Religious identity and the isolated generation what being catholic means to religiously involved filipino students today

RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND THE ISOLATED GENERATION: What Being Catholic Means to Religiously Involved Filipino Students Today JAYEEL SERRANO CORNELIO (M.Soc.Sci. Applied Sociology, National University of Singapore) (B.A. Development Studies (cum laude), Ateneo de Manila University) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2011 Acknowledgements For many of my young informants, being Catholic is about having a personal and experiential relationship with God. In such relationship, God often speaks through “signs” in the form of people, events, or things that fittingly assume a metaphorical message that can be the answer to one’s prayer or questions. Following this everyday theology, perhaps I can find it providential that this thesis is being submitted in the Year of the Youth in the Philippines. Spearheaded by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, 2011 is witnessing various activities that invite the greater participation of young Filipinos, foremost of which is the arrival of the relics of St. John Bosco, patron saint of the youth. It is my hope that somehow the following pages would reveal contemporary nuances of the faith that may either resonate with or challenge assumptions about the religious identity of young people today. In the writing of this thesis, however, perhaps a clearer providential “sign” could be the worthwhile journey it has been, thanks to various individuals who have one way or another contributed to my personal maturity. In enumerating them here, it is not my intention to hold them responsible for the ensuing arguments. Instead, to recognise them is the least I can to show how grateful I am for the gift of mentorship, friendship, and maybe even their patience. For the purposes of confidentiality, I regret not being able to specifically thank the students, organisational overseers, religious youth workers, and staff of the various universities I have collaborated with in Metro Manila. I suspect, however, that some of them will, perhaps by happenstance, get to read this thesis. It is but appropriate to thank them for sharing with me their thoughts about their faith, the Church, and even personal stories that in many cases were in fact emotionally charged. In i honour of their openness, I have tried to remain, to the best of my abilities, faithful to their insights and narratives. Writing the thesis has been both a profound and enjoyable experience because of the reassuring relationship I had with my advisers. I am privileged to have been supervised by professors who knew how to challenge and encourage me effectively: Prof. Bryan Turner and Dr. Julius Bautista at NUS and Prof. Linda Woodhead at Lancaster University, UK. Drawing from their respective strengths, each of them commented on the various aspects, approaches, and angles adopted by my thesis. Whereas Prof. Turner and Dr. Bautista have overseen me in the initial and final stages of my candidature and during my fieldwork in Manila, Prof. Woodhead has supervised my visiting attachment at Lancaster’s Department of Religious Studies where I wrote the main body of the thesis. This arrangement was possible under the Overseas Research Attachment programme between NUS and Lancaster, which Prof. Lily Kong initiated. At this point I wish to thank, too, my examiners who have been incisive and helpful with their comments: A/P Robbie Goh (NUS), Dr. Sylvia Collins-Mayo (Kingston), and Prof. Michele Dillon (New Hampshire). My PhD has been overall a stimulating intellectual experience also because of the various institutional affiliations and academic networks I became part of. The Asia Research Institute (ARI), for one, has awarded me its full PhD scholarship grant – with its institutional resources from office space to printing privileges to boot. My gratitude goes to A/P Syed Farid Alayas and A/P Vineeta Sinha for believing in me and writing my references more than four years ago. Moreover, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of NUS has generously supported my fieldwork and conference participation. During my fieldwork in Manila, I presented my preliminary findings in the lecture series of the Institute of Philippine Culture as one of its Visiting Research Associates. Dr. Melissa Macapagal, Dr. Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu, and Leland dela Cruz have been helpful in this regard. In addition, findings of my thesis have been presented at the various conferences of the South and Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Religion and Culture (Bali, Indonesia), the British Sociological Association’s Sociology of Religion Study Group (University of Edinburgh), and the International Society for Ethnology ii and Folklore (State Ethnographic Museum, Poland). Opportunities came, too, to present my work and hear from peers in the respective graduate seminars of Lancaster’s Department of Religious Studies and NUS’s Department of Sociology. For all the patient administrative support they gave, K.S. Raja and Selvi Krishnan of NUS, Gillian Taylor of Lancaster, and Mel Mar and the scholar transcribers of the Ateneo de Manila deserve my gratitude. In several instances, my thinking about the thesis was stimulated by engagements outside the classroom and the claustrophobic office spaces I had. During my fieldwork in 2008 - 2009, I was invited to take part in the Ateneo Cultural Laboratory which saw me leading a team of undergraduate and postgraduate students to investigate and document the religious rituals of Tayabas, Quezon in the Philippines. Thanks to A/P Ana Labrador and Prof. Fernando Zialcita, the ethnographic experience of being with locals has enriched me in ways that any formal doctoral training could not. In 2010, I was also accepted into two prestigious summer schools. At the Summer School on Engaged Anthropology at the University of Warsaw and at the International Summer School on Religion and Public Life by the Institute for the Human Sciences in Cortona, Italy, I had humbling encounters with extremely brilliant graduate students of my generation from all over the world. Although it felt like I was in a constant intellectual sparring, my interactions with them offered me a renewed interest in politics and theology, which has caused me to think outside my discipline from time to time. If there is one thing that I would surely miss about being a graduate student, it is the impression among adults that I always needed food, freebies, and all the encouragement I could get, which was not so bad in view of the psychological pressures of thesis writing. Almost always I ran out of clothes for forgetting to the laundry. Arthur, Haide, and Melissa Sanchez never forgot to invite me to any event at their lovely Filipino home in Lancaster. After every service at St. David’s Free Anglican Parish in Preston, Lancashire, I was always stuffed at lunch by Rev. Steve and Sue Rutt, whose life of service as a couple will forever inspire me. I have had the most moving conversations, too, with a dear friend and mentor, Dr. Sean O’Callaghan, in the most serene and scenic spots in Lancashire and Yorkshire that only locals iii could possibly know. In Singapore, I am thankful to the Loi Family and friends at Bukit Panjang Methodist Church and Hope Church who have never ceased from showing their affection and care since I first met them almost a decade ago. When I conducted my fieldwork, I met Sr. Rosella Faypon of St. Paul’s University – Tuguegarao who, to this day, would intercede for me. Throughout the four years of my PhD, I have established friendships which I know are meant to last. In one of our meals at the NUS Bukit Timah Campus, Nathan Cruz, my fellow ARI scholar, gave me the idea to look at youth and religion. My gratitude goes, too, to other Filipino scholars who have made our diaspora at NUS rather vibrant: Gene Navera, Anril Tiatco, Glenda Lopez, Lou Antolihao, Andie Soco, Niño Leviste, Dazzie Zapata, Migoy Lizada, and Dr. Rommel Curaming. Manuel Sapitula and Rodney Sebastian have been great partners in our efforts to reorganise the Faculty’s Religion Cluster Graduate Initiative. Jonathan Ong at Cambridge University, Helena Patzer at the University of Warsaw, and Lin Weirong at the University of Warwick have read and commented on some of my chapters. Jace Cabanes of Leeds University, Tessa Guazon of the University of the Philippines, Zoltan Szenyi of Central European University, and Patrick Echevarria of the Society of Jesus have been very supportive friends as well. So have Sarbeswar Sahoo, Saiful Islam, Alice Nah, and Thomas Barker at NUS. My friends at Lancaster University also deserve to be recognised for attempting, at the very least, to get me out of my workspace from time to time: Pat Murphy, Keerti Krishnan, Fiona D’Souza, Johanna Jung, Richard Chong, and James Zhang. My friends at the Graduate Christian Fellowship, led by the most inspiring couple Keith and Mollie Bowers of Morecambe, have kept me spiritually grounded. At Religious Studies, my colleagues have welcomed me as their own: Rebecca Catto, Xicotencatl Martinez, Vijaya Subramani, Emily Laycock, Kjersti Løken, and Lisa Atkinson. Because of all these people who may effectively be my own providential signposts, my PhD has been extremely rewarding and worthwhile. It is in light of this that although it is simply the beginning of my academic career, finishing this doctoral thesis will forever be an important milestone in my life. iv As such, my PhD needs to be dedicated to the most important people of my life: Daddy, Mommy, Kuya, Ate Tan, Joff, and the brethren at Cross Tower Ministries. I take this opportunity, too, to dedicate this work to the memory of my Lolo Nias and Mamang Nita, who taught me the value of education many years ago. But still above all, in