Jayeel Cornelio and his Pursuit of Social Justice

The awards honor individuals who willingly take the “extra mile and selfless services to others.” This batch of honorees—educators and health care professionals—embody TOYM’s 2021 theme of ‘Everyday Leaders Enabling Extraordinary Impact.’ And Cornelio, no doubt, has been passionate about addressing more important social questions since he was a student.

Drawn by the transformative power of sociology

In high school, Cornelio had a Social Studies teacher who would engage his students with societal issues, prodding them to understand and put forward global complexities. Perhaps, his teacher hoped that the youth would use their energy and skills to change the world and make a difference. The teacher’s labor was not in vain.

“I remember enjoying the debates we had then and being given the opportunity to explain my opinion using verifiable information,” he says.

The experience fired Cornelio’s imagination so much that he took up Development Studies in college, spurring his lifelong dedication to the transformative power of sociology. But it wasn’t until he was in his sophomore year that he became genuinely interested in sociology.

“Back then, we still had SA21(Introduction to Sociology-Anthropology) in the curriculum. I fell in love with every topic we covered in class, especially social class and inequality. Perhaps what I found inspiring about sociology, in particular, was that it offered useful ways of understanding Philippine society beyond the disciplinal perspectives one would get from economics or political science. Understanding that reality is socially constructed makes you question your most cherished beliefs and values, including religion.”

Global environment and intellectual humility

Before becoming an academic, Cornelio was based as a development worker in Batanes. However, the call of education beckoned. He found himself pursuing a Master in Social Science (Sociology) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) as a recipient of a graduate scholarship program for ASEAN nationals. For graduating top of his class, Cornelio received the Lee Foundation Prize. The following year, 2007, Cornelio returned to NUS as a recipient of the Asia Research Institute PhD Scholarship. He completed his postdoctoral degree in Sociology in 2011. Cornelio went to Lancaster University in the United Kingdom as a visiting scholar between his studies.

Studying in a global environment was an eye-opening experience, nurturing Cornelio’s curiosity and critical thinking, serving as a catalyst in making connections, parsing the differences, and re-examining the familiar in a new light. It also taught Cornelio the value of intellectual humility.

He explains, “Being in a diverse environment forces you to question your own convictions. This was surely the case in the classroom interactions I had with fellow graduate students in Singapore and England and later on in the seminars with my colleagues as a postdoc in Germany. But most of the learning took place outside the classroom. I made it a point to spend time with other nationalities just to learn about their ways of life, especially their values and religious convictions. Learning about their convictions was, at one level, an intellectual curiosity. But at a deeper level, those interactions made me appreciate religious diversity not as a threat to one's identity but as a resource that could enrich how we understand and treat one another.”

Sociologist, Researcher, Writer, Teacher

It was evident that Cornelio’s time abroad helped shape his career trajectory.

“I have been writing in the past decade about religious pluralism and how Filipinos should begin embracing this as the character of our society today. These writings problematize this taken-for-granted assumption that the Philippines is a 'Christian nation.’”

He adds, “In the course of my career, my work on religion has, in fact, dealt with a lot of development issues: youth participation, gender equality, and the war on drugs. However, I'm also convinced now more than ever that if we want Philippine society to 'develop,' we need to confront many of our religious biases, most of which are colored by conservative Christianity.”

As a sociologist of youth and religion, his work drew in an audience from a wider faith community. In 2016, he released the book ‘Being Catholic in the Contemporary Philippines Young People Reinterpreting Religion.’ Published by Routledge, the book examines the nature of Catholicism in the contemporary Philippines, reflecting on the shifts and changes amidst an ever-evolving face of Christianity.

“ To this day, I still get invited by the faith community to talk and write about this important segment of our population. In fact, it has led me to edit an important volume on Filipino millennials, entitled ‘ Rethinking Filipino Millennials: Alternative Perspectives on a Misunderstood Generation.’ But over time, I felt it was necessary to engage controversial issues that, in my view, will define the character of Philippine society in years to come. An early work was on reproductive health law, for example. But in the past six years, I spent a lot of time working on Christianity and the war on drugs, fundamentalism and the struggle for gender equality, and the state of young people in post-conflict Marawi.”

Researching and writing on such controversial issues have attracted Cornelio both fans and critics.

“Because of these writings, many in faith circles were drawn to the sociological perspective. In some cases, I know that my work has offended religious leaders (especially those that come from conservative churches). But I also know that some of these writings have in fact, resonated with those who are increasingly disillusioned within their own faith communities. That my writings are able to encourage and confirm to them that they are not alone is in itself an achievement as a sociologist.”

Since returning to the country after his studies, Cornelio’s calendar has stayed busy. Aside from being a sociologist, researcher, and writer, he also wears another hat: that of a teacher. Since his return, Cornelio has taught at his alma mater, where he notes how nothing and everything has changed.

“I was an idealistic student leader two decades ago. I'd like to think that I'm still the same passionate individual who is deeply troubled by what is happening in our society. So in that sense, nothing has changed as far as I am concerned. But I also know that the challenges today are far bigger. When I was a student leader, we thought that our biggest problem was Joseph Estrada and his graft and corruption. Today the academe is confronted with a far more complex reality: a diminishing democratic space where virtues of unity, discipline, and progress are extolled at the expense of critical thinking. The University has changed dramatically and continues to do so in response to this new reality. And what will tide us over is not just the relationships we have within the Ateneo but solidarity with every freedom-loving Filipino.”

The development of Development Studies

As the director of the Development Studies (DS) Program at the School of Social Sciences since 2014, Cornelio has seen how the program has grown in the last eight years.

“Our student enrollment has risen dramatically, and so has our faculty roster. I am very proud of our faculty, all of whom are research-active and engaged in communities around the country. Our fields of expertise have also expanded. This is why we now have five minor programs, which are attracting students from all over LS: development management; health and development; urban and regional development; humanitarian action; and development and the law. We are also creating a new minor program related to culture and development and a graduate program related to development management,” he says.

“We are able to do these things now because of the expertise of our faculty. It used to be that our lecturers were primarily practitioners. And that's a strength in itself. But I also wanted our research portfolio to grow. So now I can say with confidence that our DS faculty are contributing to the research productivity of the University. Because of this growing expertise, our students are the ultimate beneficiaries. Now we are able to cater to different interests among our students.”

As a teacher, he shares how he constantly reminds students of the importance of social justice.

“My role as their professor and mentor is to remind them that what sets us apart from other programs is that we are decidedly about social justice. It is not just a dimension of our program. It is the heart of our program. So wherever they go after graduating, be it policymaking or community work, they know that they must first and foremost pursue what is just for the marginalized.”

Cornelio has been appointed as the next Associate Dean for Research and Creative Work, where he hopes to continue helping Ateneans pursue research.

“I want to use that position to create new schemes to enable young scholars to pursue research. I want Ateneo to become more nurturing towards its young academics. I say this because Philippine academia, in general, makes life miserable for young scholars. We have made strides in the past years to enable our faculty to devote time to the life of the mind, but I want to see more schemes to empower them.”

Whether through research or any other endeavor, everyone is responsible for making a dent in the wall of social justice and development. Rest assured that Cornelio will continue to make his.