RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS AND DIMENSIONS OF RELIGIOSITY AMONG STUDENTS OF TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS
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RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS AND DIMENSIONS OF RELIGIOSITY AMONG STUDENTS OF
TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS
ABSTRACT
This study
examined the Relationship between
Socio-Economic Status and Dimensions of Religiosity among Students of
Tertiary Institutions in Lagos State. In this study, relevant and extensive
literatures were reviewed in sub-titles. The literature surveyed and explored
the works of scholars, researchers and religionists that are in line with the
topic of this research. The descriptive research survey was adopted in this
study in order to assess the opinions of the selected respondents, with the
application of the research questionnaires which were used to collect necessary
information from the samples, and the sampling technique was applied in order
to select the appropriate samples of this study. Three hundred (300)
respondents, made up of 150 males and 150 females were selected from University
of Lagos and Lagos State University. Also, 4 null hypotheses were generated and
tested accordingly, with the application of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in
testing hypothesis one, while the independent t-test statistical tool, was used
in testing hypothesis two, three and four respectively, at the alpha level of
0.05. At the end of the data analyses, the results that were obtained, showed
that:
(1) Hypothesis one found that there is a
significant relationship between socio-economic status of students and their
commitment to religion (P < 0.05; df = 2 and 297; F-cal =; 40.10, F-tab =
3.11).
(2) Hypothesis two revealed that there is a
significant impact of religiousity on student socio-economic status (P <
0.05; df = 298; t-cal = 4.61; t-tab = 1.96).
(3) Hypothesis three indicated that there
is a significant difference between the religious commitment of students from
the high socio-economic status homes and those from the low socio-economic
status homes (P < 0.05; df = 298; t-cal = 3.64; t-tab = 1.96).
(4) Hypothesis four showed that there is no
significant gender difference in the religious commitment of students due to
socio-economic status (P > 0.05; df = 298; t-cal = 0.71; t-tab = 1.96).
(1) Based on the above findings, the
following recommendations were made: It is recommended that parents should
endeavour to bring up their children in Christian religious way, because, when
parents train their children well, they (children), would be able to imbibe the
good religious culture which their parents have bequeathed to them. This is
because, it has been found that the genesis of students’ non-religious commitment
at adolescent age, is because, parents did not teach their children the ways of
God at the early stage. So, parents should teach their children how to commit
themselves to the things of God when they are very young and they would not
depart from it even when they grow up. It is also recommended that religious
studies should be made a compulsory course in all the tertiary institutions.
Whether a student is arts inclined or science-inclined, he/she should be made
to offer religion as a compulsory course. The course should be named “religious
and moral instruction”, which should be aimed at imbibing and inculcating
religious ethos in the life of the students. If this is done, it will help in
curbing immoral and delinquent behaviours that are inherent in most of our
youths of school-ages in Nigeria. It is equally recommended that lecturers in
the institutions under review, should ensure that they exhibit characters and
moral rectitude worthy of emulation by their students on campus. This is
because teachers are surrogate parents of children, as well as great models for
students.
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Social
inequality is a fundamental characteristic of the society. Rich or poor;
advantaged or disadvantaged; privileged or underpreviledged: each contrast
speaks to differences among people that are consequential for the lives they
lead. Whether in describing patterns of inequality or examining the
consequences of inequality, the results depend upon how inequality is conceptualized
and measured. Socio-economic status is among the most prominent concepts in
inequality research. The term “socioeconomic status” refers to the relative
hierarchical placement of a unit (such as an individual, a community) along a
gradient stratified by social and economic resources (Adler, 2003).
The
sociologist, Marx Weber (1958,) conceptualized inequality along three related
tracks – class, status and party. Each was understood as a basis for power and
influence. Whereas, class focused on economic resources, and party referred to
political clout, status was understood as honour and prestige. For Weber,
status groups were hierarchically arrayed on the basis of distinctive
lifestyles, consumption patterns and modes of conduct or action.
Religion is
defined by Kenny (2004) as “belief in the existence of a supernatural ruling
power, the creator and controller of the universe, who has given to man a
spiritual nature which continues to exist after the death of the body”. On the
other hand, Arnolds and Adams (2000) have defined religion giving their
backgrounds and sources of information. These varied views on religion maintain
a Constance; that religion, is the belief in spiritual beings. The term
‘religion’, whatever its definition, refers to certain characteristic types of
data namely: beliefs, practices, feelings, moods and attitudes (Nyoyoko and
Owete, 2000).
