Nonreligious Identity Research Articles

The Sacred of Today?

Abstract Even if the sacred is a classical concept in religious studies and sociology, relatively little is known of its current empirical subjective varieties. This article explores what people today consider sacred at the intersection of religion and nonreligion. Our data (N=6938) was collected with face-to-face interviews (N=1965) and from an internet panel (N=4313) in Finland. We present both an overall picture on what people consider sacred and the results of exploring the effect of religiousness, political stance, and social structural positions. Respondents of both moderately religious and nonreligious groups tend to hold health, love, and close ones sacred. Our findings challenge a linear, dualistic view of religious versus nonreligious and show that sacred exceeds religious boundaries and is experienced by religious and nonreligious people alike, but in various ways. The concept of sacred can be used to detect the inner diversity of both religious and nonreligious identities.

Performing Atheist Selves in Digital Publics: U.S. Women and Non-Religious Identity Online, written by Evelina Lundmark

Performing Atheist Selves in Digital Publics: U.S. Women and Non-Religious Identity Online, written by Evelina Lundmark

QUANTUM THEOLOGY AND “‘WE’ AND ‘THEY’”

QUANTUM THEOLOGY AND “‘WE’ AND ‘THEY’”

Eternally Damned, Yet Socially Conscious? The Volunteerism of Canadian Atheists

Abstract Research suggests that people who are religious may volunteer because religion is innately prosocial (i.e., inclination) or perhaps because religious communities provide volunteering chances (i.e., opportunities). Using data from Statistics Canada (General Social Survey, Cycle 33), we explored the relationship between different religious and nonreligious identities and volunteering behaviors, time commitments to volunteering, and organization types for which respondents volunteered. Results indicated a complex relationship between religious/nonreligious identity, religious attendance, and prayer. We found that (1) atheists were more likely to volunteer than religious individuals who were low on religious attendance; (2) atheists were less likely to volunteer than religious individuals who were high on religious attendance; (3) the difference in volunteering between atheists and religious individuals was driven by the latter’s volunteering in a religious context, not in the broader community. The results suggest that atheists likely have fewer opportunities to volunteer but are similarly inclined to volunteer.

Normalisation of nonreligious identity in Finland

ABSTRACT Based on representative survey material analysed with the help of Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA), this article examines nonreligious identification in Finland. It focuses on those who positively identify themselves as nonreligious, describes them according to selected social variables, and explores their attitudes. The results demonstrate that nonreligious identity is more prevalent among Millennials and even more so among urban men. An examination of attitudes towards minority religions, church–state interaction, and national pride shows that the nonreligious are relatively liberal and tolerant, but what makes them different from others is their opposition to church–state interaction and their lack of national pride, thus indicating the weakening of ‘cultural religion’. On the basis of these findings, this article argues that in addition to the general process of secularisation, national history and recent social changes offer plausible reasons for the questions of how and why such normalisation is taking place, especially among Millennials.

FAITH, SCIENCE, AND NONRELIGIOUS IDENTITY FORMATION AMONG MALE KENYAN YOUTH

AbstractThe faith and science dialogue has received scholarly attention in the recent past. Within the African landscape at large, the underlying assumption has been that Africans are religious. However, there has been a rising cohort of Africans who are increasingly identified as nonreligious or atheist or agnostic. This research presents a qualitative analysis of the sociocultural factors that affect or influence these minority identities within a pluralistic African context, exploring their emergence and diversities within the African context, with a specific focus on 20 male Kenyan youth who are identified as nonreligious. This research utilized purposive sampling within nonreligious groups and networks. Second, this research aims at exploring how nonreligious identities are constructed, particularly given the concomitant issues surrounding emerging adulthood and new media. This builds up on the theories around youth and identity formation, while foregrounding science and belief as a central theme of study.

Lived Islam: Embodied Identities and Everyday Practices among American Muslim Youth

This article explores lived Islam in the context of two young American Muslim women’s everyday lives. Although much of the scholarship on Muslim geographies is grounded in people’s everyday lives, the focus has been to situate and examine the specific meanings and expressions of “Muslim” identities. Whereas scholars intentionally have been writing against anti-Muslim racism and with the commendable aim of gaining extensive knowledge, our focus on “Muslim” has at times been at the expense of other salient identities, activities, and interests of interlocutors. Drawing on the broader scholarship on lived religion, this article offers geographers an approach to lived Islam influenced by feminist geographical and phenomenological frameworks. Through ethnographic methods, lived Islam offers a detailed picture of subjective everyday life, with a focus on embodied and emotionally charged memories, intersecting identities, and practices. Such a feminist approach to the lived enactment of religious faith rejects inherent identity categories as well as binaries such as religious–secular. Lived Islam contributes importantly to Muslim geographies and feminist geographies of religion by elaborating on the complexities of Muslim lives and identities, how being Muslim is integral to different kinds of nonreligious identities and practices in different secular and nonreligious spaces within specific social and political contexts.

None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada

None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada

And then there were none: Regional dynamics of non-religious identities, beliefs and practices among Canadian millennials.

