Religious Identity Construction of Filipino Catholic Adolescents: A Narrative Identity Approach

Abstract

The study explored the religious identity of Filipino Catholic adolescents to elucidate the developmental and sociocultural processes involved in identity construction within highly religious contexts. Ten Filipino Catholic adolescents who served as student leaders within religious organizations in their colleges took part in semi-structured in-depth interviews, and the findings were examined through the narrative identity approach. The results revealed that the construction of their identity was first inherited (pinamana) through socialization practices with families, peers, schools, and communities, which gained personal relevance to them after encountering God at pivotal moments. They continued to experience religion (pinagdaanan) in depth through traditional and relational practices within their faith in traditional and relational ways, and ultimately chose (pinili) to affirm their faith by applying it to various areas in their lives in a flexible manner. The study explores how identity is constructed through meaningful interactions within socialized contexts that may differ from other generations and cultures. The findings offer insight into the process of religious identity construction of Filipino youth to guide interventions toward robust identity development.

Keywords

religious identity narrative identity adolescence identity construction

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