Friedrick
(2000), defined religion as “feeling of absolute dependence, absolute as
contrasted to other relative feelings of dependence”. Religion can also be
defined as human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred,
spiritual or divine. Religion is commonly regarded as consisting of a person’s
relation to God or to gods or spirits.
In a given
society, religion as a social institution, plays a prominent role in the lives
of individuals or faithfuls. Also, in every religion, be it Christianity, Islam
or African religion, individuals are stratified into high or low socioeconomic
status. Individuals are placed according to their socioeconomic class in any
society. Religion as an integral part of the society, is always in contact with
the society, and always in contact with these socioeconomic classes (Nzeribe,
2003).
The
religious commitment of students who fall within the three socioeconomic status
of high, middle and low will be examined in this study in relation to or as an
influence on dimensions of religious commitment of students in tertiary
institutions.
1.2 Background to Study
Socioeconomic
implies at least two dimensions to inequality – social and economic. Although,
those two dimensions are understood as closely associated they nevertheless,
incorporate two different aspects of stratification. The economic dimension is
best represented by money or wealth as reflected in employment, income, home
ownership, and other financial assets such as pension plans and property
ownership. The social dimension incorporates education, occupational prestige,
authority, and community standing (Blau, 1991). The very earliest measures of
socio-economic status is relied on community reputation. A family’s social
standing as judged by others was used to differentiate between upper, middle
and lower classes. Although, the term ‘class’ was used, this was the usage that
understood classes as loose aggregates of families who shared similar social
and economic traits. However, this early measurement tradition rested mainly in
community studies. As social scientists started to focus more on entire societies,
a different measurement technique was essential (Kings, 1994).
Socio-economic
status has been shown to be significantly, consistently and universally
correlated with a variety of measures of life chances (such as occupational
attainment) and life styles (ideological learnings, and mode of memberships).
Similarly, education is an important socio-economic status (SES) measure; again
correlated with many diverse outcomes, but its precise role is often unclear -
is it the cognitive dimension, the credential or the network of contacts
dimension? (Allen, 1999).
According
Madubuike (2004), worship is probably the most basic element of religion, but
moral conduct, right belief and participation in the religious institutions are
generally also constituent elements of religions and scriptures. All religions
closely examined, reveal six main dimensions of worship namely: ritual,
ethical, doctrinal, experiential, social and mythical. These are ways of
thinking, behaving and feeling. In other words, it may be safe to say that
there is an intellectual, a moral and an experiential element in religions; or
that each religion has a creed, code of ethics and a cult.
It has been
observed that these days, religious faithfuls are divided into the three
socio-economic classes. According to him, those who belong to the high
socioeconomic class are given front seats, and in some cases, made to lead
others who do not measure up to their class. From the high socio-economic
class, pastors, deacons and deaconnesses and other church leaders emerge.
In another
study, Ajoku (2005) observed that the children of the “haves” tend not to be
religious. He was of the opinion that due to the fact that the wealthy
individuals provide their children with all it takes to be comfortable both at school
and outside of it, their children tend to dislike paying attention to religious
matters because they think that they have virtually all things going for them
and as such, they do not need to waste their time seeking help through being
religious. According to Elvis (1990), the word “religious” concerns a person,
or his behaviour. It deals with individuals obeying the rules and regulations
of a particular religion very carefully. It means an individual person
performing the stated duties (religious duties) very carefully, as a matter of
conscience.
Isichei
(2002) said that a religious man, especially a Christian, is a person who
supposed not to belong to cultism, and other occultic societies, an individual
who shuns robbery, prostitution nor takes part in any kind of vices. He or she
lives a life of non-violence, right living and attitude to life and moral
exhibition in the society. A person who recognises evil deeds and avoids them,
but cleaves to the right attitude to life and respects human dignity and
honours the spiritual dignity of his fellow man. A man or woman who observes
the tenets of his or her religious beliefs by reverencing God or whatever
he/she venerates wholeheartedly. Speaking the truth at all times and hating
evil always. These and more are the yardsticks to determine who is actually a
man of God and the one who is religious.
