CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter consists of review on related studies and literature related with the emerging

influence of trends to the faith of young Catholics, that persistently deals with societal

perspective. In this review, current and updated issues were presented. Furthermore, it provides

critique review of studies relating to the influences of trends to the young Catholics faith

highlighting the research gaps and contribution of the present study.

Related Literature

Society is never static but dynamic, changing from simple traditional outfit to a more

complex modern one. Scholars of history agree that modernization as a major feature of modern

society has a political, economic, cultural and even religious impact on individuals, families and

nations; they however disagree on the nature and extent of this impact (Mensah & Ammisah,

2016). It fosters growth and rise on the different factors existing in the modern environment and

contemplating the youth, as the primer exposed to such influences. In addition, according to

Urszula, (2011:333), we shall see later there is conflict in today’s family orchestrated by new

roles and opportunities boosted by modernization. Further, cultural values are changing as seen

in the role of fathers who are now not the sole bread winners, a position only they used to hold.

On the other hand, and unlike in the past where women were rarely found in paid employment,

today’s women prefer to work because of its creative development, economic and social features.

Presently, the youth are unmindful, and more interested in pleasure and enjoyment with

no sense of the future, the sum total of all these is a fall in moral standards that has resulted in

indiscipline at all levels of society, whose results is craze for power without accountability,
cheating, laziness, and, lack of dignity and respect for human life. Clearly, the generation of the

youth today also called the millennial youth, is the subject of interest by researchers and

academicians on account of their significantly large demographic composition that exceeds half

of the Philippine population (ECY, The National Filipino Catholic Youth Survey 2013).

In the excerpt of ‘Catholicism Today’ wrote by Ime et., al , the youth continue to witness

the media society celebrate scantily dressed women and socialites and corrupt people celebrated

as heroes and trusted with public offices. Disturbingly, it is the case today that within their

environment the youth are surrounded by a crowd of witnesses who have thrown morality away,

but nevertheless making it in life. In same way, peer pressure and society constructed goals were

landed second as major influences on the youth faith to Christianity.

Similarly, in the ‘stages of changes ‘or sometimes called the Transtheoretical Model, it

tells us that individuals go through different stages when changing a behavior. This theory

assumes that individuals have different degrees of motivation and readiness to change, which

determine their current stage of change. In this, good parenting takes part in viewing that a child

must be nurtured in his or her early childhood to be able to adapt practices and norms regardless

of the advent influence of modernization. Perhaps, the situation is made worse when social

media provides information that erodes the sense in the traditional values and ideals.

In addition, according to Anderson et al. (2003), a key finding is mass media has a

significant influence on the youths’ way of life especially their choices and desires. Standards of

morality, ethics, religion, and custom are being compromised day after day as if they do not exist

because of personal freedoms. This is exemplified when we observe a wild revolution in

lifestyles happening with the young people and their code of dressing. Likewise, Ender Brock

Module of Pattern Behavior, argues that “no matter what other educational advantages a child may
enjoy, if his attitudes and convictions with respect to religion and morals have been ill-formed,

he is on the high road to trouble “.

In the book of Ann Voskamp (2004), the ‘ broken way ‘ cited factors influencing the

decreasing level of faith among young Catholics pursuant to the concurring and exploited

practices and beliefs . Unfortunately, and unlike in the past, even if the youth wanted to, they

seem to have few options to manifest as hard workers partly because of the nature of the present

economy being now more knowledge based and limited job positions. However, imbibing these

values is the only way of enhancing character development and moral health. For the youth it all

starts with deciding to be morally right and stand out of the crowd and become light in darkness

of a morally bankrupt society. Short of this, they will fail to be oriented leaders of tomorrow and

the entire society will fail in its goal.

On the other hand, the advances in technology and the social media cannot be wished

away. On their part, though, the parents show determination to bring up morally upright children

and try to work hard to realize it despite the many challenges confronting them. By encouraging

the children to regularly attend Church where they are taught Christian values, the parents hope

their effort together with the Church contribution will be invaluable in building the child’s

character.

