodrigo Duterte for the

Philippine presidency and the continued high satisfaction rating from a reliable

national survey. Duterte began his campaign by badmouthing the Pope, justifying

his womanizing, admitting several times his role in the summary execution of

hundreds of people in Davao, and promising among others to bury Marcos in the

Libingan ng mga Bayani. What appeared to be flaws in his character became

weapons for his success because of the exasperation of those who voted for him

for the extremely poor performance of former president Noynoy Aquino while in

office. In effect, a good number of Filipinos threw away the Filipino values of

decency, dialogue, democratic processes, respect for the Church, etc. The few

times that Bishop Villegas spoke against Duterte, he was lambasted, attacked

viciously, and called with demonic names by Duterte supporters on social media.

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Without naming Duterte, he actually campaigned against him through a pastoral

letter he issued. Several priests, including Fr Vic Baltazar, a Jesuit from the

Center for Ignatian Spirituality, while invoking Gospel and Filipino values,

received the same fate. According to Bishop Ambo David of Caloocan, the CBCP

has decided to stop issuing pastoral letters as a body, rather they are now

issuing individually as bishops that are addressed to their dioceses. With more

than 3,000 deaths brought about by the war on drugs, it is actually almost

incredible to see the results of the SWS survey that showed 85% of Filipinos

were very satisfied with Duterte’s administration including the the war on drugs.

Only a mere 8% are dissatisfied! It took a Duterte for the Philippine Catholic

Church to realize that majority of its people are for extra-judicial killings. As Maria

Ressa of Rappler has put it when she commented on the use of trolls that spread

misinformation and vile language on social media, “What an interesting time to

live”.

To say that this is merely an interesting time to live is an understatement.

But we cannot but help to conclude this reflection on a sad note. At the rate the

killings are going on, the number will rise exponentially. Bilibid witnesses used

against De Lima, and the policemen who killed Espinosa will enjoy the same

privilege. De Lima would most likely be killed if she doesn't get a heart attack with

all the vilifying. Trillanes will die with a .38 pistol on his hand. To project the

prevailing Philippine culture as a culture of death is discouragingly terrifying. Why

has the Philippines come to this? A nation that prides itself for its Catholic

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lineage, gentle character, strong family ties, bayanihan and kapitbahayan is on

the verge of collapse. Yes, this is a sad note but it also an opportunity to affirm

the faith behind the countercultural model. In the past, now, and always, the

power of God moves people at opportune times.

I think we should not be surprised with what is happening in the

Philippines because these are mere forms of secularism and post-modernism

that came in a little bit too late for the country. These two social phenomena

explains that the world we live in is fragmented, individualistic, distrustful of the

old truths and meta-narratives (Lyotard, 1984). Well, the Church should have

seen it coming--- it did, but it did not prepare enough. The Philippine Catholic

Church is now faced with a challenge it has never met before.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a survey on multiple faith

ideologies with data coming from university students gathered through

convenience sampling (n=401). Five faith ideological statements were

considered: human suffering, prayer, forgiveness, miracles, and problem solving.

ANOVA was performed to see the relationship of age and religion with the five

faith statements. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was also conducted to

further verify the relationship between age and the five items.

H1. First hypothesis, age has no significant correlation with faith

ideologies.

Fowler’s (1981) model on faith development follows the biological and

psychological growth of a person, hence, a person fulfills or satisfies specific

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tasks as one matures. In general, as a person grows older his spirituality also

deepens. Some studies suggest that this is not so. A particular point during

young adulthood actually reveals that religiosity wanes then gradually picks up

again towards late adulthood.

H2. Second hypothesis religion has no statistical significance with

faith ideologies.

Secularism in the post-modern is not surprising but it is not also surprising

that spirituality is better appreciated in the post-modern era more than ever.

Perhaps the freedom given by secularism from hard doctrines is helpful.

Data Analysis Strategy

Descriptive statistics are used in the analyses presented below. First, we

review the simple frequency distributions of all data from respondents, as well as

all study measures for the samples taken as a whole. Second, applying ANOVA

and Pearson Moment Correlation, we assess whether the five faith ideologies

have significance with age, and, religion. An Inferential analysis will also be done

followed by a discussion.