As Adejuwo
(2001) put it, religious commitment means being religious. It means a degree of
involvement and commitment to religious theory and practice. How then, do we
measure or identify the religious commitment of an individual? He identified
church attendance, private prayer, special beliefs, attitudes towards religion,
religious experience, professional employment, religious rituals, religious
affiliation, publication of religious articles, multi-dimensional measures, and
so on as the yardsticks for identifying who is a committed religionist. A good
index of knowing the religiosity of an individual is by identifying his/her
attitude towards religion and the church. This means the extent to which an
individual is favourable or unfavourable to the organisation or set of
practices as judged by his verbal expressions. Attitudes refer to overt
behaviour in which case, verbal measures must be validated or checked against
more direct measures since attitudes invariably are assessed by verbal methods,
and since attitudes are measured in this way often differ from actual
behaviour, it is best to treat them independently. However, a person may be
favourable to religion without either holding the belief or engaging in its
practice (Abia, 2000; Bakare, 2004; and Jatau, 2005).
Nwana (2003)
postulated that one of the veritable instruments of knowing who is committed in
one religion or the other, is the multi-dimensional approach. According to him,
this is widely accepted as an index of measuring religiosity. This is because,
being religious involves general kind of behaviour and the idea that a good
measure has gained popularity. Clock (2000) suggested the following dimensions:
ideological, ritualistic, experiential, intellectual, and consequential
dimensions. According to him, the ideological dimension covers religious
activities such as prayer and worship. The ritualistic dimension refers to
church attendance of various kind. Experiential dimension covers intense
religious experiences such as conversion, speaking in tongues or mystical
experiences. The intellectual dimension measures the knowledge of religious
dogmas and practices, while the consequential dimension, deals with the effects
of religiosity on conduct in other spheres.
In another
development, Adedoyin and Adeleke (2004) opined that church attendance is a
vital index in measuring the religiosity of an individual. They observed that
church attendance is more advantageous over church membership, in that, church
membership tells us little about how active a person is or what he/she
achieves, but frequent church attendance tells us much more about individual’s
religiosity and dimensions of religious commitment. However, there may still be
individual attenders who are not really religious. The normal way to know and
identify peoples religiosity and commitment is to ask them how often they
attend church activities and or services.
Onyewuchi
and Onyewuchi (2006) stated that churches these days are full of the
down-trodden people who are from the humble backgrounds. They opined that
individuals who are facing one problem or the other which could be mainly
financial, practically run to the churches to pray for God’s intervention in
their low income status. Anyakogu (2000) claimed that the economic hardship
that has global phenomenon has obviously caused many parents to loose their
jobs. Majority have remained unemployed for years, and this has further caused
their children who are in schools to keenly run to one denomination or the
other in order to pray for solution to their families’ problems.
On the other
hand, the children of the rich may not bother to go to church, and that
whenever they go to church, their attitude to prayers may differ from that of
the children of the poor. While the children of the poor have deeper sense of
religion and moral conscience, the children of the rich attend to religious
matters with great levity and peripheral activities. Also, Adeosun and Adeoye
(2002) collaborated by stating that students who come from the low
socio-economic backgrounds commit themselves more to the things of God, and as
such, are more religious than those from the high socio-economic backgrounds.
1.3 Theoretical Framework
(a)Marxian
Theories of Religion
Karl Marx’s
(1957) theory of religion arose from his primary concern about the problem of
alienation of man in society. His concern had a particular reference to a
capitalist society in which there were private ownership and control of the
means of production and the distribution of goods and services. It was in this
context that Marx propounded his theory of religion.
According to
him, man is alienated in four ways. One, he is alienated from the things he
himself produces by his own labour. He has no control over what he produces.
Instead of what he produces serving his own needs, what he produces enslaves
him. Two, man is alienated from other men by the competitive character of the
economic system which is based on the ownership of private property which
forces everyone to live at the expense of someone else. In particular, it
divides men into classes because of irreconcilable interests. Man’s fellow
citizens confront him as aggressors who seek to limit his capabilities instead
of helping him to improve them.
Man is
alienated from nature. Nature does not present itself to man as a field for a
creative exercise of his powers. Instead nature presents itself as a source of
difficulty and drudgery. Nature acts as a limitation to man’s creative powers.
He is alienated from society which is an expression of collective powers. As
far as political interest is possible in a capitalist society or any class of
society, politics confronts man as an external and separate interest. The state
interest is distinguished from private interests and it conflicts with private
interests. In these ways, man is an alien in his own society.
It was in
the context of man’s alienation that the German scholar, Karl Marx, saw the
role of religion. He saw that there were social inequality, enslavement,
unfairness, exploitation, oppression, alienation and suffering in a capitalist
society. The owner of the means of production and distribution of goods and
services were exploiting the workers (proletarians) and masses. Marx saw that
capitalists were using religion as an instrument for furthering and
perpetuating their exploitation of the masses (Marx, 1957).
