Abstract
Using ethnographic data from the Marshall Islands, I argue that clashing identities may give rise to paradoxical belief systems. Marshall Islanders consider themselves both authentically Marshallese and devoutly Christian, causing a schism of belief and identity that is most starkly visible in historical narratives. When asked generally about the past, locals describe a utopia of traditional peace; but when asked specifically about life before Christian missionaries arrived, locals describe a dystopia of heathen barbarism. Interviewees are usually unable to reconcile these two accounts, showing that they are as paradoxical to locals as they are to outsiders. Researchers who are desirous of tidy analyses or wary of implying that their informants are irrational may downplay such dilemmas in the societies they study. Yet, far from demonstrating the futility of analysis, admitting the existence of contradiction in social life allows for a richer and more insightful view of culture, religion, belief and identity.
Published Version
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