HomePsychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journalvol. 5 no. 12 (2022)

Light and Darkness: A Phenomenological Inquiry on Adult Filipino Atheist in a Religious Household

Mark Lester C. Cuayzon

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to examine and understand the perspectives of self-identified atheists and non-religious individuals living in religious families. The focus of this study is to learn more about the living experience of adults who do not have religious or spiritual beliefs, but who live with or are supported by a family with sacred religious beliefs. Thus, the researcher delved into the historical background of phenomenology to determine and understand the process of phenomenology. The study revealed the following structural themes: rejecting the infallibility of deities and religion, atheism leads to knowledge, life away from despair and liberation from chains, captive by misconception, the toxicity of generational and cultural stigmatization, in the process of being an atheist, and the downside of being an atheist.



References:

  1. Anderson, R. Lanier. “Friedrich Nietzsche.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2022, plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/#PrimLiteWorkNiet. Accessed 26 May 2022.
  2. Bowman, Nicholas A., and Jenny L. Small. “Do College Students Who Identify with a Privileged Religion Experience Greater Spiritual Development? Exploring Individual and Institutional Dynamics.” Research in Higher Education, vol. 51, no. 7, 21 Apr. 2010, pp. 595–614, 10.1007/s11162-010-9175-2. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021.
  3. Campbell, Robert. YEARS under the EDITORSHIP of PERE LOUIS CHEIKHO, S.J. 1972.
  4. Creswell, J.W. Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing among the Five Approaches. 2012.
  5. Draper, Paul. “Atheism and Agnosticism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2017, plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism/#DefiAthe.
  6. Edgell, Penny, et al. “Atheists as “Other”: Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society.” American Sociological Review, vol. 71, no. 2, Apr. 2006, pp. 211–234, 1 0.1 177 /000 3122 4060 7100 203 .
  7. Fitzgerald, P., & Barry, C. (n.d.). Religion and Ethical Decision Making. Santa Clara University. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://www.scu.edu/mcae/publications/iie/v9n1/horizon.html
  8. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, and Adrian Del Caro. Beyond Good and Evil ; on the Genealogy of Morality. Stanford, California, Stanford University Press, 2014
  9. Goldstein, R. (2010). 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction. Pantheon Books
  10. Harappa. “Herbert Simon’s Decision-Making Theory.” Harappa, 21 June 2021, harappa.education/harappa-diaries/herbert-simonsdecision-making-theory/.
  11. Harper, Marcel. “The Stereotyping of Nonreligious People by Religious Students: Contents and Subtypes.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, vol. 46, no. 4, 7 Dec. 2007, pp. 539–552, 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2007.00376.x. Accessed 10 Nov. 2019. Hwang, Karen, et al. “Extending
  12. Religion-Health Research to Secular Minorities: Issues and Concerns.” Journal of Religion and Health, vol. 50, no. 3, 1 Sept. 2009, pp. 608–622, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19862619/, 10.1007/s10943-009-9296-0. Accessed 16 Mar. 2022
  13. Kaufmann, Walter. Religion from Tolstoy to Camus. Routledge, 2017.
  14. Maddux, William W., et al. “The Shortest Path to Oneself Leads around the World: Living Abroad Increases Self-Concept Clarity.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, vol. 145, Mar. 2018, pp. 16–29, 10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.01.002.
  15. McAdams, Dan P., and Michelle Albaugh. “What If There Were No God? Politically Conservative and Liberal Christians Imagine Their Lives without Faith.” Journal of Research in Personality, vol. 42, no. 6, Dec. 2008, pp. 1668–1672, 10.1016/j.jrp.2008.07.013. Accessed 11 Oct. 2020.
  16. Mitchell, T. (2017, May 10). Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe. Pew Research Center. R e t r i e v e d A p r i l 1 0 , 2 0 2 2 , f r o m https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/05/10/religious-belief-and-national-belonging-in-central-and-eastern-europe/
  17. Smith, J. (1979.). Comment: Conceptualizing atheist identity: Expanding questions, constructing models, and moving forward. . Sociology of Religion, 74(4), 454-463. doi:10.1093/socrel/srt052
  18. Smith, Jesse M. “Becoming an Atheist in America: Constructing Identity and Meaning from the Rejection of Theism.” Sociology of R e l i g i o n , v o l. 72, no. 2, 2 0 1 1 , pp. 215 – 237, www.jstor.org/stable/41288569. Accessed 26 May 2022.
  19. Turner, Jeff. Atheistic Theist : Why There Is No God and You Should Follow Him. Charleston, South Carolina, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.
  20. Vargas, Edwin. The New Atheism: Old Militant Scientism with a New Name. Academia, 10 Apr. 2016, p. 8.
  21. Woodruff, 2018. (2018). Phenomenological research methods for counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2(67), 52. 1728-4457.2003.00255.
  22. Zuckerman, Phil. “Atheism, Secularity, and Well-Being: How the Findings of Social Science Counter Negative Stereotypes and Assumptions.” Sociology Compass, vol. 3, no. 6, Dec. 2007, pp. 949–971, 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2009.00247.x. Accessed 9 Apr. 2020.