Marx (1957)
said that religion was being used by the capitalists to curb class
consciousness, self-assertion, opposition, protest, revolt, revolution and
rebellion among the workers and the masses. This was done by ensuring that the
masses submitted themselves to religious doctrines. This was necessary because
religion legitimatized the political and economic system. Religion offered the
people a compensation for their economic deprivation in fantasies of a life
after death. In this context, the masses accepted subjection willingly. In this
way, religion served to ease the pain of the misery produced by the
exploitative conditions of capitalism. It was in this context that Marx summed
his ideas about religion in his famous statement:
“Religion is
the moan of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, the sense
of senseless conditions. It is the opium of the people” (Marx, 1957).
(b)The
Functionalist Theory of Religion
Emile
Durkheim (1952) asserted that religion has a social function in society.
Instead of being concerned about the origin and evolution of religion, Durkheim
paid attention to the contribution religion makes to the social needs of
society. He suggested that religion should be studied as a social phenomenon.
He believed in the truth of religion. He asserted that, in all societies
religion has a pervading, continuing and universal power. Thus, he concentrated
his attention on the general significance of religious beliefs and practices to
man’s social life.
Religion
contributes to the maintenance of order in society. It does this by creating
conditions for integration of individuals in the sense of personal adjustment
and social integration in terms of its ability to provide legitimation for
social arrangements. By providing a unified and unifying value system, religion
contributes to the integration of the whole society and the functioning of
other social institutions. Religion is described as the most general mechanism
of integrating meaning and motivation in action systems. As a result, it
contributes to social stability and to better adaptation of the whole social
system. Religion provides conditions for cohesion, solidarity, self-discipline,
well-being and continuity of culture and traditions. Religion restrains
deviance and promotes loyalty. It promotes confidence and conformity to the
values, norms and rules of society. Thus, Durkheim (1952) said that religion
must be in some sense true in order to have such effectiveness.
1.4 Statement of Problem
The
socio-economic status of an individual affects his or her life. In any society,
religion plays a vital role in the lives and activities of the people. People
form religious inclinations and commit themselves to religious activities in
one way or the other. Due to the global economic down-turn, many people embrace
God through socio-religious activities in order to find spiritual solutions to
their problems, which may be mostly financial.
In many
tertiary institutions today, there seems to exist the problem of lack of religious
commitment among students from different socio-economic backgrounds. Several
faithful of various religious sects, claim to be religious, but how many of
them are committed to the core tenets or principles upheld by their religions?
According to
Amaonye (2002), majority of students in Nigerian tertiary institutions, who
come from low socio-economic backgrounds, tend to be more committed to
religious activities than their counterparts who come from the high
socio-economic status families. As he put it, due to the dwindled economic
conditions of parents, their children in tertiary institutions, tend to embrace
religion as the last resort in order to seek solution to their low financial
problem; while the children of the rich tend not to care about religious
activities or commitment due to their beliefs and trust in their parents’
wealth.
To the
children of the wealthy, there seems to be no problem money cannot solve. With
this perceived negative attitude, students from the high socio-economic
backgrounds, tend to spend much of their time in having fun, such as going to
parties; getting involved in negative peer grouping and becoming delinquents in
the society and so on, rather than committing themselves to religion and its
activities. For this reason, they tend to be more of nominal christians than
their counterparts from the low socio-economic status homes.
The above
scenario gave rise to the examination of the relationship between
socio-economic status and dimensions of religious commitment among students in
tertiary institutions in Lagos State.
1.5 Purpose of Study
The aims and
objectives of embarking on this study include:
(1) to find out whether
socio-economic status of students affects their commitment to religion.
(2) to compare students’ religiosity
with their socio-economic backgrounds.
(3) to examine whether the religious
commitment of students from the high socio-economic homes differ from those in
the low socio-economic ones.
(4) to compare whether there is
gender difference in the religious commitment of students due to socio-economic
status.
(5) to find out the dimensions of
students’ commitment to religion.
1.6 Research Questions
The under
mentioned questions were raised to guide this study:
(1) Does the socio-economic status of
students affect their commitment to religion activities?
(2) How can we compare students’
religiosity with their socio-economic backgrounds?
(3) To what extent will the religious
commitment of students from the high socio-economic homes differ from those in
the low socio-economic ones?
(4) Is there gender difference in the
religious commitment of students due to socio-economic status?
(5) What are the dimensions of
students’ commitment to religion?
1.7 Hypotheses
The
underlisted hypotheses were formulated and tested in this study:
(1) There will be no significant
relationship between socio-economic status of students and their commitment to
religion.
