CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the review of literature and studies

related to student’s religiosity and student’s academic

performance of BSE-Mathematics Students of CBSUA PASACAO Campus

for the school year 2021-2022. All these literature and studies

gave insights in the conceptualization of the study. It is

organized according to the following; review of related

literature, studies, state of the art of the study and gap-

bridged by the study.

RELATED LITERATURE

The following related literature will be concentrating on

the different aspects of religiosity as it discusses according to

its effect in the student’s performance.

Batara (2015) cited in his study that the Filipino youth are

religious in general. According to him there are close

association between religiosity and spirituality, Filipino youth

both engage in personal and group means of communicating with God

or higher being. It also provides a space for them to act in

different ways they deem to be sacred (e. helping others is

sacred) even not in the religious situation.

 Wright (2016) cited on his study that adolescent is a stage

where they begin examining themselves and questioning who they

are. They might reformulate beliefs or internalize their

spirituality. He added that compared to adults, adolescents can

reason complex explanations of themselves, their peers, and God.

In this stage, some try a faith different from that of their

parents.

Line, (2005) cited on her study that the relationship

between religion and education is very complex and contains

issues of quantity (amount of education and degrees of

religiosity) and quality (types of education and types of

religious experience). A strong relationship was found when using

variables that assess private religiosity, particularly the area

of personal scripture study, living church standards, and

personal prayer. Public religious practice had a judicious impact

on academic performance using certain variables related to church

meeting attendance. Religious belief variables were found to be

completely negligible in their impact on the same.

Glanville et al. (2008) has observed that religious

participation is positively related to a extensive variety of

adolescent outcomes, including academic achievement, but

relatively little is known about why this is the case. They

emphasize the group of related potential explanations for why

religious involvement improves educational outcomes and examine

whether religious participation enhances academic outcomes among

teens by the way in which it forms their social ties, or social

capital, focusing on both intergenerational relationships and on

relationships with peers. They also examine the potential

dominant role of extracurricular participation. They found that

religious attendance promotes higher intergenerational closure,

friendship networks with higher educational resources and norms,

and extracurricular participation.

Several studies suggest that the practice of spiritual

activities can influence through positive emotions such as hope,

forgiveness, self-esteem and love, which can be important for

mental health, through psychoneuroimmunology and psychophysical

action mechanisms (Gastaud et al.,2006as cited by Salgado, 2014).

Religiosity influences achievement and satisfaction among

students’ at the most selective colleges and universities in the

United States. It says that students who attended religious

services once a week or more during their last year of high

school reported higher grades at college than non regular

religious attendees. Additionally, religious students reported

studying more, partying less, and dedicating more time to

extracurricular activities (Mooney, 2010). A national study in

education was found to be positively correlated with higher

church attendance, but negatively correlated with religious

beliefs (Sacerdote and Glaeser, 2001as cited by LaRose, 2009).

Fleischer et al (2004) stated that earning better-than-

expected grades in college is accompanying with higher levels of

religious involvement - reading sacred texts and other materials

on religion and spirituality, going to church, and engaging in

religious singing/chanting. These activities are also linked with

greater satisfaction with the college experience and with higher

levels of “equanimity”- feeling good about the direction of one’s

life, feeling at peace and centered, and seeing each day as a

gift.

RELATED STUDIES

According to Norton (2019) we can acquire a great deal about

the religious facet of mathematical development by examining

professional mathematicians who embrace strong religious

convictions. With this assumption in his mind, he investigated

the allegations of particular religious affiliations in the lives

of professional mathematicians and the extent of religious

persuasions which influence their mathematical practices

(research and teaching) and their views of mathematics.

 He interviewed three university mathematics professors. With

the help of two professors in the mathematics department of a

large, southern university, he identified three religious groups

on behalf of the diversity of religious beliefs in their

mathematics department: Jewish, Christian and Buddhist. He found

out that learning style is informed by his religious practice and

we might expect similar influences for students who involve in

ritual religious study. This only shows that many students have

developed their styles to studying religious texts, such as the

Koran or the Bible, over a period of several years. Hence, if we

want our students to act as mathematicians, we need to bear the

significance of the subject through our teaching. We need to know

at a philosophical level what mathematics is and why we are

teaching it.