DEMOGRAPHICS

The participants in our study were between 15 and 28 years of age with

88.1% from the 16-20 years old bracket. Our respondents were mostly females

at 63%, while males were at a low of 37%. Catholics represented 77% of the

respondents while other Christian groups had a combined 13 percent. The

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 remaining 10 percent came from other religions. The dataset had a more or less

a good distribution of respondents in terms of educational level with 28% in their

first year of college, 14% in second year, 21% in third year, 14% in fourth year,

and 21% percent for those who did not declare their year levels. Our respondents

mostly grew up with their parents representing 91% of the total data, while only

9% declare that they were cared for by their grandparents.

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

n Percent
Gender
Male 145 36.2
Female 253 63.1
Age
15-16 85 21.2
17-18 151 37.7
19-20 123 30.7
21 and above 41 10.0
College Level
First Year 113 28.2
Second Year 57 14.2
Third Year 86 21.4
Fourth Year 58 14.5
Others 87 21.7
Childhood Rearing
Grandparents 24 6.0
Parents 367 91.5
Others 9 2.2
Religion
Roman Catholic 311 77.6
Christian 12 3.0
Others 41 10.2

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RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

55% of Catholic respondents admit that they seldom attend Sunday mass

while only 35% are regular Sunday mass goers. Similar to the Sunday Mass,

only 49% of Catholic respondents completed the Simbang Gabi Masses, and

only a measly 10% completed it. Among Catholics, 49% avail of the sacrament at

least once a year while 18% admit that they have not been going to confession.

6% or 24 individuals receive the sacrament on a monthly basis. Studies often

identify attendance in religious practices as a measure of spirituality maturity or

depth of faith (CBCP, 2014). Post-modern thinking would more on meaning

rather than on attendance. In this study, religious practices were appreciated as

dependent variables in contrast with the more basic demographic profile.

The data above presented three distinct areas for our discussion namely

demographics, religious practices, and religious ideologies.

In terms of demographics, our data shows that most of our respondents

grew up with both parents (91%) which affirmed national observations on the

same question (68.8%) made by the CBCP in 2014. In fact, the CBCP data

added that only 3.6% had fathers working abroad, and 2% with mothers working

abroad (CBCP, 2014)

In terms of religious practices, our data reveal that only 35% are

consistent mass goers, and 55% occasional mass goers. Combining the two the

data indicate that 90% of the respondents do still appreciate the Holy Mass.

Although the CBCP data had a different question regarding mass attendance,
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 their data shows a higher attendance/appreciation rate (M 5.04, SD 0.944).

Availment of confession in our data (49%) show a similar result to the CBCP data

(M 3.21, SD 1.065) given that confession is generally availed only once a year.

Table 2. Participation in Religious Practices

n Percent
Sunday Mass
Always 143 35.7
Sometimes 223 55.6
Never 32 8.0
Not Applicable 2 .5
Simbang Gabi
Completed 43 10.7
Not Completed 196 48.9
Never 87 21.7
Not Applicable 75 18.7
Confession
Once a month 24 6.0
Once a year 191 47.6
Never 73 18.2
Not applicable 99 24.7
Bible Reading
Always 32 8.0
Sometimes 289 72.1
Never 72 18.0
Not Applicable 7 1.7

FAITH IDEOLOGIES

Borrowing a sociological term, the five faith statements are better

understood as originating from religious or faith ideologies. For Eagleton (1991),

an ideology can be a process in the production of meanings that would

eventually be expressed through a body of ideas and beliefs. Picking up from

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Marx’s view of religious ideology as an abusive power that controls the working

class in a feudal context (Blatberg, 2009), this study looks at religious ideology as

an interior narrative that guides a person in daily decision making.

Table 3. Religious Ideologies

Faith Ideological Mean Standard Meaning

Ideologies Statement Deviation
Item 1 SUFFERING I believe M 3.3416 SD 1.44585 Somewhat
human Agree
suffering is a
meaningless
experience.
Item 2 PRAYER Through M 4.0798 SD 1.35041 Moderatel
prayer, I can y Agree
talk to God
Item 3 FORGIVENESS The fact that M 4.0374 SD 1.36239 Moderatel
God readily y Agree
forgives the
sinner only
means that
love is more
powerful than
sin.
Item 4 MIRACLES Miracles M 3.8479 SD 1.28425 Moderatel
happen every y Agree
day.
Item 5 CRISIS When I have a M 4.0125 SD 1.26781 Moderatel
MANAGEMEN problem, I y Agree
T pray about it.

