The Transmission of a Religious Heritage to Younger Members of Small Ethnic Communities in a Pluralist Society: The Perceptions of Young Copts

1st Stage: The design of the questionnaire was informed by the literature (for instance, Harris & Moran 1998, Hay and Nye 1998) and the findings of a previous research project which investigated the perceptions of middle school students in Catholic schools of their religiosity and spirituality (Engebretson, de Souza & Salpietro, 2001). From this, a relational dimension of spirituality was identified which was relationship to self, to others, to the world and to God or a Divine presence. The questionnaire was divided into two sections. The first focused on the background of the participant in relation to gender, family, and cultural and religious practices. The second drew on the relational dimension of spirituality that had been identified from the literature, and items were constructed that focused on the following four aspects: - Mystery of the existence of God or a Supreme Being – the focus was on a sense of a transcendent dimension in life, a sense that each person has a reason for being, prayer. - Inner lives and sense of self – items related to an awareness of one’s own identity, the need for quiet, reflective times, and the act of creating as an expression of the inner spirit. - Others and the world –items included aspects of values and justice, relationships and influences. - Influence of a religious tradition on spirituality – items related to the role of family and individual religious practice, links to Church, priests and other members of the hierarchy. 109 students from Years 6, 9 and 11. These comprised the total number of students from each of these Year levels. Location: Two Coptic schools in Melbourne, Victoria Quantitative – Questionnaires 2nd Stage Questions focused on: - participants’ involvement in religious activities associated with their tradition; - perceptions of themselves as belonging to the Coptic community – that is, their sense of identity; - experiences of their lives as active members within their faith tradition in a pluralistic, secular society; - perceptions of how other young people from outside their community may have viewed them. Young Coptic adults aged between 24 – 32. Location:Coptic Centre, Donvale, Victoria Qualitative – Focus Group Interviews Transcripts of interview recordings Funded by: Cardinal Clancy Centre for Research, ACU

第一阶段：本调查问卷的设计以相关文献（如Harris & Moran 1998、Hay & Nye 1998）及一项既往研究项目的成果为依据，该研究旨在探究天主教学校中学生对自身宗教虔诚与灵性（religiosity and spirituality）的认知水平（Engebretson, de Souza & Salpietro, 2001）。研究据此提炼出灵性的关系维度，即个体与自我、他人、世界及上帝或神圣存在的联结关系。调查问卷分为两个部分：第一部分聚焦参与者的背景信息，涵盖性别、家庭情况、文化与宗教实践；第二部分则基于前述文献提炼的灵性关系维度设计题项，围绕以下四大维度展开：
- 上帝或至高存在的存在奥秘：聚焦个体对生命中超验维度的感知、对自身存在意义的认知，以及祷告行为；
- 内在生命与自我认知：题项涉及个体对自身身份的觉察、对安静反思时刻的需求，以及以创作表达内在精神的行为；
- 他人与世界：题项涵盖价值观与正义、人际关系及社会影响等内容；
- 宗教传统对灵性的影响：题项涉及家庭与个体宗教实践的作用、与教会、神职人员及其他教阶成员的联结。
本次研究共纳入维多利亚州墨尔本两所科普特教会学校（Coptic schools）的109名学生，覆盖六年级、九年级与十一年级，且为对应年级的全部在册学生。调研采用定量研究（Quantitative）方法，工具为调查问卷。

第二阶段：本阶段的调研问题聚焦以下方向：
- 参与者参与所属宗教传统相关宗教活动的情况；
- 个体对自身归属科普特社区的认知，即身份认同感；
- 在多元世俗社会中作为信仰传统积极成员的生活体验；
- 个体对社群外其他年轻人如何看待自身的感知。
本次研究招募了年龄介于24至32岁之间的科普特青年，调研地点位于维多利亚州唐维尔科普特中心，采用定性研究（Qualitative）方法，即焦点小组访谈（Focus Group Interviews），最终产出访谈录音的转录文本（Transcripts）。
本研究由澳大利亚天主教大学（Australian Catholic University, ACU）克兰西枢机研究中心（Cardinal Clancy Centre for Research）资助。