Dearyet al.,(2007) as cited by Zhang, (2012) attempt to show

the excessive impact of religion on academic achievement by

comparing and explaining the achievement differences of various

religious groups. They found similar results: Protestant college

graduate are more likely to go to a science field than Catholic

college graduates. Taking into consideration that the science

study requires more work and more motivations, Protestant college

graduates entered more competitive job fields. On the other hand,

a massive number of Catholic graduates have been found in less

competitive jobs. Smith (2007) points out that there are more
Jews in the professional and managerial occupation than Italians.

This difference is attributed to the religious backgrounds that

differentiate one group from another.

ELMS , (2007) cited in his study that the individual and

familial religiosity has a significant role in the lives of

American youth and have both a direct and an indirect effect on

aspects that contribute to academic success, such as self esteem,

commitment to future goals, creativity, happiness, marital

stability, family cohesiveness, and educational goals. These

attributes, individually and collectively, positively influence a

student’s ability to succeed academically. Research states that

the relationship between religiosity and academic success occurs

across different ethnic, cultural and gender groups. Furthermore,

studies indicate that an opposing relationship exists between low

levels of religiosity and other social factors which tend to

inhibit academic success.

The result of his study related to the four major themes,

can be stated: 1. Parental expectation, religion’s expectation,

and the perceived expectation from God promote academic success

in first-year college students; 2. Adherence to firm moral

conduct codes or behaviors promoted by religion, such as sexual

abstinence and refraining from drugs and alcohol, nurtures an

environment where increased focus and attention to academic

studies can thrive; less attention is paid to academic inhibitors

or distracters which have been shown to decrease academic

success; 3. A belief in religion and an individual relationship

with God functions as a support to students chasing high academic

success. This perceived support also functions to sustain

students during personal challenges and trials in college; 4.

Religion can give meaning and purpose to life allowing students

to see the big picture and to set in perspective reasons behind

the “whys.” That is, there is a higher purpose for doing well

academically, and that life and school have purpose and meaning

beyond the moment.

Taghavinia et al (2015) cited in their study that the

relationship between religiosity and academic achievement of

students can govern the distance between different aspects of

religiosity and scientific development at university level and

assist the authorities in planning to avoid a gap the scientific

aspects of the universities. Results of the study found no

significant correlation between religiosity academic

achievements. However, correlation between religious rituals and

academic achievement was found significant.

Agoncillo (2015) cited in his study that the youth’s

knowledge, belief, and faith in God drives them to the observance

of good Catholic practices by showing outcomes such as psycho-

social attributes, positive cultural beliefs, and political

beliefs and participation. Some of these psychosocial attributes

that may be affected by an individual’s level of religiosity

include security, belonging, acceptance, independence,

relationships, values, achievement, and recognition. Hence,

religiosity significantly predicts psychosocial attributes,

cultural beliefs, and sociopolitical participation. In

particular, those who have higher level of religiosity also have

more positive psychosocial attributes (prosocial behaviors, sense

of agency, communion, initiative, and lower risk behaviors). That

is, those who exhibit greater religiosity are more likely to

participate politically.

Mckune (2007) cited in his study that religiosity has an

effect on the educational expectations, time paid on homework,

the number of mathematics courses taken, and the probability of

graduation are partially mediated by family and community

capital. The results specify that the association between student

religiosity and academic achievement is largely due to family

social capital, but the association between academic achievement

and religious homogamy between parents and adolescents is largely

independent of family and community social capital. In

particular, the highest achievement is predicted once parents and

adolescents report similar levels of religiosity; the lowest when

parents report high religiosity and adolescents report low

religiosity.
 Ahmad (2018) cited in his study that the relationship

between religiosity and academic achievement of students can

determine the distance between dissimilar aspects of religiosity

and scientific development at university level and assist the

authorities in planning to avoid a gap between the scientific and

spiritual aspects of the universities. The findings of this study

showed that there is a reverse correlation between the level of

religiosity and academic achievement of the students.

Barnes, et al (2012) study conceptualized the culturally-

based factors (racial pride and religiosity) by means of

adolescent assets that would promote African American boys'

achievement and also enhance positive effects of other youth

assets (positive educational utility beliefs) on achievement.

