QUEST RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES AMONGST STUDENTS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Religiosity is important in students’ lives. It improves adolescents’ mental and physical health (Regnerus, 2003) and increases perceived importance and competence from eighteen years old to one’s mid-twenties (Barry & Nelson, 2008). In Singapore, 1 in 3 undergraduates use religiosity to cope in school (Ko, Kua, & Fones, 1999). However, whether one’s wellbeing is improved also depends on one’s religious motivations, or religious orientation. Quest religiosity is one type of religious orientation, and comprises of the willingness to face difficult existential questions, a positive perception of religious doubts and self-criticism, and an openness to change (Batson & Ventis, 1982). Previous findings have shown that quest religiosity is associated with both positive and negative outcomes such as a higher tolerance for dissimilar individuals (Batson & Raynor-Prince, 1983), and personal distress (Genia, 1996) respectively. Despite existing literature on the negative outcomes associated with quest religiosity, studies on how people manage issues related to quest religiosity are uncommon. Qualitative studies on quest religiosity have also not been conducted in an Asian context. Therefore, this study aims to answer the research questions: 1. What is it like for students to experience quest religiosity? 2. How do students manage issues related to quest religiosity? These questions were addressed through data collected from semi-structured interviews with 6 Christian students from universities in Singapore, and analysed using thematic analysis. This research is also important for social work practice and other helping professionals who work with students and young adults. As the social work profession requires increased religious literacy (Horwarth & Lee, 2010) (cited in Crisp, 2015), and perceives religiosity as a private topic that is not discussed unless absolutely necessary (Crisp, 2011) (cited in Crisp, 2015), this research hopes to both build onto the religious literacy of the profession by providing insight into students’ quest religious experiences, and in doing so, encourage social workers and other helping professionals to be comfortable with providing support and discussing issues related to religiosity more often.