The questions were formulated through a Likert Scale with 5.0

representing strong agreement. The responses reveal moderate agreement. To

make the ideologies more understandable I have identified a general domain

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where the ideology might be categorized (see Table 3). Since Items 2 and 3 are

both on prayer, I have assigned Item 5 under the domain of problem solving and

not on the domain of prayer.

In terms of religious ideologies, for item 1, our young respondents reveal a

moderately healthy perspective of human suffering as generally understood in

Catholic tradition and current research in psychology (Amjad, 2014); . Filipinos

deep devotion on the crucified and suffering Christ allows the young to see life’s

vicissitudes and challenges in a more positive light. This perspective may help

adolescents cope with daily struggles, not to mention psychological issues

related to their age such as friendships and belongingness, relationship with

parents, and romantic relationships. However, the result garnering only a mean

of 3.34 reveals a moderate to weak agreement on the role of suffering in the lives

of the respondents. For campus ministers and other adult companions, this may

be significantly disconcerting information that may merit some further

investigations.

For item 2, vocal prayer as a form of communication with the divine

continues to be valued. Prayer as “talking to God” remains to be a valid

interpretation (Roman Catholic Church, 1992) among the general population

when asked what prayer is for them. Although this is not all what prayer is about,

this understanding helps promote an easy and human way of communicating

with the sacred and the divine for the young.

For item 3, God’s love continues to be understood as something greater

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Table 4. ANOVA: Age and the Five Faith Statements

Sum of Mean
Squares df Square F Sig.
Itm 1 Between
154.886 12 12.907 7.351 .000
Groups

Within 681.309 388 1.756

Groups
836.195 400
Total
Itm 2 Between
206.967 12 17.247 12.808 .000
Groups

Within 522.479 388 1.347

Groups
729.446 400
Total
Itm 3 Between
202.599 12 16.883 12.135 .000
Groups

Within 539.840 388 1.391

Groups
742.439 400
Total
Itm 4 Between
142.683 12 11.890 8.923 .000
Groups

Within 517.037 388 1.333

Groups
659.721 400
Total
Itm 5 Between
122.515 12 10.210 7.612 .000
Groups

Within 520.422 388 1.341

Groups
642.938 400
Total

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than all our sins combined, although it does not reveal possible abuses of this

understanding such as relativism or being irresponsible for our moral lives. The

power of God’s love is a central theme much appreciated by Filipinos whose

understanding of the sacred and the divine is something that is tangible and

imminent (Laxa, 2017; Jocano, 1965)

For item 4, the idea of believing in miracles expresses our childlike trust in

God that he holds our lives in his hands. This idea is best depicted by the Santo

Nino holding a globe in his hand or the statue of the Christ the King seated on his

throne welcoming everyone that enters Filipino houses. “There is nothing

impossible with God” as a repeating theme in the Bible. In fact, even in popular

devotions, St Jude holds the favored position of being the patron of hopeless

cases

Item 5 affirms further the previous item that our daily struggles and

anxieties are part and parcel of a normal life, thus when we have them or are

going through problems, bringing all of it into prayer is a viable option. Mental

health professionals should be happy to see these results as indicators of

positive coping mechanisms for adolescents when presented with problems.

RESULTS

A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the

effect of age towards adherence to the five faith ideological statements (see

Table 4). There was a very strong statistical relationship between age and the
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five study measures at the p<.05 level. For item 1, on the meaningfulness of

human suffering [F(12,388)=7.351, p=.000]; for item 2, on prayer as talking with

God [F(12,388)=7.351, p=.000]; for item 3, on Gods forgiving love

[F(12,388)=12.135, p=.000]; for item 4, on the daily occurrence of

miracles[F(12,388)=8.923, p=.000]; and for item 5, on the role of prayer in

problem solving [F(12,388)=7.612, p=.000]. The results suggest that age is

indeed a factor towards the level of adherence to five selected faith ideological

statements.

To further examine the statistical relationship of age towards faith

ideological statements, a Pearson Product Moment Correlation was conducted

(see Table 5) between the same variables with p<.05 level: for item 1, r=-.254,

n=401, p=.000; for item 2-5, r=-.351, r=-.358, r=-.328, r=-.247 respectively. Taken

as a whole, this test confirmed the strong significant statistical relationship, as

well as a negative correlation between age and the five faith ideological

statements. This means that as our respondents mature in age, they tend to

adhere less to basic faith beliefs.

