Religious Identity

Religious identity is an important dimension of many people’s identities, as well as a common source of intercultural conflict. Often, religious identity gets confused with racial/ethnic identity, which means it can be problematic to view religious identity simply in terms of belonging to a particular religion. For example, when someone says, “I am Jewish”, does this mean that this person practices Judaism or views Jewishness as an ethnic identity? When someone says, “That person has a Jewish last name”, does this confer a Jewish religious identity? Historically, Jews have been viewed as a racial group, an ethnic group, and a religious group. Drawing distinct lines between various identities – racial, ethnic, religious, class, national, regional – can lead to stereotyping. For example, Italians and Irish are often assumed to be Catholic. Intercultural communication among religious groups also can be problematic. Religious differences have been at the root of conflicts from the Middle East, to Northern Ireland, to India/Pakistan, to Bosnia-Herzegovina. The traditional belief is that everyone should be free to practice whatever religion they want to, but conflict can result from the imposition of one religion’s beliefs on others who may not share those beliefs. Religion traditionally is considered a private issue, and there is a stated separation of church and state. However, in some countries, religion and the state are inseparable, and religion is publicly practiced. Some religions communicate and mark their religious differences through their dress. Other religions do not mark their members through their clothes; for example, you may not know if someone is Buddhist, Catholic, Lutheran. Because these religious identities are less obvious, everyday interactions may not invoke them.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1047