Reception of Religious Symbols in Youth

Preface

The presented monograph discussed the topic of psychological development of religiosity in youth in terms of the reception of religious symbols. The theory of religiosity development proposed by Walesa provided context for the conducted analyses.

Reception of religious symbols in different developmental periods has a specific and unique character. It is multifaceted and can be defined by eight parameters of religiosity: religious awareness, feelings, decisions, bond with the community of believers, religious practices, morality, experience and mystery (in terms of forms of profession of faith). The nature of this reception is captured by a succession of changes directed toward a higher quality of religious life. Then, religious symbols become a significant aspect of one’s life, a sacred space which saves the essence of humanity in the process of forming a relationship with the world, oneself and God.

In an attempt to take a closer look at the reception of religious symbols a study was conducted analyzing respondents at the age range of 12 to 24. In the life of a young person this period is the time of assimilation of symbolic meaning through maturation of mental structures combined with an introduction to principles of religious life by parents and teachers. The presented research involved youth not only as the process of transition from childhood to adulthood takes place then; young people celebrate events (even everyday ones) with particular intensity, and those events are often affirmed and reinforced by religious symbols. The religious life of a young person, along with manifestations of emerging self-activity that enriches this period with its expressiveness, amazed and attracted the attention of the author.

The formation and development of processes related to the reception of religious symbols often begins with small, inconspicuous gestures, expressed in attentive behavior exercised while participating in the life of a community of believers. Religious activity leads to the formation of developmental potential, the basis of which is real, not declared, religiosity or wishful thinking.

The research field examined in this work is very broad, so it seems appropriate to operate with shortcuts as dictated by scientific methodology. For example, out of the two basic variables – age and gender – only the former was fully considered, while appreciating that the study of differences between females and males should be made the subject of further consideration. The meaning of religious symbols helping with ordering of many aspects of human life has not been addressed in this monograph either. However, while interpreting the results of the study, this aspect, at least partially, exists. A young person may sometimes ask: “What should I do with all that the religious symbol of the cross and the Bible tells me about?”; “How should I invest it in myself?”. The present work does not answer these and similar questions, although at times it leans in a direction of result application and points to moments of the greatest religious maturity of youth.

Although the scope of this work hardly follows the scientific approach, one would expect it to be (1) communicative; (2) logically organized; (3) clear and clearly differentiating; (4) operating with exemplification and (5) presenting theoretical explanations of the detected psychological mechanisms.

Religious symbol refers to the very essence of human life, includes subjects of the ultimate nature, opens a person to the transcendence. Manifestations and degree of this input are different. Parameters of religiosity mentioned earlier come to the rescue here. As reception of religious symbols becomes more advanced, permeating and encompassing various areas of human reality, it gives rise to inner development, causing a transformation in consciousness, and consequently making existence more meaningful and valuable. This raises a question: what causes a thing, a phenomenon or an event to acquire the character of a religious symbol? The question formulated in such a way introduces a reality that transcends the psychological realm. A young person focused on their development, and at the same time sensitive to issues related to the infinite, questioning and searching for the meaning of life, is oriented towards transcendence. Aspirations to make sense of one’s life also promote sensitivity to reception of religious symbols. This is in line with the young person’s open outlook on reality and approach to tackling problems. Search for the infinite and transcendence rooted in religious experience is sometimes reflected in small gestures of everyday life, such as a conscious bow before the cross or reaching for the Bible, even without opening it (Tatala & Walesa, 2021).

The purpose of this study was to analyze the process of reception of religious symbols in young people. The work presented here is intended to serve the broader community to join in such an important quest. Its discovery is carried out through the collection of relevant data from the psychological literature and through empirical research. At this point it would be appropriate to ask another question: what is really evolving in the reception of religious symbols? First and foremost is the idea of personal relationship with God, therefore religious individuals who should be sensitive to religious symbols in their authentic religious experience were selected to participate in the study.

Interpretation of the research outcomes may trigger critical voices, since revealing scientific truth, both in the phase of its inquiry and presentation, does not always boil down to unambiguous results. The risk of erroneous statements can deter from formulating any scientific conclusions. Hence in some studies, analysis of the obtained results is restrained and sort of suspended. The matter of the reception of religious symbols is very delicate and subtle, which is why interpretation of the results must follow the rules of methodology which is vigilant, refined, comprehensively legitimized, and clear.

It is also important that methods of research on the reception of religious symbols in young people are met with acceptance and approval of participants, attract their attention and encourage a deeper analysis, to return to them in their thoughts. The described research path is one of the ways to grasp the truth. If in the life of a young person a religious symbol is reflected in sensitivity in the perception of reality, it can be expected that it will be revealed by the methods used in this work.

Also of interest is the relationship between a religious symbol and religious reality. Some symbols, such as the vastness of the desert, the depths of night or the explosion of light, evoke associations of religious nature naturally. In turn, properly depicted religious reality constitutes a certain quality that becomes possible to both “see” and “touch” by means of adequate symbols. Thanks to them, it is possible to grasp and show what is indefinable, unlimited and inexpressible in religious life and other areas of human existence. At the same time, adequate use of symbols and understanding of their deeper meaning is made possible by increasing religious competence, including religious sensitivity. All this is done within a specific culture, in which a religious symbol is encompassed a cultural linguistics, as if it were its garment or material shell.

The believer appears as homo symbolicus, and at the same time as homo religiosus, or even homo paschalis, if one attempts to go into further detail. Thus, by means of the symbolic system, young people reach the transcendent and the immanent world by surpassing sensory-natural limitations. And when this peculiarly human ability is achieved, the person may grasp even a complex symbolic reality such as one indicated by John Paul II: “The youth who guard the Easter morning.”

It should be emphasized that the symbolic function to some extent overlaps the culture-creating function, including self-expression, through symbolic creations which convey meaning and significance, often mysterious. Hence, it would be fair to say that the most carrying symbol can only be a religious symbol, as it represents secular and religious, every day and eschatological meanings.

At this point, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who contributed to the work on the presented monograph.

I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their positive evaluation of the research project “Development of religious symbol in youth” (ref no.: 1 H01F 065 28 Ministry of Science and Information Technology in Poland, Department of Scientific Research). The received feedback strengthened my confidence on having taken the right research direction.

In addition, I am grateful to and would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their positive evaluation of the project: “Translation into English and publication of the book: ‘Reception of religious symbols in youth: developmental research of people aged 12 to 24’”. The project was financed from state budget funds granted by the Minister of Education and Science in Poland within the framework of the Program “Excellent Science II - Support for scientific monographs”, reg.no.: MONOG/SN/0111/2023/01.

I would like to thank Professor Maria Czerwińska-Jasiewicz of University of Warsaw and Professor Janusz Trempala of Kazimierz Wielki University for their insightful and valuable comments, which have influenced the shape of the presented monograph. In addition, I would like to sincerely thank Professor Czesław Walesa, Dr. Maria Mańkowska, Father Professor Janusz Stępniak, my Mother and Daughter for their invaluable help, giving courage and keeping hope alive.