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Sociology

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Submitted By stefanylopez
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Stefany Lopez
Sociology
November.7.2012
In today’s society life, values and morals are very different from what they used to be years ago. Life has changed and people’s priorities have changed specially family’s priorities. In the world that we live in today families are no longer united, they no longer communicate and they no longer act as a family. Parents are no longer involved in their children’s life, leading to miscommunication and leading parents and their children to no longer have that bond or that communication that makes parents and children’s relationship strong (Page, Thomas, 2011).
Today’s society revolves all around technology, appearances, sex, and material things especially in the lives of teenagers and young people. Teenagers no longer communicate with their parents; they would rather spend time on their computer, on their cellphones, playing video games, being on social networks, etc. The majority of young people especially teenagers not only in the United States but all over the world are spending their time in things that don’t really benefit them what so ever instead of putting their time into things that benefits them and will help in their future like school, sports, spending more time with their families and most importantly giving god some of their time, and having a spiritual life. Teenagers and young people are no longer having that spiritual connection because their parents are no longer making them be involved in church or making them be involved with god and spirituality. In a recent study made by Barbara Wintersgill involving a variety of different teenagers, the male teenagers argued that “it is not cool to appear to be spiritual”, unfortunately in the society that we live in today most teenagers specially male ones have this perception because parents aren’t teaching theim the importance of having a spiritual life, they aren’t teaching them the importance of having a connection with god and communicating with him and thanking him for all the wonderful things that he provides for them on a daily basis (Page, Thomas, 2011)
Society is the reason why families have changed and why spirituality is no longer part of people’s lives. Society is making spirituality more of a choice rather than an obligation, society is letting people choose whether they want to have a spiritual life or not. Society is teaching people that going out and partying and being with your friends is more important than being with your family and spending time with them and praying with them or going with them to church. The way I was raised up and the way my parents and my family were raised up is extremely different from the way many kids and teenagers are now being raised up. Ever since I was a little girl my parents would take me to church every Sunday and eventually it became a routine. As I was growing up I knew that every Sunday it was my responsibility to go to church with my whole family and have that family bond with them (Page, Thomas, 2011)
During my childhood years, my parents never gave me the choice of whether I wanted to go or not, they forced me to go every Sunday no matter what the circumstance was, no matter how tired I was, no matter how much homework I had, they made sure I was at church every Sunday. My grandma was also a very big reason to why there was spirituality in my life. I lived with my grandma for a couple of years and every night before we went to bed she would pray and she would make me pray with her. If sometimes I didn’t want to pray with me she made sure I knew I was making a wrong choice by not praying and by not thanking god for that day and for all the blessing that he had given me throughout the day and throughout my life in general. Now a days parents don’t really take the time to do the same thing that my parents did to me to make sure spirituality was part of my life. Most parents would rather not fight with their children and they just let their children do whatever they want and make their own decisions (Page, Thomas, 2011).
The definition of spirituality remains a controversy in our culture. To most people Spirituality is an inner path which enables a person to discover the essence of his or her being. Spiritual practices like prayer, meditation, and contemplation are intended to develop an individual’s inner life. Spirituality can be defined as a “conscious way of life based on a transcendent referral” which would be a spirit or supernatural being. In some cultures spirituality can also be perceived as a way of life which does not follow religion or a supernatural being, like living a good life or virtuous life. Spirituality is the essence to having a better life, to having piece with yourself, it is the key to having a better relationship with your family, with yourself, and with everyone else who surrounds you. Spirituality can be very influential and strong in a person’s life, shaping his or her life in a positive way (Singleton, Andrew, 2004). Spirituality enables belief, developing relationships, self- understanding, and acceptance By having god in your life and having spirituality in your life, you no longer feel alone, you no longer feel stressed out, life seems to be brighter, and you just feel this enormous peace at all time, your no longer angry or upset, things that seemed to upset you or stress you out no longer do, everything just feels better, and your life in general feels better in every aspect. Spirituality gives people a whole new aspect on things; it raises such things as confidence and having respect for others (Wintersgill, Barbara, 2008).
That is the reason why spirituality and coping is so important, that is the reason why it is important for families to have spirituality in their homes, and teach their children the importance of having a connection with god. In order for young people and teenagers to have a better life, and make spirituality as part of their everyday life, parents and families must get involved. They must not only teach their children about spirituality but they must also practice it and make it a priority for their children and the whole family. Spirituality not only helps young people go in the right path and have a good life and stay away from gangs, violence, prisons, and drugs, it also helps families come together and have a better relationship with each other. It allows families to communicate more, and have something in common that they can all do and practice as a family. Spirituality is the key to making parents and their children’s relationship a lot stronger, helping young people to leave the stress, anger, and problems behind and having a happier life that involves a lot more communication and love with the people that surrounds them( Page, Thomas, 2011).
In our society, especially in our country with the diversity of people and cultures and their believes, it is very challenging for everyone to have a spiritual life. Some cultures do not believe in god or in anything that has to do with spirituality which can create a lot of challenges in our community. Young people are going to be surrounded by all different kinds of cultures and some of these cultures may not believe in god or spirituality which can go against our believes and it can also affect the work and effort parents are trying to make to make sure their children have a spiritual life and have a connection with god. Difference of cultures is not only one of the ways that can cause a young person or teenager to not having a spiritual life and disregarding the thought of having one at all but society and peer pressure can also contribute to this. Most young people especially teenagers do not believe in spirituality, or anything related to it, most families do not teach their children anything about spirituality because they don’t have a spiritual life as well. A young person who may be trying to get involved with god and spirituality may be influenced by someone else who doesn’t want to be involved with it because their parents are not teaching them the importance of having a spiritual life, leading the other young person to believe that they do not need to have a spiritual life either. Being surrounded by a society that does not believe or practice spirituality can challenge and put to questions a young person’s believes and their faith (Page, Thomas, 2011).
Our country and countries all over the world should make spirituality a part of their everyday life. Just like going to school or going to work or eating every day, spirituality should be part of their lives and most importantly part of their children’s lives but it all starts with the parents. The parents must be role models and show them how spirituality can help them achieve a better life and be more at peace with themselves (Page, Thomas, 2011). It is only when parents guide their children and show them how much spirituality can change their lives and their family’s lives that children will understand and see for themselves that spirituality can make all the difference between them having a rough, stressful, angry, unhappy life and continue having this life as they grow up, rather than having a stress free, peaceful, happy life not only for them but for their families as well and for everyone else that surrounds them.

WORKCITED

Books
Page L, Thomas, When love is not enough, bringing spirituality and coping back to families and homes, iUniverse inc, Bloomington, 2011

Journals
Wintersgill, Barbara, Teenagers perception of spirituality- a research report, International journal of children’s spirituality, Vol 13, Issue 4, p371- 378

Singleton, A., Mason, M., & Webber, R. (2004). Spirituality in adolescence and young adulthood: a method for a qualitative study. International Journal Of Children's Spirituality, Dec2004, Vol. 9 Issue 3, p247-262

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