Religious and Spiritual Identities

2021 ◽  
pp. 48-72
Author(s):  
Neal M. Krause

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an in-depth examination of the first construct in the core theoretical model—religious and/or spiritual identities. People typically identify themselves as religious only, spiritual only, religious and spiritual, or neither religious nor spiritual. The identity they choose has profound implications for the way they relate to religious institutions and the health-related benefits they may enjoy from doing so. Four issues are examined in detail: (1) an overview of social identity theory is provided; (2) previous research on religious identities and health is reviewed; (3) a detailed overview of recent research by the author on religious and spiritual identities is discussed; and (4) next steps that are needed to take research on religious and/or spiritual identities to the next level are identified.

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-561
Author(s):  
Nikolitsa Grigoropoulou

AbstractAmidst growing societal tensions, social media platforms become hubs of heated intergroup exchanges. According to social identity theory, group membership and the value we assign to it drive the expression of intergroup bias. Within the blooming scholarship on social and political polarization online, little attention has been paid to interreligious deliberations, despite the well-established relationship between religion and intergroup grievances. The present studies are designed to address the void in the scholarship of social identity and online religion by examining how religious identities, or the lack thereof, affect intergroup biases in the form of identity-specific topic preferences and topic-sentiment polarization. Drawing from social identity theory, five hypotheses were tested. The data for the study, a product of a natural experiment, are YouTube commentary sections featuring videos on two cases of interreligious debates between (1) Christian and Muslim or (2) Christian and atheist speakers. Using topic-sentiment analysis, a multistage method of topic modeling with latent semantic analysis and sentiment analysis, 24,179 comments, for the Christian–Muslim debates, and 52,607 comments, for the Christian–atheist debates, were analyzed. The results demonstrate normative content and identity-specific instances of topic-sentiment polarization. In terms of content, Christian–Muslim and Christian–atheist discussions are nearly completely preoccupied with theological or intellectual concepts. While interreligious polarization is robust in both debates, it appears more normative among Christians–Muslims and deeper among Christians–atheists, possibly indicating the higher stakes in the battle for moral authority. Interreligious debates on YouTube serve to uplift and defend the in-group and to delegitimize the outgroup in a broader battle for moral authority. Regardless of group affiliation, these debaters were concerned with ‘big picture’ questions of meaning and how best to address them. Stereotyping and cultural altercations appear mostly as a reaction to challenged identity characteristics, suggesting that issue-based social differences and cultural incompatibilities, often emphasized in self-report research, may be evoked as rationalizations of interreligious prejudice. Last, the successful application of topic-sentiment analysis lends support for the more systematic utilization of this method.


Author(s):  
Andrew C. Billings ◽  
Fei Qiao

Sports are often the source of our greatest—and clearest—group affiliations; yet, sports are often the most evident examples of outgroup derogation as well through the magnification of differences with rivals and opposing teams. The formation and fusion of sport-based groups explore the core internal issues of leadership and followership as well as issues such as hazing, fanship, and the psychology of difference. The concepts of Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRGing) and Cutting Off Reflected Failure (CORFing), as embodied within sporting circumstances, can be understood using social identity theory and self-categorization as a lens of examination. Moreover, there are many ways in which sport-based groups inform societal structures that are interpersonal, intergroup, and global in nature, along with the theoretical and applied implications of such structures.


2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian C. Banfield ◽  
Craig W. Blatz ◽  
Katherine B. Starzyk ◽  
Michael A. Ross

Author(s):  
Rogers Matama ◽  
Kezia H. Mkwizu

The purpose of this study was to explore the antecedents of family conflict in Uganda. A qualitative approach was used in this study. A sample size of 139 participants provided data which was subjected to content analysis. Results revealed that the core themes associated with family conflict are finances and priority of resources. Further findings show that differences in tastes and interests, selfishness and lack of communication played a key role as causes of family conflicts. The implication of this study is that finances and priority of resources are antecedents of family conflict in the context of Uganda. Therefore, the antecedents of family conflict that emerged from this study can be understood, defined and analyzed through the lens of social identity theory. Future research may include conducting quantitative studies with a particular demographic using the themes that have emerged from this study.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayoub Bouguettaya

