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Exploring Factors that Influenced Catholic Nuns to Pursue Religious Life

Hazel Roy (2237528)

Dept of Psychology- CHRIST (Deemed to be University)

Qualitative Research Methods in Psychology-MPS136

CIA 1: Mini Research Proposal

Prof Dr. Baiju Gopal

September 11, 2022

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Exploring Factors that Influenced Catholic Nuns to Pursue Religious Life

"Congratulations on your graduation. What next?" is a question faced by every youth

as they complete one phase of their life and move on to the next. A tiny fraction of these

youth decides to take the road less traveled. They choose to pursue a religious missionary

life. As of 2015, there are roughly 25,000 catholic nuns in India (Hindustan Times, 2015).

There are more than 115 religious congregations for women in India (Union of Catholics

Asian News, n.d.). Religious life encompasses dedicating one's life entirely to God and the

service of other human beings (The second Vatican council, 1965). Religious life is full of

challenges. Nuns often live in community and are consecrated to God by the vows of

Chastity, poverty, and obedience (The Second Vatican Council, 1965). Religious nuns

undergo years of rigorous formation involving stages of pre-candidacy, candidacy, novitiate,

and final profession. In these formative years, they are introduced to spiritual asceticism and

prayer; they renounce their belongings and adopt a life of poverty and obedience to God and

the congregation's authority (The Second Vatican Council, 1965). During this formative

period, these young women contemplate whether they should stay in this vocation. Once they

receive their final profession, they commit themselves as lifelong community members and

begin their apostolate, i.e., their missionary work (Eze et al.,2014). Their apostolic work may

spread across various domains; service to the poor and weak, education, and proclamation of

faith. Throughout their life, religious nuns must stay faithful to their vows and adjust to every

life condition (Eze et al., 2014). Nuns are known to have more challenging and restrictive

lifestyles than priests. One may wonder about the underlying psychosocial factors

contributing to young women pursuing such a life. There is a need to study the life

experiences of religious nuns and document their reasons for choosing religious life and

staying committed to it.

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Purpose of the Study (Rationale)

The study's purpose is to explore why different nuns choose consecrated life. It aims

to study the life experiences, circumstances, and convictions that have led many to a religious

vocation. It will attempt to answer questions regarding various biological, psychological,

social, and economic causes behind choosing one's vocation. It will also inquire into the

challenges and limitations of religious life. This research will focus on religious nuns

belonging to catholic congregations in India.

Significance and Implications of Research

This study will help provide insight into psychological and socio-cultural aspects that

play into developing altruistic and self-sacrificial tendencies in nuns. It will shed light on

important life events that have affected religious nuns' vocation discernment. It will study the

gender differences in pursuing religious life. It will help understand religious life from the

female perspective. This study will help gain a deeper understanding of the effect of celibacy

on personal life. It is also essential to uncover any negative life experiences, such as past

abuse or childhood trauma, that may persuade women to lead celibate life. One can anticipate

that this study will encourage further research about religious nuns.

Research Aim and Research Questions

Research questions

The main research question is: What influences Catholic nuns to pursue religious life?

The specific research questions are as follows

 How does one's family's spiritual background affect one's vocation?

 What are the life-changing spiritual experiences in the lives of religious nuns?

 How does gender influence vocational discernment?

 What helps nuns continue to serve others?

 What are the secular reasons behind choosing religious life?

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 Is any history of abuse, neglect, or fear of marriage influencing the decision to pursue

religious life?

Through qualitative research, I will attempt to obtain an answer to these questions.

Review of Literature

           Sunardi (2014) studied the factors that predicted commitment to the priestly vocation.

Research findings depicted the following results: higher levels of agreeableness, masculinity,

intrinsic religious affiliation, a divine view of priesthood, and defensiveness increased

commitment to the priesthood. Calibo & Oracion (2014) studied the secular reasons

seminarians in the Philippines enter the priesthood. The most prominent secular themes were;

to make one's parents proud, have an honorable social status, socialize, and receive cost-

effective education (Calibo & Oracion, 2014). A study conducted among 256 Catholic priests

concluded that spirituality, social support, commitment, and well-being influenced priests to

love others compassionately (Sasmito & Lopez, 2019). Gautier et al. (2012) stated that the

commonly observed challenges in priestly ministry included a shortage of priests, extreme

workload, unrealistic expectations from lay people, and disagreements with certain church

ideologies. Eze et al. (2014) researched identity dilemmas experienced by catholic nuns about

work. Research findings suggested the themes surrounding work identities: imitators of Jesus'

identity, the identity of subjugated workers, and gendered work-ordered identity.

Most research on religious life pertains to priests and religious men belonging to western

cultures. It is essential to study the female perspective. There is a need to learn the motives,

life experiences, and challenges of nuns in India. This study investigates factors nuns believe

influenced them to choose religious life and stay committed to it.

h, this study will aim to answer the above questions.