In the book of ‘Youth on Religion- The development, negotiation and impact of faith and

non-faith identity’, provides an intrinsic critiques that modern influences may decrease faith

from young people but however can be an upstream start for every parish elderly to be

autonomous in terms of practices, beliefs and norms (Nicola Madge, Peter Hemming, Kevin

Stenson 2014).
 Further, in the Life Way Research, there are fifty-one percent of PH. teens claimed to be

Christian, yet only eight percent display the beliefs and habits of a committed Christian. Then,

forty-six of Christian teens never read the Bible. And fifty-eight percent of Christian teens

believe they don’t have a responsibility to share their faith.

Related Studies

There is split-level of faith in Christianity and a change in attitudes of the young towards

religion. It is, hence, time to begin asking as to how the youth perceive our practices nowadays,

concerning the widespread of effects of modern era. What has become uncommon, and some

would complain, is to see young Filipinos regularly observing religious practices. Coined by

sociologist Wade Clark Roof, individuals practicing reflexive spirituality reflect on their own

spirituality subjectively. It is a deliberate and self-directed approach to finding spiritual meaning.

Roof believes that reflexive spirituality is how individuals find religious meaning in modern

society—focusing on personal spirituality over traditional religion. On the other hand, the impact

of faith and religion in today’s social landscape is a frequent subject of interest for many scholars

of religious studies. For Cornelio, the idea of focusing on the Filipino youth experience came

into being when he was doing his doctoral dissertation at the National University of Singapore.

According to Marco et Monera, (2011) studies on Filipino Youth that have been

conducted in the past by individuals and groups and even by the Episcopal Commission on

Catholic Youth, however, the research interest have focused on investigating the religious

identity of the Filipino Catholic youth as to their brand of Catholic life. While, Abogado

(2006), wrote about the emerging diverted practices among Filipino Catholics .It is asserted in

his excerpt, that a prevalent social learning capacity of modern generation and the rise of the
autonomous influence of social media became the sole working mechanism of low leveled faith

among young Catholics.

Interestingly, the youth generation of today has a unique identity as shown in several

studies and research. Highlighted in Howe and Strauss (2000), believed that the current

generation known as millennial generation offers good news rather than negative stereotypes

attributed to them by the former generations such as the GI generation (born between 1901 and

1924), the Silent Generation (born between 1925 and 1942), the Boomer generation (born

between 1943 and 1960), and the Xer generation (born between 1961 and 1981). However,

critiques from the religious affairs contemplate the superiority of negative influences of

youngster to their faith in Catholic practices and beliefs. Consequently, young people cannot

expect to be passive in engaging beliefs and practices, thus creating new marks of Christianity

with fluency and authenticity (Cornelio, 2016). In that, the emerging and pressuring modern

environment had socially constructed young people to admirably adapt vibrant practices in

sought of getting into modernization.

In addition, young generation are inculcated with fervent desire for upward mobility, tend

to be idealistic because of the values inculcated in them from their early age, eager to live their

role model and often frustrated and anxious since this idealism is not the realism of everyday

life. According to Oyebamiji (2008) as quoted in Ime & Unwanabong (2014), youth are

excessively ambitious and very energetic beings who desire change in the shortest time. The

youths are idealistic because they are taught from childhood to value ideals which are instilled in

them in form of moral values. Hence, the changes have been positive and negative, and in

particular the values continuing to change to suit the character of a changing society marked by

increased moral decadence now being witnessed in alarming proportions, and more anxiety (Ime
& Unwanabong, 2014). In some instances, their holistic view of the existent practices is a mixed

of idealism and social goals that are necessarily to be adapted and inherent. With the advent

socially constructed beliefs that our faith towards our religion, which is Christianity does not

fully rely on the practices and norms, young Catholics seems to be influence that it is not vital

and disobeying norms does not affect their faith, regardless of what they wore in churches and

some other exploited practices.

On the other hand, the value of a thing whether it be a belief, or an object is defined

normally as its worth. Just as what is seen to be of high value is treasured, the beliefs that people

hold about right or wrong, and are worth being held, are equally treasured (Idang, 2015), that

consequently arose as opposed to the practices when those are being disregard by the youth.

According to Kenyatta and Kinoti (2013) expound importance of the scale of moral values that

were taught to the children right from infancy, the adopted ambitions and the virtues instilled,

that could significantly useful as to their adulting stage regardless of various modern influences.