In this paper, the interaction between relevant group membership (i.e. gender) and context on leader perceptions was analysed within the paradigm of social identity theory. It was hypothesised that sharing group membership with a leader would result in to more positive ratings of a leader, while context would change how leaders were viewed depending on how much they embodied group values in relation to other leaders. The issue of contention to be contrasted between leaders was gender inequality. This context effect pattern was predicted to be different for males than females; males were believed to rate a leader more positively when the leader expressed a contextually more dismissive view, while females were predicted to rate a leader better when the leader expressed a contextually more proactive view. The hypotheses about the main effects of gender and context were supported; however, the results for the interaction were mixed in support. Gender and context did significantly interact, but it was not always in the directions predicted. Further research into this interaction is needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeeshan Ahmed Bhatti ◽  
Ghulam Ali Arain ◽  
Hina Mahboob Yasin ◽  
Muhammad Asif Khan ◽  
Muhammad Shakaib Akram

PurposeDrawing on social identity theory and prosocial behaviour research, this study explores how people's integration of their offline and online social activities through Facebook cultivates their Facebook citizenship behaviour (FCB). It also offers further insight into the underlying mechanism of offline and online social activity integration - FCB relation by investigating people's social identification with their offline and online social groups as possible mediators.Design/methodology/approachBased on social identity theory (SIT) literature, community citizenship behaviour and offline-online social activity integration through Facebook, we developed a conceptual model, which was empirically tested using data from 308 Facebook usersFindingsThe results confirm that the participants' offline-online social activity integration via Facebook is positively linked to their FCB. Further, the integration of offline and online social activity through Facebook positively affects how a person identifies with their offline and online social groups, which in turn causes them to display FCB. In addition, offline/online social identification mediates the integration – FCB relation.Practical implicationsIn practice, it is interesting to see people's tendency towards altruistic behaviours within groups they like to associate themselves with. Those who share their Facebook network with their offline friends can use such network to seek help and support.Originality/valueFrom a theoretical perspective, unlike past research, this study examines how individuals' offline-online social activity integration via Facebook helps them associate with groups. In addition, this study investigates social identification from an offline and online perspective.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Schmidts ◽  
Deborah Shepherd

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use social identity theory to explore factors that contribute to the development of family social capital. Effects are investigated both for the family and the business. Design/methodology/approach – A single in-depth case study focussing on the family unit was coducted within a fourth-generation family business involved in the arts retailing. Findings – The findings suggest that social identity theory is a useful lens to explore the development of family social capital. The six themes identified highlight that there is a normative and an affective dimension, leading to family members’ desire to uphold the status of the business. Evidence suggests that the normative factors may be both positively and negatively related to the development of family social capital, due to their potentially restrictive nature. Originality/value – The paper’s findings imply that social identity can contribute to understanding family dynamics. Evidence highlights various factors for family members that are not involved in the family business to uphold its status. This is attributed to the emotional significance of the business to the family’s identity. Furthermore, this paper suggests that the strong focus on norms and values, which developed gradually, may have adverse effects on the identification with the business and the willingness to uphold its status. Propositions are offered to provide guidance for future research to investigate this controversial evidence regarding the impact of value orientation on family social capital.


Res Publica ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 36 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 343-359
Author(s):  
Marc Jacquemain ◽  
René Doutrelepont ◽  
Michel Vandekeere

At first view, the methodology of survey research may seem rather unsuitable to the study of such "holistic" phenomena as collective and social identities.  That difficulty vanishes - at least partly - as soon as we consider social identity as the link between the individual and his belongings, as does the "social identity theory", developed from the work of Taffel and Turner.  From there on, survey research may prove to be a useful device to cope with some main characteristics of social identity: mainly its variability among groups and classes within a same society and its particular sensitivity to socio-political contexts.  Survey research, combined with the social identity theory may help to test historical assumptions at a macro-social level. It may also give some ''flesh" and some additional realism to the micro-theories of social behaviour, which are too often limited by their conception of a strictly rational and interested agent.


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