Exploring the Effects of Youth for Christ Religious Organization on the Attitudes of the Members and their Religiosity

Abstract

The Philippines as a conservative and a catholic nation in Asia, gives an emphasis on religion, studies have shown that there is a declining number of youth that are engaging in religious activities amidst the presence of youth organizations. This is a study aims to explore the effects of YFC on members’ attitudes and their religiosity. Define the concept of YFC among members, identify the impacts in terms of affect, behavior and cognitive perspective of the members brought about by YFC, enumerate the reasons that affected the members in joining the organization, identify the issues/ challenges faced by the members and describe the coping mechanisms the member used in dealing with the problems they faced along the way. Using a sequential exploratory research method an in depth interview was conducted to 20 respondents and an adapted attitude scale was administered to all of the members of the organization (97). Results show that in terms of the three parts of the attitude namely affect, behavior, and cognitive aspects, in overall the YFC succeeded in making its members feel satisfied about their life, in changing the “negative” behavior as well as “negative” thought of their members it is also noticeable the changes in the youth’s perception saying that they understand more about their religion and its importance in their daily lives.