The Impact of Religious Activities

Chapter 1

PROBLEM AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Religion is one of the major contemporary issues that people often encountered from then until now. We
have different religions and beliefs. However, we must accept and respect each other. Otherwise, it will lead to
discrimination or negative and unfair treatment of people due to their differences of religions occurs almost
every day. Religion renders socially fragrant and create insights into human fellowship. But the formalization of
religious groups many times destroys the very values of the organized group.

According to Fagan, 2006 religious practice seems to play a central role in shaping human experiences
and how individuals act, react and interact with one another in various aspects of the environment in which they
live. This has resulted in the scientific study and exploration of the impact of religion and spirituality in the lives
of people in various social contexts.

There are many religions in the world such as Born Again Christian, Roman Catholic and Islam. Born
again Christian’s beliefs are based on accepting Jesus Christ in or life as savior. This is often called gospel. It is
the basic understanding of God’s gift of salvation. The history of Christianity unfolds organically through time.
It is commonly understood to begin with Jesus, who was born two thousand years ago. Born Again Christians
also believe in the Gospel, the Resurrection Power of God. Born Again Christians they worship God informal or
formal services as long as they give praise and thank God and they believe in a personal God who listens to
individuals, and because Jesus instructs his followers to pray in the Christian Scriptures, Christians pray to
sustain their relationship with God.

Roman Catholic is first and foremost Christian who believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
Catholicism shares some beliefs with other Christian practices. However God has also revealed Himself to be a
Trinity of Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Mass is a liturgical celebration that
includes songs of praise, formal prayers, readings from the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, a talk by the priest
interpreting the scriptures called the “sermon” or “homily,” the recitation of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan
Creed, and the sacrament of Eucharist. The Mass is often described as “high church” because of the strict
organization of the liturgy, the formal prayers, and the ceremonial robes worn by the priest.

Islam is the religion of Muslims. Muslim have a simple set of rules to follow like the Ten
Commandments. Local, regional, caste and community-driven practices influence the interpretation and practice
of beliefs throughout the Islam world. Muslims engage in a variety of devotional practices to increase their God-
consciousness and to discipline their attitudes toward others. Sunni Muslims have identified what they call the
“five pillars of Islam” as a focus for their ritual practices, with some variation in how they are prescribed across
Islamic legal schools. They are based on the Quran and Sunnah and were given their defining interpretations by
the úlama’ in the first three centuries of Islam. The five pillars are: the shahada the testimony of the unity of
God and the prophethood of Muhammad); ṣalāt (canonical prayer); zakāt(alms)

In the Philippines, they also have Born Again Christian. Every Sunday they go to church and worship God.
Similarly, Catholic also go to church and doing their mass. In Muslim, they observed Ramadan fasting, prayer,
The Impact of Religious Activities
reflection and community. A commemoration of Muhammad's first revelation, the annual observance of
Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam and lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one sighting
of the crescent moon to the next.

In Tanauan City Integrated High School comprised with mostly students and Faculty members. Most
ofthe students in Tanauan City Integrated mostly affliated with Born Again Christian, Roman Catholic, Muslim
Religion. In which they conduct different activities to develop their personal connection with their God. Born
Again Christians conducts worship service. The purpose of conducting worship service is to encourage the
students to give glory and worship God. Tanauan City Integrated High School also have Catholic. Catholic
conducts mass, recollection and kumpisal organized by Mr. Ismael Casquejo.

Statement of the Problem

A statement of the problem is the description of an issue currently existing which needs to be addressed.
It provides the context for the research study and generates the questions which the research aims to answer.

In our research ,our statement of problems are:

1. What are the religious activities that the respondents are attending?
2. What makes the students join those activities?
2.1 What influences the students to attend the religious activities?
3. What are the manifestation/sign that the students enjoy the given activities?
4. How do religious activities affect the students life in terms of:
4.1 Physical Life
4.2 Emotional Life
4.3 Social Life
4.4 Spiritual Life
5. Based on the findings of the study, what program can be proposed to enhance their program?

Scope and Limitation

This study will investigate the impact of religious activities to the students to the emotional, physical,
social, and the spiritual aspects of the Junior and Senior High School students in Tanauan City Integrated High
School.
The Impact of Religious Activities

Conceptual Framework

The Impact of Religious The researchers

Activities to Junior and will provide survey
Senior High School students questionnaires.
as perceived by:
The respondents
Students will answer the survey The researchers
questionnaires given by will cooperate to the
the researchers. organizers of religious
Impact of Religious activities in Tanauan
The survey
Activities in terms of: City Integrated High
questionnaires consist of
questions that is related to School.
Physical
religious activities that the
Emotional religious activities that the
respondents are attending.
Social

Spiritual
The Impact of Religious Activities

Significance of the Study

This study will provide insights and information to the Tanauan City Integrated High School, to the
Teachers, to the Parents, to the Students, and to the Future Researchers.

To the Tanauan City Integrated High School, through this study the Tanauan City Integrated High
School will gain information about the effect of the religious activities in the life of the students. This can be
good basis for the extension services that the Tanauan City Integrated High School may conduct.

To the Teachers, this study will be helpful for them to know the effect of religious activities in the life of
the students. This will give information that will help them to conduct more religious activities for the students
to enhance their faith.

To the Parents, this study will give peace in their hearts if they know that their son/daughter attend
religious activities in their school.

To the Students, this study will help to know what is the effect of religious activities in their lives as
individual.

To the Future Researchers, this will serve as basis for their future investigation. This will provide them
valuable information that they can use when they conduct a study of similar nature.
The Impact of Religious Activities

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The researchers have gathered literatures and articles about the impact of religious activities in the life of
the students. This chapter will discuss the development of a high school student. Moreover, this chapter serves
as a reference for the research study about the practices and studies that will enhance or help high school
students.