Research Design and Methodology

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Aim

The aim of the research is to explore factors that influenced catholic nuns to pursue

religious life.

Research Design

This study will adopt a qualitative approach. The theoretical perspective used will be

phenomenology. Phenomenological research focuses on obtaining knowledge from people's

subjective experiences (Willig, 2013, p.84). Here the research aims to get as close to the

participant's understanding of experiences rather than studying the actual materialistic

structures that cause a particular event or experience. (Willig, 2013, p.84). Interpretive

phenomenology will be used. The collected data will be examined through an Interpretative

Phenomenological analysis. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is built on the

foundations of phenomenology, hermeneutics, and idiography (Lyons & Coyle, 2007, p.35).

IPA explores the person's lived experiences and how they make meaning of those experiences

(Lyons & Coyle, 2007, p. 38).

Sampling

           The target population for this research would be Catholic nuns belonging to various

religious congregations in India. Through purposive sampling, I will select six religious nuns

from different congregations as participants in the study. These nuns must have completed

ten years since their final profession. I will interview the participants and record and analyze

their verbal and non-verbal responses.

Data collection and analysis

Semi-structured interviews of the nuns will be conducted, which include questions

like; How is your experience as a religious nun? Why did you choose to live a consecrated

religious life? What is your family's spiritual background? What factors keep you committed

to this way of life? I will record the interviews and conduct follow-up sessions if required. I
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will examine the recordings' interviews and transcripts through interpretive

phenomenological analysis (IPA). IPA will include stages of a) examining the transcripts, b)

identifying and labeling themes, c) linking themes, and d) producing a summary of themes

with quotations (Lyons & Coyle, 2007). I will present this analysis in a narrative form

Timeline and Budget

The estimated duration required for research will be 12 months. I anticipate that the

first research draft will be ready in 10 months. I propose an approximate budget of

65,000INR for the study. This budget includes the following expenses: Electronic gadgets for

documentation (8,000 INR), Food and travel expenses (12,000 INR), Remuneration for the

transcriptionist (5,000 INR), Compensation for participants (10,000 INR), Remuneration for

the researcher (20,000 INR), Miscellaneous expenditure (10,000 INR).

Ethical Concerns and Limitations

Ethical Responsibilities

 safeguarding the anonymity of participants while maintaining the credibility of

research,

 ensuring participant’s informed consent and right to withdraw from the study if they

wish to do so

 avoiding researcher bias, and

 being sensitive to religious and cultural sentiments.

Research Limitations

Many religious congregations of nuns in India are hidden from the public eye and are

not registered as religious congregations. Some convents are cloistered where outsiders are

not allowed to enter, thus making it difficult to understand these nuns' lives. Being a

qualitative research study, the findings of this study cannot be generalized over a large

population.
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References

Babu, R. (2015, November). Largest exporter of clergy Kerala feels the pinch now.

Hindustan Times; Hindustan Times. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/largest-

exporter-of-clergy-kerala-feels-the-pinch-now/story-

LmClUdB24KyIXwPeb9w6OP.html

Butler, S. (2017). Perfectae Caritatis. OUP Academic.

https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190625795.003.0009

Calibo, F. D., & Oracion, E. G. (2014). The Secular Reasons for Entering the Diocesan

Priestly Formation of Young Filipinos. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-

Secular-Reasons-for-Entering-the-Diocesan-of-Calibo-Oracion/

e9130cbb093eb28737afc8eac0dd737b0ddf64a3

Eze, C., C, L. G., & Rakoczy, S. (2015). Catholic Religious Sisters’ Identity Dilemmas as

Committed and Subjugated Workers: A Narrative Approach. Review of Religious

Research, 57(3), 397–417. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-014-0202-1

Gautier. M., Perl, P. & Fichter, S. (2012). Same call different men: The evolution of the

priesthood since Vatican II. Collegeville Liturgical Press.

Lyons, E. E., & Coyle, A. E. (2007). Analysing qualitative data in psychology. Sage

Publications Ltd.

Religious Congregations of India, Ranchi Archdiocese. (2022). Ucanews.com.

https://www.ucanews.com/directory/congregration/india-ranchi/27

Sasmito, E., & Lopez, G. D. (2020). Compassionate Love among Catholic Priests: its

Antecedents and its Influence on Affect toward Pastoral Ministry in

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Indonesia. Pastoral Psychology, 69(1), 47–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-019-

00888-z

Sunardi. Y (2014). Predictive factors for commitment to the priestly vocation: A study of

priests and seminarians. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Predictive-factors-for-

commitment-to-the-priestly-A-Sunardi/fbf60b8e57d69d947e9f9d94d5b3f7ce18428fc4

Willig, C. (2001). Introducing qualitative research in psychology: Adventures in theory

and method. Buckingham: Open University Press.

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