Religiosidade e valores em adolescentes de uma cidade do Triângulo Mineiro - Brasil

Abstract

In contemporary studies it is considered rare to find research on religiousity in adolescents. However, the pioneering studies in Psychology of Adolescence prioritized this issue. Stanley Hall, for example, had emphasized the religious conversion experience as normative in adolescence. In Minas Gerais State, the urban religiosity, in recent years, has redefined according to new contours, the teen is face a religious context also permeated by different faiths and religious choices. This interdisciplinary study aimed at investigating religiosity and values in adolescents in Minas Gerais State. It was marked on theoretical contributions that came from developmental psychology proposed by Hall, Erikson, Piaget, Fowler, Kolberg and psychology of religion in a phenomenological conception articulated from the sketch of the theory of the development of religiosity proposed by Amatuzzi. The methodology, qualitative, had consisted by interviews conducted of a phenomenological perspective, combined with the use of a questionnaire about values and religious orientations in adolescence, developed by a research group at the Swiss - German and recently adapted for Brazil by Amberge and cooperators. Ten adolescents participated in this research, six girls and four boys,five students from a public school and another five from a private school. This study, of exploratory feature, constituted a qualitative scrutiny and allowed the improvement of the instrument for new researches. The results indicated that religiosity is strongly present in family and culture of the adolescents surveyed, with the largest influence from the mother. It was observed that girls tend to give more importance to religiosity than boys. However, for both the sexes, there was a positive relationship between religiosity and values of adolescents participating in this study, specially: valued family, friendship, study, political awareness and autonomy of thought. It was found a predominance of ethical values, but not necessarily conservative. We suggest further studies on the subject in the Brazilian context, what will can be done employing the same instrument that was perfected from this first experience, which must remain butylated for such purposes.