the most humble words of the Reformers, Soli Deo gloria. Jayeel Serrano Cornelio Department of Sociology National University of Singapore (Uploaded August 2011) v Table of Contents Acknowledgements Table of Contents Summary Figures and Tables I. “AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME” Introducing the Research Question i vi ix xi The Filipino Catholic Youth Research Question, Scope, and Hypothesis Research Question and Scope Hypothesis Significance and Contribution of the Research Question Empirical Contribution Theoretical Contribution Structure of the Thesis 11 12 15 17 II. RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AS PERSONAL RELIGIOUS MEANING 22 Introduction Studying Religious Identity Group Religious Identity Individual Religious Identity Towards Religious Identity as Personal Religious Meaning What does being Catholic mean to believers today? Cognate Terms Disclaimer Foregrounding Religious Meaning in the Sociology of Religion Conclusion: Locating My Research Question 22 25 26 28 35 36 41 43 47 53 III. RESEARCHING RELIGIOUS IDENTITY: Research Methods and Reflections 56 Theoretical Sampling (Interviews) Academic Discipline and Type of University Nature of Religious Organisation Some Reflections on Theoretical Sampling Research Methods Interviews Reflecting on the Interview Process Focus Group Discussions Participant Observation Negotiating my Role as Researcher Issues of Generalisability Conclusion: Validity and Religious Identity 57 59 61 63 65 66 70 73 78 80 88 89 vi IV. WILL THE REAL CATHOLIC PLEASE STAND UP? An Emergent Typology of Religiously Involved Filipino Students 93 Constructing the Typology Religious Practice Personal Religious Meaning An Emergent Typology of Religiously Involved Students Orthodox Catholics Practical (Creative) Catholics Freestyle (Creative) Catholics Categorical Limitations Conclusion 95 97 99 101 105 111 118 124 127 V. BEING CATHOLIC AS REFLEXIVE SPIRITUALITY 130 Spiritual, but not Religious Indwelt Seeking and Reflexive Spirituality Being Catholic as Reflexive Spirituality Personal and Experiential Relationship with God Action-orientated Relationality Religious Critique Rearticulating Reflexive Spirituality The Possibility of Conversion? Undercurrent of Experiential Religion of Humanity Conclusion 133 139 142 143 147 152 155 157 160 162 VI. CONSERVATIVELY LIBERAL: On the Controversial Issues of Premarital Sex, Divorce, Cohabitation, Homosexuality, and the Reproductive Health Bill 164 Religious Identity and Moral Attitudes Moral Issues Premarital Sex Divorce Cohabitation Homosexuality Reproductive Health Bill Conservatively Liberal Conservative Socialisation Humanistic Value of Relational Commitment Self-authorising Morality Conclusion 168 170 171 174 177 180 184 188 189 191 196 199 vii VII. INDWELT INDIVIDUALISATION AND THE EMOTIONAL ANTHOLOGY OF RESOURCES 202 Individualisation Individualisation and Religion Limitations Indwelt Individualisation Indwelt Individualisation and the Emotional Anthology of Resources Individualisation as Attitude Tradition-maintenance Tradition-construction Friends Non-Catholic Resources Logic of Practice Conclusion and Implications 220 224 229 230 232 234 237 VIII. 240 THE ISOLATED GENERATION? 206 208 212 215 218 A Close Encounter of the Third Kind Foregrounding Generational Analysis Generation and Religion Collective Memory The Isolated Generation Economic Vulnerability Family Restructuring Political Detachment Navigating Ontological Insecurity and Being Catholic Conclusion 240 245 249 253 254 258 262 266 270 277 IX. CONCLUSION Summary of Findings and New Directions 280 Personal Excursus Revisiting the Hypothesis Related Ideas Conclusion: New Directions Empirical Theoretical 280 282 286 290 290 293 REFERENCES 296 viii Summary What does being Catholic mean to religious involved Filipino students today? An important contribution to the study of religion and youth in the Philippines, this thesis looks at the religious identity (defined as personal religious meanings) of students involved in Catholic organisations in colleges and universities in Manila. One may suppose that this sector of young Filipino Catholics will be more orthodox in their beliefs and practices. On the contrary, because of what appears to be their selective posture towards the beliefs and practices of Catholicism, these students may easily be characterised as “cafeteria” or “split-level” Catholics. The thesis counters this claim by arguing that in fact, they are better described as creative Catholics in view of how they reflect on the elements that to them define what being Catholic first and foremost means. Indeed, three themes surrounding being Catholic are emergent: a personal and experiential relationship with God, an action-orientated relationality in which right living is more important than right believing, and a critique of their peers’ and the Catholic leadership’s misguidedness. Collectively, these three elements of self-fulfilment, relationality, and critique help in the reconfiguration of the concept of reflexive spirituality. Given these themes, being Catholic among religiously involved students today can be seen as an undercurrent of experiential religion of humanity in which God has become immanent, and religion only makes sense in light of what one does to his relationships. 