spot survey exercise

8/7/2019 Spot Survey Exercise

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SA 21 A SPOT SURVEY EXERCISE

Cabrera, Cahulogan, Ong, Rojas, Tolosa, Wu

Daniel Marsula/Post-Gazette

How strong is the religious belief of Atenean students?



SA 21 A | Spot Survey Exercise | Cabrera, Cahulogan, Ong, Rojas, Tolosa, Wu

The Ateneo de Manila University is one of the premiere academic institutions in thePhilippines. Being a Catholic school, there is an underlying assumption that most Ateneanstudents are not only part of the aforementioned faith but are also devout believers. Thisresearch intends to shed light on the influence of religion in the Ateneo.

Resea rch Problem

How strong is the religious belief of Atenean students?

Objectives

The research aims to!

1. Quantify the subjective feelings of respondents about their religion.2. Reveal correlations between the religions and high schools attended by the

respondents, and their religiosity and spirituality.

3. Inform the Ateneo community about the varying religious sentiments of Loyola

Schools students.

Assumptions

The research intends to prove or disprove the following assumptions:

1. Most Atenean students are devout religious believers.2. Students who attended public high schools are less likely to have positive

sentiments about religion and spirituality.

3. Students who attended private sectarian high schools are more likely to havepositive sentiments about religion and spirituality.

Methodology

The independent variables to be tested were the religion of the respondent (Catholic/ non-Catholic) and the high school that the respondent attended (private sectarian / privatenon-sectarian / public). The dependent variable to be tested was the respondent’s level of religious belief and devotion.

The research method employed in this research is the survey. The survey formcontained the following questions:

1. What is your religion?

o Catholico Non-Catholic

2. What kind of high school did you attend?o Private Sectariano Private Non-Sectariano Public

3. How frequently do you practice your religion?o Never o Seldom




o Sometimeso Most of the timeo Always

4. Rank the following in terms of priority (5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest): __ God, __ Family, __ Friends, __ Academics, __ Extra-Curricular Activities

5. How strong is your faith? (Check the statement which you agree with most.)

o I am in my religion because I have no choice.o I only turn to my religion when I am in need.o I turn to my religion whenever it is convenient for me.o I have complete faith in my religion.

Survey questions 1 and 2 will be referred to as Descriptive Question (DQ) 1 and 2,respectively. Survey questions 3, 4, and 5 will be termed as Substantive Question (SQ) A,B, and C, respectively.

The responses to DQ 1 and DQ 2 were abbreviated as follows: C – Catholic, NC –

Non-Catholic, PS – Private Sectarian, PN – Private Non-Sectarian, P – Public.

Numerical equivalents were assigned to SQ A and SQ C. For SQ A, the answer “Never” has a numerical value of 1, “Seldom” 2, “Sometimes” 3, “Most of the time” 4, and“Always” 5. For SQ C, the first statement (I am in ! no choice) has a numerical value of 1,the second statement 2, and so on.

The survey forms were distributed in the following manner: 5 forms in Berchman’sHall Room 105 at 10:30 A.M.; 30 forms at the extension of Kostka Hall at 10:30 A.M.; 10forms at JGSOM Student Enterprise Center at 12:00 P.M.; 5 forms in the Cervini Hall lobby

at 12:00 P.M. The survey results may be found on Appendix A.

Fig 1. Researcher distributing survey forms.




Presentation and Analysis of Data

The data collected in this exercise should be scrutinized with respect to the profile of the 50-person sample based on DQ 1 and DQ 2. Generally, patterns and recurrences maybe found in the results from Catholic respondents under DQ 1 and respondents from privatesectarian high schools under DQ 2. The following tables clarify the aforementioned

circumstance and account for similar circumstances unnoticed by the researchers.

