Identity formation and religious orientation among high school students from the United States and Canada

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to examine the relations between Marcia's four identity statuses and Allport and Ross' four religious orientations. Study 1 was conducted among 38 Mormon and 47 non-Mormon high school students living in a predominantly Mormon Utah community. Study 2 was conducted among 102 Jewish high school students living in Ontario, Canada. It was revealed through the use of MANCOVAprocedures that, in both studies, identity diffusion was associated with the extrinsic religious orientation. The indiscriminate proreligious scored significantly higher on foreclosure than the intrinsic and nonreligious groups, and the extrinsic scored significantly higher on moratorium than the intrinsic and nonreligious groups in Study 1. The indiscriminate proreligious scored significantly higher on identity achievement than those classified as extrinsic or nonreligious in Study 2. The indiscriminate proreligious and intrinsic religious orientations were associated with higher scores in three subscales of ethnic identity for the Jewish adolescents. Potential moderating influences of religious orthodoxy, religious attendance, grade, and gender were found to not operate between identity and religious orientation.