Title:
Expressions of faith: exploring adolescent religious and spiritual identity in social media
Author:
Erin J. Richardson
Thesis Advisor:
Joseph Stewart-Sicking
Committee Member:
Kari A. O'Grady
Committee Member:
Sharon F. Cheston
Committee Member:
Adanna J. Johnson-Evans
Committee Member:
L. Mickey Fenzel
Committee Member:
James J. Miracky
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2014
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
The focus of this qualitative research was the phenomenological experience of faith expression through the social networking site, Facebook, for 12 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18. Seven themes of Accountability, Acceptance from Others, Personal Meaning of Faith, Faith Conviction, Facebook Faith, God's Role in Personal Religion and Spirituality, and Religious and Spiritual Identity were identified and evaluated for converging subthemes and implications for pastoral counseling. A brief overview of research concerning adolescents' use of social media and religion and spirituality resulted in the discovery that expression of religious and spiritual identity through Facebook had yet to be explored. Overall, the participants in this study perceived Facebook as a community of faith that provided users the opportunity to express their beliefs about God and their opinions of religion and spirituality. The freedom of expression offered by Facebook was indicated as a significant benefit of using the social networking site to develop and explore religious and spiritual identity. Positive implications included the potential use of social media by pastoral counselors for the purposes of assisting clients with self-acceptance and religious and spiritual identity development, exploring adolescents' desire for social relationships, identifying the significance of encouragement, and receiving support from others.
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Pastoral Counseling
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online to Loyola Notre Dame Library basic constituency.
Use and Reproduction:
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Identifier:
RichardsonEJ-14
