The social context of religious orientation : a study of form five students in thirteen Melbourne schools

Abstract

This study endeavours to explain differences in the religious orientation of Form Five students in terms of differences in their social contexts. In complex societies, with religious pluralism, individuals are exposed to different definitions of reality according to their membership of subgroups. Their orientation may be influenced not only by their membership of subgroups but also the value they place on being approved by these groups : the extent to which the groups are "reference groups"· Religious orientation is not considered as a unidimensional concept; but various aspects of religious orientation are considered separately throughout the study. The importance of membership of two social categories for religious orientation is considered. There are consistent differences in religious orientation between boys and girls and some evidence that the students, particularly boys conform to the perceived orientation of the majority of their age-category. Responses to questions about the relative importance of approval of peers and adults and the strength of popular theme involvement permit further specification of the associations. Some students perceive themselves to hold a minority religious position, deny religious legitimacy to those who hold other positions and consider the differences to be serious ones. These students tend to have similar characteristics such as denomination and parental religious background, but there is little evidence that they form social ghettos. Those who deny legitimacy to the religious views of others tend to show stronger religious involvement than others who attend church with the same frequency. There are important differences between schools which may arise either from background factors, the formal religious education given at the school or the social relations in the secondary school. The various explanations are explored briefly. Friendship patterns and the religious orientation of the students are related to each other in most schools. This result is confirmed by a number of procedures. The local church is important in providing social support for the religious commitment of a few students but does not appear as crucial for most. Churchgoing itself requires the social support of friends or parents, even for students whose personal religious commitment appears strong. The religious patterns in subgroups show neither complete uniformity nor random variation. The social mechanisms which permit some diversity of religious orientation in student subgroups are examined. There is little evidence of drift from religion in mid-adolescence. "Privatism" limits the impact of social pressures to conformity and a few significant others often provide sufficient social support to maintain a religious position. The reasons for the limited effectiveness of social influence questions are discussed and suggestions made for future research.