Benefits of Religious Practice

Based on Fagan, 2006 King, 2003, Seul,1999, Ysseldyk et al., 2010, a considerable amount of research
has emerged over the years which demonstrates the benefits of religious practice within society. Religious
practice seems to play a central role in shaping human experiences and how individual act, react and interact
with one another in various aspects of the environment in which they live. This has resulted in the scientific
study and exploration on the impact of religion and spirituality in the lives of people in various social contexts.
Religious practice reduces the risk of suicide, reduces risk of depression, can heal a patient using prayer.

According to Akinfenwa 2014, for instance assert that sociologists have studied and continue to study
religion as both a belief system and as a social institution. As a belief system, sociologist regard religion as a
phenomenon that shapes what people think and how they see the world ; and as a social institution, religion is
seen as a pattern of social action organized around the beliefs and practices that people develop to answer
questions about the meaning of existence.

Spirituality's Positive Influence on Health

While specific spiritual views are a matter of faith, research has examined whether the benefits of
spirituality and spiritual activity are provable facts. The results may surprise no one who has found comfort in
their religious or spiritual views, but they are definitely noteworthy in that they demonstrate in a scientific way
that these activities do work for many people.

Effects of Religious Activities in Physical Health

According to Stephen Pappas (2012) , there are some effects of religious activities or religion in physical
health.Many people adhere to religion for the sake of their souls, but it turns out that regular participation in
faith-based activities is good for the body and mind, too.Here are some of the ways that religion can make
people happier and healthier.

Helps you resist junk food

Based on Stephen (2012), giving people religious reminders makes them feel like they have less control
over their lives — but it also gives them extra abilities to resist the temptation of junk food. In a study published
in January 2012 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, researchers exposed students to references
of God in tests and games. Compared with students who saw references of pleasant but non-religious objects,
the religiously cued participants felt they had less control of their future careers, but were also better prepared to
The Impact of Religious Activities
resist the temptation of unhealthy treats. In other words, the researchers wrote, thinking of God could be either a
burden or boon for self-control, depending on what part of your life you're trying to master.

Puts a smile on your face

According to Stephen (2012), religious people tend to be happier than non-believers. According to
research published in December 2010 in the journal American Sociological Review, this happiness boost comes
not from any particular denomination or belief, but from the social joys of being part of regular services. Getting
together with others at a church, temple or synagogue allows people to build social networks, closer ties and,
ultimately, more life satisfaction.

Raises self-esteem

Based on Pappas (2012), depending on where you live, religion may also make you feel better about
yourself by making you feel part of your larger culture. People who are religious have higher self-esteem and
better psychological adjustment than people who aren't, according to a January 2012 study. But this religion
benefit only holds for people living in countries where religion is widespread and important. The findings,
reported in the journal Psychological Science, suggest that a religious person would get a happiness boost in
devout Turkey, but see no benefits in secular Sweden.

Soothes anxiety

According to Pappas (2012), if you're religious, thinking about God can help soothe the anxiety
associated with making mistakes. In other words, believers can fall back on their faith to deal with setbacks
gracefully, according to a 2010 study. This trick doesn't work for atheists, though: The study also found that
nonbelievers were more stressed out when they thought of God and made mistakes.

Protects against depressive symptoms

Depression recovery proceeds better against a backdrop of religion. According to one 1998 study
published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, older patients who were hospitalized for physical problems but
also suffered from depression recovered better from their mental struggles if religion was an intrinsic part of
their lives. More recently, scientists reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2010 that belief in a caring
God improves response to psychiatric treatment in depressed patients. Interestingly, this increased response
wasn't tied to a patient's sense of hope or any other factor that might be bestowed by religion, according to study
researcher Patricia Murphy of Rush University.

"It was tied specifically to the belief that a supreme being cared," Murphy said.

Lowers your blood pressure

People who attend church often have lower blood pressure than those who don't go at all, according to a
2011 study out of Norway. Those results are particularly impressive given that church-going is relatively rare in
Norway, and researchers thought that cultural differences might prevent religious Norwegians from getting the
kind of blood pressure benefits often seen in American churchgoers. In fact, participants who went to church at
least three times a month had blood pressures one to two points lower than non-attendees, results similar to
those seen in the United States.
The Impact of Religious Activities
The benefits seem pegged to how faithful believers are in their church routines. People who went once a
month or less had a half-point blood pressure benefit over non-attendees, and people who went between one and
three times a month had a one-point reduction in blood pressure. The faithful may get lessons in coping with
stress and anxiety from the pulpit, according to the researchers, or they might get a relaxation boost by singing,
praying and performing rituals with others.

Mass

According to Robert Green, the mass consists of two principal rites: the liturgy of the Word and
the liturgy of the Eucharist. The first includes readings from Scripture, the homily (sermon), and intercessory
prayer. The second includes the offering and the presentation of bread and wine at the altar,

their consecration by the priest during the eucharistic prayer (or canon of the mass), and the reception of
the consecrated elements in Holy Communion. The mass is at once a memorial and a sacrifice. In the eucharistic
prayer, the church commemorates Jesus Christ and his redeeming work, especially his sacrifice for the sake of
all human kind through his crucifixion.

Peoples Influence

Based on the study of Vid C. Dollahite and Loren D. Marks , evidence suggests that religion can both
help and harm families. We posit that a central reason for these divergent outcomes is a system of dualities at
the nexus of religion and family. We propose a conceptual framework of a dynamic system of religious and
relational dualities. Influence is a form of leadership according to Zondervan in which you can become a
channel. God uses to help bring powerful and lasting change for the better to people who need it.

Exuberance of God