Table 5. Age and the Five Faith Statements

Age Itm 1 Itm 2 Itm 3 Itm 4 Itm 5

Age Pearson - - - -
1 .254(**)
Correlation .351(**) .358(**) .328(**) .247(**)
Sig.
. .000 .000 .000 .000 .000
(2-tailed)
N 401 401 401 401 401 401

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 Despite having very few non-Catholic respondents (see Table 1), a one-

way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare religion and the five

belief statements at p<.05 level (see Table 6). Significance was observed only for

item 1 [F (3,307) =4.174, p=.006]. Taken as a whole, this means that religion is

not a factor in embracing basic religious beliefs. This also implies that one

doesn’t have to be Catholic to adhere to basic beliefs.

DISCUSSION

Is it fair to refer to our respondents as lukewarm Catholics? Well, it really

depends. The results of this survey have basically revealed that our Catholic

respondents do not attend Sunday Mass regularly, could not complete the

Simbang Gabi, have difficulty going to confession once a year, and seldom reads

the Bible. In addition, as a whole, they only moderately agree on the five faith

ideologies.

My expectation as a religious educator was that even if they would score

low on religious practices, they would score high at least on the five faith

ideological statements. A score of “moderately agree” suggests uncertainty if we

would go the description of post-modernism. In fact, if these faith ideological

statements are indicators of faith growth and spiritual health (Choi, 2012), then

what we have are average Catholics who are still finding their way in the

Kingdom of God.

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Table 6: ANOVA for Religion and the Five Faith Statements

Sum of Mean
Squares df Square F Sig.
Itm 1 Between
25.569 3 8.523 4.174 .006
Groups

Within 810.625 397 2.042

Groups
836.195 400
Total
Itm 2 Between
12.907 3 4.302 2.384 .069
Groups

Within 716.539 397 1.805

Groups
729.446 400
Total
Itm 3 Between
8.728 3 2.909 1.574 .195
Groups

Within 733.711 397 1.848

Groups
742.439 400
Total
Itm 4 Between
5.366 3 1.789 1.085 .355
Groups

Within 654.355 397 1.648

Groups
659.721 400
Total
Itm 5 Between
11.401 3 3.800 2.389 .068
Groups

Within 631.536 397 1.591

Groups
642.938 400
Total

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 It may be too early to point out a relationship with the Philippine situation

where moral rules are being redefined by no less than the leaders of the country:

criminals have no right to live, and having extra-marital affairs is normal (Felipe,

2017).

Among the five ideologies, the belief on the meaning of suffering garnered

the lowest mean. In a country that has deep devotion on the suffering and

crucified Christ, it is surprising that there was no resonance between the result

and on this religious assumption. This suggests that another sociological

phenomenon called materialism may be influencing our students. Materialism

basically adores possessions, pleasures, and instant gratification (Roman

Catholic Church, 1992).

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

I think, one strategy of strengthening the faith of our young people is to

adapt to their ways of thinking and reflecting without compromising the “truth”. It’s

like trying to find the gospel values right in their secular and post-modern context

(Cornelio, 2016). The best figure we have right now is St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Ignatius’ spirituality is based on the thought that God can be found in all things.

God manifests himself in the very experiences, feelings, and emotions of people.
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This idea that raw experiences and fleeting feelings can be revelations of God’s

movements and actions in individuals or institutions through a process of

discernment is truly remarkable. This personal observation is affirmed by the four

presuppositions proposed by Bevans (1978) in his book Contextual Theology:

 start with one’s own religious experience and experience of oneself

 what is most personal is also most general

 revelation takes place in human experience

 regardless of culture, time, and place the human mind operates in

the same way

These presuppositions explains also why the Ignatian spirituality

resonates well with other religions because it affirms the God of their very

personal experiences, practices, habits, and cultural patrimony.

Fowler’s (1981) Faith Development Theory is worth revisiting as an

avenue in addressing lukewarm young Catholics. Although speaking to

counselors, Parker (2011) suggests that FDT is an intervention model attractive

because it gives a developmental model for comprehending spiritual changes.

This model not only describes in detail the different stages of spiritual

development but it points out expected developmental crises and transitions that

may occur between these stages. This will certainly assist religious educators in

the development of interventions, modules and programs.

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