Table 1. Sample Profile Based on Descriptive Question 1

Religion Quantity

C 42

NC 8

Table 2. Sample Profile Based on Descriptive Question 2

High School Quantity

PS 33PN 9

P 8

Table 3. Sample Profile Based on Descriptive Questions 1 and 2

Religion and High School Quantity

C & PS 28

NC & PS 5

C & PN 7

NC & PN 2

C & P 7NC & P 1

The limited sample size of the entire survey and of each category (e.g., NC, P, or C& PN, among others) may pose some difficulties in statistical analyses and in the formationof generalizations based on the data. Conclusions made on this exercise must be takencritically; larger sample sizes and alternative methodologies may lead to different results.

Table 4. Tally for Substantive Question A Based on Descriptive Question 1

Religion 1 2 3 4 5

C 2 6 12 15 7NC 1 0 1 3 3

A significant portion of the respondents (41 out of 50) reveals that the frequency of their religious practice lies on the range of “Sometimes” (numerical value of 3) to “Always”(numerical value of 5). Religion (i.e., Catholicism vis-à-vis other beliefs) seems to have littleinfluence on the negative response of some respondents, as proven by the insignificantdifference between the Catholics and non-Catholics who answered “Never” (numerical




value of 1) or “Seldom” (numerical value of 2) in Substantive Question A (approximately19% and exactly 12.5%, respectively).

Table 5. Tally for Substantive Question A Based on Descriptive Question 2

High School 1 2 3 4 5

PS 2 4 7 12 8

PN 0 2 5 2 0

P 1 0 1 4 2

Respondents from private sectarian (PS) high schools and public (P) high schoolsappear to be the most frequent practitioners of their religions; a majority from PS and P highschools (approximately 60% and exactly 75%, respectively, of the total number of respondents who attended each kind of high school) say that they exercise their religiousbeliefs “Most of the time” (numerical value of 4) or “Always”. In contrast, only a minority(22%) of respondents from private non-sectarian high schools practice their religion “Most of the time”, while none of them chose the option of “Always”.

Table 6. Tally for Substantive Question B Based on Descriptive Question 1

Religion 1 2 3 4 5

C 8 4 7 4 19

NC 1 1 0 0 6

Exactly half of all the respondents claim that they prioritize God over their family,friends, academics, and extra-curricular activities. A sizeable minority (approximately 20%)of Catholic respondents says that God would be their last priority when weighed against theother options presented. Also, a majority (approximately 55%) of Catholic respondents

challenge the convention that “God [must be put first] above all else.”

Table 7. Tally for Substantive Question B Based on Descriptive Question 2

High School 1 2 3 4 5

PS 7 4 4 3 15

PN 1 1 2 1 4

P 1 0 1 0 6

Similar to the findings for SQ A, a relative majority of respondents from PS and Phigh schools (approximately 45% and exactly 75%, respectively) prioritize God over the

other options. The difference is that the analysis for respondents from PS and P high schoolwill also apply to respondents from private non-sectarian (PN) high schools. A relativemajority (approximately 45%) of them also consider God to be their first priority. Much like

the results for this question based on DQ 1, half of all the respondents disagree with thetraditional belief of putting God first.




Table 8. Tally for Substantive Question C Based on Descriptive Question 1

Religion 1 2 3 4

C 8 4 11 19

NC 2 0 1 5

Half of all the respondents and a majority for both Catholic and non-Catholicrespondents (approximately 45% and exactly 62.5%, respectively) say that they “havecomplete faith in [their] religion.” A majority (approximately 55%) of Catholic respondents

appear to have poor faith in Catholicism, given by their agreement with “non-ideal”statements (i.e., statements that are morally wrong by dogmatic standards) like “I am in myreligion because I have no choice.”

Table 9. Tally for Substantive Question C Based on Descriptive Question 2

High School 1 2 3 4

PS 8 3 6 16PN 1 1 4 3

P 1 0 2 5

Much like the trend for the past two tables based on DQ 2, about half of all therespondents provided the “ideal” response (i.e., the statement that displays unwavering faithin one’s religion). A fairly large number of the respondents feel that they are forced into their

religions (20%) or that they can choose to be religious whenever it will be favorable to them(24%).