Accounting for demographic background variables, educational

utility beliefs were positively associated with academic grade

performance. A significant educational utility beliefs and racial

pride interaction indicated a stronger, positive association of

educational utility beliefs with grade performance among boys

with higher racial pride relative to those with lower racial

pride. Also, there was a stronger positive association between

educational utility beliefs and grades for boys reporting lower

religious importance, but boys ratifying both lower educational

utility beliefs and religious importance were at highest risk for

low grade performance.

SYNTHESIS OF THE ART

The cited literature projected various differences and

similarities with the present study. Toldson and Anderson

(2010) and Barnes et al. (2012) all explored the relationship

between religiosity and academic performance amongst African-

American high school students they also used students' levels of

religious commitment as a measure of students' religiosity, but

combined with it church attendance instead of attendance of a

religious school. These two studies also used the students'

average grades as a measure of their academic performances.

Ahmad (2018),(Mooney, 2010),Line, (2005),Fleischer et al

(2004)and Taghavinia et al (2015) both studied the relationship

between religiosity and academic achievement of students. Norton

(2019) and Zhang, (2012) both studied the impact of religion on

academic achievement by comparing and explaining the achievement

differences of various religious groups. ELMS , (2007)studied the

individual and familial religiosity of American youth and

enumerated direct and indirect factors that contribute to

academic success, such as self-esteem, commitment to future

goals, creativity, happiness, marital stability, family

cohesiveness, and educational goals. These attributes,

individually and collectively, positively influence a student’s

ability to succeed academically. Agoncillo (2015) and Glanville

et al. (2008) focused on the adolescent religiosity and academic

achievements which includes extracurricular participation. It was

the same with the present study wherein the student’s

extracurricular activities were being considered in determining

student performance. The present study will also determine the

religiosity and its relationship to students’ academic

performance.

GAP BRIDGE BY THE STUDY

The gathered review of related studies showed that none of

them determine the relationship of religiosity and students

performance of the BSE-Mathematics Majors. None of them conducted

studies on spiritual formation, values formation and faith

formation in determining the level of religiosity. This is the

gap which the study on Religiosity and Student Performance of

BSE- Mathematics Major in CBSUA Pasacao Campus, tried to bridge.

 NOTES

C. R. Line, “The relationship between personal religiosity and

academic performance among LDS college student
at Brigham Young University,” 2005. Retrieved from
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/dissertations/AAI3185795/.

Oloyede, Ganiyat. (2016). Media Usage, Religiosity and Gender as

Determinant of Performance in Chemistry Subject.7. Retrieved from
www. researchgate.com

Ritchie S., GowA. ,Deary I., (2014) Religiosity is negatively

associated with later-life intelligence, but not with age-related
cognitive decline. Retrieved from www. sciencedirect.com.

Glanville, J.,Sikkink, D., &Hernández, E.(2008).“Religious

Involvement and Educational Outcomes: The Role of Social Capital
and Extracurricular Participation”Retrieved from:
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.2007.00108.x

Zubairu, U.M. &Sakariyau, O. B. (2016) “The Relationship between

Religiosity and Academic Performance amongst Accounting
Students”. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in
Education (IJERE). Retrieved from
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Mckune, B. & Hoffmann, J. (2009). “Religion and Academic
Achievement Among Adolescents”. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/
Salgado, A. (2014). “Review of empirical studies on impact of
religion, religiosity and spirituality as protective factors”.
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Mooney, M. (2010). “Religion, College Grades, and Satisfaction
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LaRose, R. (2009). “The Relationship between Religiosity and
Educational Pursuit and Perception”. Utah State University
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Fleischer et al (2004). Analysis Shows Impact of Academic
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Zhang, S. (2012). “Religious Participation and Educational
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nvestigation.pdf
Norton, Anderson. (2019). Mathematicians' Religious Affiliations
and Professional Practices: The Case of Joseph.Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net
R. T. Elms, “The Role of Religiosity in Academic Success,”
Doctoral dissertation, Washington State University,2007.
Retrieved from
http://www.dissertations.wsu.edu/Dissertations/Spring2007/R_Elms_
043007.pdf.

Agoncillo, Roland (2015) Understanding Catholic Youth Religiosity

in a Developing Country. Educational Leadership and Management
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https://icsai.org/procarch/1iclehi/1iclehi-47.pdf
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Academic Achievement in Students of Kurdistan University of
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between Religiosity and Academic Achievement in Students. Tehran
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