THE YOUTH SURMOUNTING TRIALS: Identifying the Difficulties and Struggles

Encountered by the Devout Christian Youth and its Effects on their Spiritual Life

A Research Paper
Presented to the
Senior High School Department
St. John’s Academy Incorporated
Dinalupihan, Bataan

In Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirement of the Course
Reearch in Daily Life I, Introduction to World Religion, and Disciplines and Ideas in Social
Science

The Researchers

Ongkengco, Prescious Noelle Day D.

Santos, Natalie Claire, M.
Salvador, Star Liezel B.
Lirio, Ricardo Jose R.
Yao, Johna Isabel R.

2019
 CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

The role of religion in the lives of adolescences is a big contribution to the development
of their individuality. However, certain consequences might occur when young adults start to
have difficulties balancing their spiritual, material and academic life. As eloquently stated by
The African Youth Charter (2012), the term “youth” is defined as “every person between the
ages of 15 and 35 years”. According to Bryant and Astin (2008), “spiritual struggle" refers to
conflicts over spiritual matters with god/higher power within oneself and with other people.
Internal/ Intrapsychic spirituality or religion. Struggling to understand evil suffering and death,
feeling angry at God, and feeling disillusioned with one's religious upbringing spiritual.

Zarzycka (2018) also mentioned that in the religious or spiritual domain, the notion of
"religious and spiritual struggle" relates to types of discomfort or disagreement (Zinnbauer et al.
1999). The first is that the idea of spiritual coping, which defines struggle as a particular,
negative sort of religious coping evoked by varied life stressors, (Pargament et al. 2000). The
second perspective identifies struggle as a category of disposition; which is, a widespread
tendency to experience strains related to religious ideals and experience and not as a religious
coping response (Exline 2013; Zarzycka 2017).

Moreover, many young adults face different struggles in different ways. They can also
respond to these difficulties in an impulsive approach, especially when triggered by stressors.
Furthermore, the youth of today are more likely to experience instability in their spiritual and
academic life, choosing whether what and how to maintain certain aspects of their lives because
of the numerous obligation they have to attain.

As stated by Warmer J. (2017), there are many ways children are challenged, from their
childhood through their college years: The first one is, they are being challenged by the media.
With such an early age, young Christians are being challenged, from exposure to television,
media, and movies. The messages given by television programming are often in direct opposition
to the teaching of Christianity, and students are deeply impacted by what they absorb from the
media. When exposed to variety of sexual behaviour on television, college students were more
likely to be engaged in those same activities. The second one is, they are being challenged by
elementary and high school programming. According to J. Warner Wallace, “In California,
comprehensive sexual health and HIV / AIDS instruction requires universities to teach students
how to have “safe sex”.” If the children leave campus to receive certain confidential medical
services, like abortions, California schools cannot inform the students’ parents. In public
schools’ system classic Christian values related to sexuality and marriage are under attack. The
third challenge is, the students are challenged by their university professors. When the students
get to college, the students are likely to encounter professors who are even more aggressive in
their opposition to Christianity and Christian values. According to the Institute for Jewish and
Community research, a survey of 1,200 college faculty members revealed 1 in 4 professors
(25%) is an atheist or agnostic (compared with 4-5% in the general population). In addition,
according to J. Warner Wallace, “only 6% of university professors say the Bible is “the actual
word of God”. Instead, 51% say the Bible is “an ancient book of fables, legends, history & moral
precepts”. More than half of professors have “unfavourable” feelings toward Evangelical
Christians.” The fourth challenge is that they are being challenged by University students. As
studied by J. Warner Wallace, “The Church will never begin to address the growing problem of
young people leaving the faith if it doesn’t first recognize the challenges facing Christian
students”. The young Christians at Summit have already begun to feel the impact of the cultural
forces aligning against the Christian worldview. Those who have already feel the impact of
cultural forces aligning against the Christian worldview have the encouragement to discover and
experience the tradition. They are completely prepared to meet the challenges they already faced,
and they are already preparing for an even greater challenge in their university life.

As studied by Lituañas (2017), some study shows, that the millennial recognize religion
as not an obligation to them but as a choice. For them religious labels are not important,
experience a set if different religious activities and practices, give importance to the religious
experience more than in a codified variety of beliefs, and interested in the authenticity of
individuals when they join religious groups or communities (Religion and Youth, 2000). One
important note to point is that the youth and Christianity characterized by some researchers as
the weakening thesis, is declining. This study shows that the moral problems and prescribed
views are declined in religious affiliation and participation, and the possibility of abandoning
their Christian identity is increased (Rausch, 2006).

As stated by Kuehl, D. (2012), the biggest challenges that Christian youth faces today are
quite a lot. Specifically, personalizing or living out your faith, living an anti-Christian culture,
sexual purity pressures and temptations, identity and self-image issues, divorce and family
issues, negative media influences, busyness, absent father figures, lack of discipline, and
materialism are things that bothers and distracts them the most. As we mature and grow in our
faith, we gain experience and ammunition in battling them, but as long as we live in this fallen
world, these issues, challenges or problems will always be there. The youth are surrounded by
them.

Challenges encountered by the Christian youth can affect their spiritual life. The youth
strive for belongingness with the world and in order for them to build a connection with the
environment surrounding them, they need to adjust and fit it without disregarding their being as a
Christian. As a whole, spiritual struggle experienced by the Christian youth is an actual issue.

Statement of the Problem

The general problem of the study is: What are the difficulties and struggles that a
Christian student encounters and its effect on their academic and spiritual life?

Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions:

1. What are the usual struggles that Christian students face that can affect their spiritual and
academic life?
2. What particular Christian denomination which an adolescent belongs to that experience
difficulties the most?
3. What are the possible outcomes that might happen from the difficulties that an adolescent
face?
Notes in Chapter I

African Union Commission. (2012) The African Youth Charter. Retrieved from
https://esaro.unfpa.org/en/publications/african-youth-charter
Bryant, Alyssa N. & Astin, Helen S. (2008) The Correlates of Spiritual Struggle during
College Years. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221546.2008.11772084
Warmer, J. (2017). The Challenges Facing Young Christians. Retrieved from
https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/the-challenges-facing-young-christians/
Zarzycka, Beata. (2018). Spiritual Growth or Decline and Meaning-Making as Mediators
of Anxiety and Satisfaction with Life during Religious Struggle. Retrieved from
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-018-0598-y
Lituanas, Cyril Ryan A. (2017). An Inquiry at the Millennial Youth Spiritual Identity:
Experiences of DLSU Students. Retrieved from
https://www.dlsu.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/pdf/conferences/arts-congress-proceedings/2017/
paper-19.pdf
Kuehl, Drew. (2012). What are the Ten Biggest Challenges Christian Youth are Facing
Today? Retrieved from https://www.searchthescriptures,org/blog/what-are-the-ten-biggest-
challenges-christian-youth-are-facing-today