Table 10. Results for Statistical Tests Based on Descriptive Question 1

Substantive Question A Substantive Question B Substantive Question C

C NC C NC C NC

Mean 3.45 3.88 3.52 4.13 2.98 3.13

StandardDeviation

1.07 1.27 1.58 1.54 1.13 1.27

Mode 4 4 5 5 4 4

The most common responses (modal values) reveal that the religious faith of therespondents is strong; they practice their faith “Most of the time”, they prioritize God aboveall else, and they “have complete faith in [their] religion[s].” By this measurement, there is no

difference at all between the Catholic and non-Catholic respondents.

On the other hand, the mean and standard deviation values show a marginaldifference between the religiosity of Catholics and non-Catholics. The non-Catholicrespondents consistently obtained higher mean scores. However, this result may beskewed because of the relatively small number of non-Catholic respondents (8 out of 50).Also, while the responses indicating strength in religious faith are the most common, themean values, which are lower in comparison to the modal values, prove that other respondents do not feel as strongly about their religion.




Table 11. Results for Statistical Tests Based on Descriptive Question 2

Substantive Question A Substantive Question B Substantive Question C

PS PN P PS PN P PS PN P

Mean 3.61 3 3.75 3.45 3.67 4.25 2.91 3 3.38

StandardDeviation 1.15 0.67 1.2 1.63 1.41 1.39 1.22 0.94 0.99

Mode 4 3 4 5 5 5 4 3 4

Based on the modal values, the high schools that the respondents attended did notaccount for any significant differences in the answers to the three substantive questions.

The relatively lower modal value for the PN group may be a result of the limited number of respondents from PN high schools (9 out of 50).

Respondents from P high schools have consistently higher mean values than therespondents from both PS and PN high schools. The mean values reveal that former students of PS high schools usually practice their religion more frequently (3.61 > 3), but

they also prioritize God less (3.45 < 3.67) and they believe less in the intrinsic worth of religion (2.91 < 3) compared to former students of PN high schools, as supported by thestandard deviation as well; however, the differences were marginal.

Conclusion

In most circumstances, it seems that a greater percentage of non-Catholicrespondents are devoutly religious in comparison to those that are Catholic (e.g., SQ B 5,75% > ~45%; SQ C 5, 62.5% > ~45%). Also, a greater percentage of respondents frompublic high schools are deeply religious, compared to those that are from private non-sectarian high schools (e.g., SQ A 5, ~25% > 0%; SQ C 4, 62.5% > ~33%). The points of

comparison made here consider the extreme of the spectrum that marks great faith inreligion (i.e., the most “ideal” responses from a dogmatic perspective).

The first comparison of non-Catholic and Catholic respondents, however, is aninvalid one. Again, the mean and modal values for this descriptive profile do not differ significantly, and at times, do not even differ at all. Secondly, the large disparity in samplesize (42 Catholic respondents versus 8 non-Catholic respondents) places an unfair andunrepresentative weight on the response of just one non-Catholic respondent. Theconclusion, with respect to the comparison of Catholics and non-Catholics, is that peoplefrom any religion or belief can be deeply religious. Also, it seems that years of Catholicpractices (or, impositions, from the perspective of some respondents) and education inprivate sectarian high schools did not make the respondents more religious; in fact, they

may even be antagonistic to Catholicism.

The second comparison of respondents from public high schools and from privatenon-sectarian high schools is a valid one. Firstly, there is no great disparity in the samplesize for both profiles (9 PN respondents and 8 P respondents). Also, the statistical analysesyielded similar results, showing that students from public high schools are more religiousthan those from private non-sectarian high schools.




