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The meaning of adolescent membership behavior: A qualitative approach to action research in a religious organization
Abstract
A function of organized religion thought crucial to the maintenance of society is the passing of societal values to the young. Yet membership and participation in mainline religious organizations has been in decline since the 1960's, a fact attributed to teenage youth rejecting the institutional expression of religion. The assumption that religious dropout behavior is a normal process of adolescent development has limited the focus of social science research. Missing in this account is the actor's subjective perspective. What is needed in order to understand the forces that govern membership behavior is an exploration of the concept structure that constitutes the psychological life space of the adolescent participant. The purpose of this study was to examine the subjective meaning of church membership from the viewpoint of eight religiously active adolescents. As the first step in an action research process in organizational development, the study utilized the long ethnographic interview as a qualitative approach to problem solving by focusing on the organizational actor's inside perspective as the primary source of data. The interpretation of this data then served as the diagnostic stage of action research laying the ground work for future participatory planned change. The data in this study supported survey research that showed religious interest is strong among adolescents. The findings suggest that among church youth, both a high level of religious belief and a high level of social relationship serve as positive reinforcers in maintaining church involvement. Parents modeling religious behavior who set their children on a religious path, yet allow them to choose their own level of religious involvement in adolescence, seem to promote a process of values clarification among church youth that results in a positive religious attitude and active participation. Moreover, church youth who see a lack of tangible results in religious behavior, feel invulnerable, or have little familial support in the face of socio-economic demands for their time, are more likely to be persuaded by peer pressure than familial influence, and are more likely to disengage from religious practice.
Subject Area
Cultural anthropology|Religion|Social research
Recommended Citation
Matusiewicz, Raymond Leonard, "The meaning of adolescent membership behavior: A qualitative approach to action research in a religious organization" (1993). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9408309.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9408309