Effects of Social Challenges on Faith Development among the Youth in the Catholic Diocese of Wau, South Sudan

Abstract

The study sought to examine the effect of social challenges on faith development among the youth in the Catholic Diocese of Wau, South Sudan. The study was guided by James Fowler's theory of faith development and Albert Bandura's theory of social learning. The researcher used an explanatory sequential mixed-method research design. The specific objectives of the study aimed to examine the influence of alcoholism, social media and popular culture on faith development among the youth in the Catholic Diocese of Wau. The study further sought to identify intervention strategies to address the effects of social challenges (alcoholism, social media and popular culture) on faith development. The target population was 200 and the study used a simple random sampling technique to select a sample size of 132 obtained through Krejcie's sampling Table. The study chose 66 youth from the parishes, 33 from the ministry of youth and sports and 16 from the marketplace through simple random sampling. The study further picked 9 youth leaders, 7 parish priests and curates and 1 youth chaplain purposively. The data instruments for data collection were the questionnaires with open and closed-ended questions and a semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions. The interviews were analyzed in narrative form using research themes. The quantitative data from the questionnaires were analyzed using tables and bar charts. The findings exhibited that alcoholism produced irresponsible leaders and less God-fearing people in society. Social media makes the youth lose valuable cultural and Christian values and virtues. Popular culture leads to drop out from Church activities among the youth. Based on the research findings, the study concluded that alcoholism, social media, and popular culture affect faith development among the youth in the Diocese of Wau. Hence, the study recommended that spiritual guidance and counseling programs need to be applied for youth transformation. Keywords: Alcoholism, social media, popular culture, intervention strategies, faith development, youth, Catholic Diocese, Wau