Outside of the extreme considered earlier, there are respondents who gave the “non-ideal” answers (i.e., responses that do not indicate absolute and unwavering faith). Thereare no statistically relevant comparisons between Catholics and non-Catholics, or publicand private non-sectarian high school students; the differences on this end of the spectrumseem to be marginal and insignificant. However, consider the responses of the Ateneanssurveyed, without regard for their religion or the kind of high school they attended.

Table 12. Overall Tally of Responses

1 2 3 4 5

SQ A 3 6 13 18 10

SQ B 9 5 7 4 25

SQ C 10 4 12 24 n/a

For all three substantive questions, about half of the respondents gave the “non-ideal” answers (i.e., 1 – 3 for SQ A, 1 – 4 for SQ B, and 1 – 3 for SQ C). Despite the Ateneoeducation that all the respondents have in common, a (presumably) disappointing and

sizeable number of the respondents show a lack of faith in their religion.

Generalization

Firstly, from the viewpoint of the educational system in the Philippines, public highschools are more able to imbibe the value of spirituality in their students in comparison tostudents from private non-sectarian high schools. A likely explanation for this is theencompassing quality of religion, particularly in the Philippines, that influences even thepublic education system. On the other hand, private non-sectarian high schools are overtlysecular in most situations. In both kinds of high schools, there are fewer people who feelantagonistic toward religion when compared to people from private sectarian high schools.

Students from private sectarian high schools represent a diverse range of sentiments aboutreligiosity (i.e., ranging from hostility to devotion). This may be linked to the nextgeneralization.

The second generalization will be about the Ateneo community and the CatholicChurch in general. Based on the results of the survey, it may be surmised that the religiousfaith of many Catholics and/or students of the Loyola Schools is not as strong as thecommunity or the Church would like to believe. It is plausible to believe that a significantnumber of Catholics are compelled to stay in their religion because of sociocultural norms,and not because of any profound affinity to Catholicism.

Recommendations

1. The researchers feel that future surveys should be administered to a larger sample

size. Given the population of the Loyola Schools, the sample size undertaken in thisexercise may not be sufficient in forming an accurate representation of the views of Ateneans on religion. Conclusions and generalizations made in future surveys will bemore convincing if larger sample sizes are used.




2. Religious belief and spirituality are encompassing frameworks that influence multipleaspects of one’s life. As such, survey questions in future investigations should bemore comprehensive in scope and, ideally, more considerate of the distinct nuancesof different religions.

3. The spiritual formation being offered in the Ateneo is seemingly unable to reach a

significant portion of the population of the Loyola Schools. Consequently, greater effort must be put into helping students find the intrinsic worth of religion andspirituality.




Appendix A – Survey Results

DQ 1(C/NC)

DQ 2(PS/PN/P)

SQ A (1-5) SQ B (1-5) SQ C (1-4)

C PN 4 2 4

C PN 2 3 2C PN 3 3 3

C PN 3 4 3

C PN 2 1 1

C PN 3 5 4

C PN 3 5 3

C P 3 3 3

C P 4 5 4

C P 1 1 1

C P 4 5 4

C P 4 5 4

C P 5 5 3

C P 5 5 4

C PS 3 3 3

C PS 5 5 4

C PS 3 4 2

C PS 5 5 4

C PS 4 5 4

C PS 4 5 1

C PS 3 5 1

C PS 4 4 4

C PS 3 1 3C PS 2 1 1

C PS 2 3 3

C PS 2 2 1

C PS 4 5 4

C PS 4 1 4

C PS 3 2 3

C PS 4 4 3

C PS 5 5 4

C PS 4 3 2

C PS 1 2 1

C PS 4 5 4C PS 5 1 4

C PS 3 5 1

C PS 2 1 2

C PS 5 3 4

C PS 4 5 3

C PS 4 5 4




C PS 3 5 4

C PS 4 1 4

NC PN 3 5 3

NC PN 4 5 4

NC P 4 5 4

NC PS 5 5 4NC PS 5 5 4

NC PS 5 1 4

NC PS 4 2 1

NC PS 1 5 1

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