"One's self-concept."
The role that religion plays in the construction of individual and collective identity, including ethnicity, gender, and nationality.
Definition of religion: An essential starting point is understanding the various definitions of religion and how scholars have come to define it over time.
The role of identity in religion: Understanding the relationship between religion and identity is crucial to studying the anthropology of religion. It's important to consider how a person's experiences and beliefs shape their religious identity.
Religious rituals: A central aspect of many religions, rituals and ceremonies serve a variety of functions and are significant in understanding the practices of a particular religion.
Religious symbols: Symbols are an integral part of religious practice and often convey deeper meaning than their literal interpretation.
Religion and globalization: The impact of globalization on religion is a crucial topic to consider, as religious practices are often transformed and adapt to new social and cultural contexts.
Religion and politics: Religious beliefs and practices often intersect with political power dynamics, and understanding this connection is key to understanding how religion influences society.
Religion and gender: Religious norms and beliefs can often lead to gender segregation and discrimination, making it important to examine the role of gender in religious spaces.
Religion and race: The intersections of race and religion are complex, and exploring how religious beliefs and practices intersect with racial identity and discrimination is essential.
Religion and social inequality: Understanding how religion can either reinforce or challenge social inequality is key to understanding the role of religion in society.
Religious pluralism: With the increasingly diverse nature of societies, the study of religious pluralism and how it affects different communities is an essential aspect of the anthropology of religion.
Monotheistic religions: These religions worship a single deity or god, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Polytheistic religions: These religions worship multiple gods or deities, such as Hinduism and ancient Greco-Roman religions.
Animism: This type of religion believes in the existence of spirits within everything in nature.
Shamanism: This religion involves the belief in the existence of spirits that can be reached through a shaman or spiritual leader.
New religious movements: These are newer religious movements that have emerged in modern times, such as Scientology and Wicca.
Atheism: This is a lack of belief in any deity or religion.
Agnosticism: This is uncertainty or skepticism about the existence of a deity or religion.
Nationalism: This is a sense of loyalty and pride in one's nationality, culture, and identity.
Ethnicity: This is a sense of belonging to a specific ethnic group, often defined by shared cultural, historical, or biological characteristics.
Gender identity: This is an individual's perceived gender, which may or may not align with their biological sex.
Sexual orientation: This is an individual's sexual attraction and romantic interest toward others, such as homosexuality, bisexuality, and heterosexuality.
"Refers specifically to religious group membership regardless of religious activity or participation."
"The religious context can generally provide a perspective from which to view the world, opportunities to socialize with a spectrum of individuals from different generations, and a set of basic principles to live out."
"The identity formation literature has mainly focused on ethnicity and gender."
"An increasing number of studies have begun to include religion as a factor of interest."
"Researchers have examined the various factors that affect the strength of one's religious identity over time."
"Factors that have been found to affect levels of religious identity include gender, ethnicity, and generational status."
"Sociologists and anthropologists also apply the term 'religious identity' and examine its related processes in given social contexts."
"Changes in identity ascription affected how Muslims sought to represent themselves."
"Concept appropriated from race and gender identity theory such as disidentification."
"Individuals have a 'fixed' religious identity, independent of pre-existing systems of representation and individuals' positioning within them."
"Individuals who share the same religious identity are called coreligionists."
"It is the sense of group membership to a religion and the importance of this group membership as it pertains to one's self-concept."
"Refers specifically to religious group membership regardless of religious activity or participation."
"These foundations can come to shape an individual's identity."
"Factors that have been found to affect levels of religious identity include gender."
"The identity formation literature has mainly focused on ethnicity and gender."
"One important study... explored... how changes in identity ascription affected how Muslims sought to represent themselves."
"Concepts appropriated from race and gender identity theory such as disidentification."
"[Religious identity] is the sense of group membership to a religion."