Participant Experiences at a Charismatic Catholic Youth Rally: What Happens When Participant Socialization and Organizer Intentions Do Not Match?

Abstract

Adolescent religion is increasingly well researched but the youth rallies staged by many Christian groups remain understudied. This article adds to our understanding of these rallies through a case study of a large Catholic youth rally in Toronto. We identify the reported religious experiences of rally participants and compare them with the goals of the rally's organizers. We find a partial mismatch between the organizers' intentions and the participants' reported experiences, which we attribute to a mismatch between the borrowed evangelical approaches used by the rally organizers and the participants' Catholic religious socialization. We conclude with possible implications for practitioners.

“Many are the plans”: An analysis of goals described by youth ministry leaders

“…These findings build upon and expand the work of previous research investigating the nature of youth ministry activities and goals (e.g. de Kock, 2014; Flatt & Haskell, 2016; Goreham, 2004; Hoge et al, 1982). Findings from the present study align with many of the learning outcomes identified by de Kock (2014), specifically outcomes related to cognitive goals, experiences, formation of personal opinion, social interactions, and identity development.…”

“…More directly relevant to the present project, Flatt and Haskell (2016) assessed the goals of Catholic youth rally organizers through semi-structured interviews. The organizers had two primary goals for youth in attendance: (1) they would have “a personal experience of God leading to a deeper relationship with God,” and (2) they “would take a step of personal commitment to Christ” (p. 142).…”

“…Emmons, 2005) and the self-reported goals and strivings of various ministry leaders (e.g. de Kock, 2014; Flatt & Haskell, 2016; Goreham, 2004; Hoge et al, 1982), further research is needed to collect and examine the breadth and quality of goals reported by youth ministry leaders who regularly serve in local church settings. In examinations of religion and spirituality associated with goal pursuit, researchers have found that the presence of explicitly spiritual or religious goals is associated with higher levels of well-being (Emmons, 1999), that high goal conflict and low goal meaning predict subsequent spiritual conversion (Schnitker et al, 2019), and that goals considered sacred or spiritual tend to be pursued more diligently and have exaggerated effects on well-being (Pargament et al, 2005).…”

“…In examinations of religion and spirituality associated with goal pursuit, researchers have found that the presence of explicitly spiritual or religious goals is associated with higher levels of well-being (Emmons, 1999), that high goal conflict and low goal meaning predict subsequent spiritual conversion (Schnitker et al, 2019), and that goals considered sacred or spiritual tend to be pursued more diligently and have exaggerated effects on well-being (Pargament et al, 2005). Likewise, studies have examined the content of goals for various target populations, such as youth rally organizers (Flatt & Haskell, 2016), catechists (de Kock, 2014), religious educators and parents (Hoge et al, 1982), and school teachers (e.g. Mansfield & Beltman, 2014), finding that goal content affects experiences and educational outcomes.…”