(2) There will be no significant impact
of students’ religiosity on their socio-economic backgrounds.
(3) There will be no significant
difference between the religious commitment of students from the high
socio-economic homes and those from the low socio-economic homes.
(4) There will be no significant gender
difference in the religious commitment of students due to socio-economic
status.
1.8 Significance of Study
This
research work will assist in different dimensions to the issue of
socio-economic status and students’ commitment to religion in tertiary
institutions in Lagos State.
This study
will create additional knowledge to teachers in tertiary institutions,
especially at the University of Lagos, Akoka, and the Lagos State University
(LASU), Ojo. This is because, the recommendations and findings of this study
will help them to identify students’ socio-economic status, and also, their
dimensions of religious commitment. With this study, teachers (lecturers),
especially those in religious studies would be able to know why some students
do commit themselves to the things of religion while others do not. Lecturers
in religious studies would be able to determine other factors that militate
against students’ commitment to religiosity apart from socio-economic factors
as a major variable in this study.
Also, the
recommendations provided in this study will go a long way in assisting parents
to know more about their children/wards’ level of commitment to religion.
Parents, obviously, do not stay in the school with their children/wards, but
the findings/recomendations provided in this study would enable them to have
more information concerning the attitudes of their children/wards to religion
at school.
The society
is not left out in this regard, the society will definitely benefit from this
study because its findings and recommendations will be insightful to the
general members of the public. This is because the members of the public would
be well informed concerning the impact of socio-economic variable on the dimensions
of religious commitment among tertiary students.
This study
will equally be a reference point for all and sundry in the school, the family
and the community because it exrayed the level of commitment towards religion
by students who have either rich or poor backgrounds. Also, researchers and
scholars would find this study very crucial and quite revealing as it will help
them to carry out their own works in related studies. The expository nature of
this study will assist church leaders, especially, the clergy and parishioners,
who would be in the vantage positions to know vividly, the extent of the belief
system and commitments of members of their churches.
Also,
researchers, educationists, religious experts and curriculum formulators in
religion would find this study a reference material.
1.9 Scope of Study
The study
covered the relationship between socio-economic status and dimensions of
religious commitment of students towards religion. The study will be limited to
the Mainland Local Government Development Area and Ojo Local Government
Development Area in Lagos State. Out of 57 (fifty-seven) Local Development
Areas in the State, only Mainland and Ojo were chosen, and out of many tertiary
institutions in the State, two (2) tertiary institutions: the University of
Lagos, Akoka and Lagos State University, Ojo were selected and examined. The
reason for the selection of two Local Government Development Areas and two
tertiary institutions is due to the financial and time constraints which may
hinder an investigation of a larger scope of this study.
1.10 Operational Definition of Terms
The
following terms were operationally defined.
Dimensions:
This refers to a number indicating the fewest coordinates necessary to identify
a point or geometric space. It is a number indicating a measurement of length,
area and volume of something. In this study, dimension is used to measure the
extent or level students believe and involved in religious activities at the
tertiary institutions (Adams, 1994).
Dwindle:
This means to become gradually less or smaller until almost nothing.
Religion:
Religion is defined as “belief in the existence of a supernatural ruling power,
the Creator and Controller of the universe, who has given man a spiritual
nature which continues to exist after the death of the body”. The term
“religion”, whatever its definition, refers to certain characteristic types of
data namely; beliefs, practices, feelings, moods and attitudes. Religion is a
feeling of absolute dependence, absolute as contrasted to the other relative
feelings of dependence. It is human beings relation to that which they regard
as holy, sacred, spiritual or divine (Adedoyin, 2004).
Religious
Commitment: This is the term used to describe the commitment and involvement of
students towards religion and activities that involve religion. It is the rate
at which individuals are committed to things or activities that concern
religion or church activities (Bryan, 1990).
Socio-Economic
Status: In describing patterns of inequality or examining the consequences of
inequality, the results depend upon how inequality is conceptualized and
measured. Therefore, socio-economic status is among the most prominent concepts
in inequality research. The term “socio-economic status”, refers to the
relative hierarchical placement of a unit such as an individual, a community,
along a gradient stratified by social and economic resources (Adler, 2003).
Tertiary
Institutions: This refers to the third level of institutions of learning after
the primary and secondary schools or institutions. Tertiary institution is
regarded as the third in order, rank, importance etc. Tertiary education or institution
refers to education or learning at the university, college of education or
polytechnic levels (Friedrick, 2000).
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