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Research Question and Scope In the context of my research, these broad questions are addressed and fine-tuned as follows: What does being Catholic mean to religiously involved Filipino students today? ” Two main ideas immediately transpire here: religiously involved Filipino students and being Catholic. ” 6 As... issues of the day such as divorce and premarital sex, and what sort of resources influence their religious identity I have mentioned above, too, that because of my informants’ life chances as religiously involved undergraduates today, their religious identity, in a way, can be taken to suggest the future make up of the Catholic Church in the Philippines This is because they have the propensity to shape... asked in this thesis, to my mind, advance the sociology of religion in the Philippines I have noted above, for example, that religiously involved youth are overlooked in existing studies on religion and youth even though they seem to have a formidable presence in the country Hence, the entire thesis hopes to unravel indeed what being Catholic personally means to them, what their views are towards controversial... in spite of their criticisms of the Catholic leadership, their deviation from traditional religiosity, and their apparent moral autonomy, they are adamant and serious about being Catholic Christened in this thesis as indwelt individualisation, the concept refers to the attitude and the processes governing the religious identity construction of individuals who, by negotiating what ought to be believed,... in the religious identity or self-understanding of religiously involved students The next two chapters will lay the conceptual and methodological foundation for this The thesis is not about the organisations they are part of, although, as will be seen, they have a role to play in their religious socialisation (see Chapter 7`; see also Shepherd, 2010) Although it is about undergraduate students, the thesis... professionals and informed Catholics As future professionals, they have the propensity to shape opinion within their respective spheres of influence whether in the private or public sector These undergraduate students have the potential to become powerful voices that the Catholic hierarchy will have to engage with2 As informed Catholics at a young age, they carry the possibility of becoming more involved as Catholics... individualisation in the West is often correlated to capitalism and globalisation, in my informants' case, individualisation draws from effective marginalisation Towards the end I argue that the expressions and enactments of their religious identity, such as seeing God as father and friend and wanting to help others more than going to church, are attempts to navigate the conditions of being isolated as a generation. .. view of the sacraments of the Eucharist and penance (Tomasi, 2000) Significance and Contribution of the Research Question The significance of the research question can be seen in terms of its two main contributions given existing gaps in the literature: empirical (religiously involved Filipino students) and theoretical ( being Catholic ) 11 Empirical Contribution First, the empirical questions being. .. suggest that their religious identity points to an undercurrent of experiential religion of humanity within the conservative-led institution of Philippine Catholicism As suggested above, the study of religious identity does not have to end in the meanings alone One of the advantages of taking religious identity in terms of religious self-understanding is that they shed light on other aspects of the religious. .. thinking in the sociology of generations, the final chapter offers a provocative proposition that religiously involved students today may belong to an isolated generation The generational conditions include economic vulnerability, family restructuring, and political detachment Demonstrating an intriguing paradox, the ontological insecurity brought about by these conditions has created the space for their . follows: What does being Catholic mean to religiously involved Filipino students today? ” Two main ideas immediately transpire here: religiously involved Filipino students and being Catholic. ”. RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND THE ISOLATED GENERATION: What Being Catholic Means to Religiously Involved Filipino Students Today JAYEEL SERRANO CORNELIO. 290 Theoretical 293 REFERENCES 296 ix Summary What does being Catholic mean to religious involved Filipino students today? An important contribution to the study