Religious nones - or, in other words, those who say that they have no religion when asked - are one of the fastest growing demographics in Canada, especially among young adults aged 18-35. Using statistical data from a 2019 Millennial Trends Survey, a diversity of approaches to religion, spirituality and non-religion can be seen within this broad category of individuals. Based on these findings, the author argues that the two main theoretical frameworks of 'secular transition' and 'spiritual but not religious' should be understood as complementary, rather than contradictory, in understanding the religious none phenomenon. Evidence of five distinct regional patterns of religious nones across the country is found, which are designated as 'spiritual British Columbia', 'dispersed Prairies', 'vestigial and uncertain Ontario', 'non-believing Quebec' and 'stigmatized Atlantic Canada' nones.

None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada. By Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme. New York: New York University Press, 2020. Pp. 258. $89.00 (cloth); $30.00 (paper).

<i>None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada</i>. By Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme. New York: New York University Press, 2020. Pp. 258. $89.00 (cloth); $30.00 (paper).

When Women Can’t Be Who They Are at Work: Religious-Based Identity Threat

Employees can be authentic at work only if they work within an organization, where they can freely behave in line with their core values. Over the last four decades, adherence to Islamic rules became a necessity in Iran’s organizational environment. As a result, Iranian employees, especially women, continuously fail to enact their non-religious identity at work. Drawing on identity theory and social identity theory, this study examines the religious-based identity threat experienced by Iranian women and its effect on women’s authenticity at work. We surveyed 177 Iranian women and examined a moderated mediation model. We predicted that accepting external influence as an individual trait moderates the mediating effect of authenticity at work on the association between religious-based identity threat and two organizational outcomes: turnover intentions and job satisfaction. Our findings show that female employees’ perception of religious-based identity threat driven by their organization’s religious rules, policies, and norms prevents them from expressing their authentic core values, resulting in increased turnover intention and decreased job satisfaction. We discuss managerial implications, limitations, and opportunities for future research.

Religious Conversion Practices and LGBTQA + Youth

IntroductionMultiple jurisdictions are debating responses to United Nations calls for banning attempts at conversion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA +) peoples’ identities to fit religious norms. This paper aimed to examine Australian LGBTQA + youths’ experiences and outcomes of religious conversion practices attempting to change or suppress their gender or sexuality. It explored how attending conversion practices related to demographic characteristics and outcomes.MethodsA 2019 online health and social well-being survey promoted via diverse social media questioned 6412 LGBTQA + Australians aged 14–21 years on their experiences of sexuality or gender change or suppression practices. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed to understand relationships between exposure to conversion practices and demographic, socio-behavioural, and health and well-being measures.ResultsWhilst most participants had never attended counselling, group work, programs or interventions aimed at changing their sexuality or gender identity, 4% had attended such conversion practices. Analyses showed associations between engaging with conversion practices and (1) specific demographics (being cisgender male, multi-gender-attracted, unemployed, affiliated to a religion at the personal or household level); (2) social experiences (increased exposure to social rejection, negative remarks and harassment); (3) socio-behavioural outcomes (decreased education, sport and housing opportunities) and (4) negative health and mental health outcomes (including increased suicidality and self-harm).ConclusionsThe paper showed that conversion practices are correlated with poor well-being outcomes, providing arguments for expanding inclusive health and mental health services allowing for affirming religious and non-religious identities for LGBTQA + youth.Policy ImplicationsThe paper provides evidence supporting bans on conversion practices.

None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada

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Much more than a negation of religion: a qualitative exploration of the diversity of non-religious identities in England and Wales

ABSTRACT Census data for 2011 suggested that around 14.1 million people in England and Wales state that they have no religion and recent survey evidence suggests that the number could be even higher. Drawing on evidence from focus group discussions with people who broadly self-identify with the descriptor ‘non-religious’, this article examines the diversity of non-religious identities and the interfaces with religion and equalities law. Through analysis of the identity narratives of people who see themselves as non-religious, the findings indicate that people use various conceptualisations of non-religion, belief, and spirituality to describe their identities. Moreover, non-religious people also reported experiences of unfair treatment and discrimination due to their identities. The term ‘non-religious’ can be problematic; it can be homogenising and limit people to identifying themselves in terms of the negation of religion. The findings highlight different non-religious identities and thus bring into question the conceptions, both popular and official, of the category ‘non-religious’ and the wider discourse of non-religion. It can be questioned whether the negative label of being non-religious is fit for purpose. There is a need for a new vocabulary to articulate, describe, and understand non-religious identities and experiences.

A Complex Simplicity: The Relationship of Religiosity and Nonreligiosity to Life Satisfaction

AbstractMost previous research purportedly indicates a stable linear relationship between (non)religiosity and life satisfaction, but a review of these studies reveals a less consistent relationship and several conceptual and methodological issues. More recent research adds to the relationship's complexity by indicating that certain government regulations, social norms of religiosity, and a country's level of societal development interact with the relationship between individual (non)religiosity and life satisfaction. At the individual level, nonbelief certainty, nonreligious identity, belief in science, secular sources of meaning in life, and nonreligious group memberships appear to be central to nonreligious individuals’ life satisfaction. These findings emphasize the need for considering interactions with context factors, for differentiating between (non)religious subgroups, for multidimensional conceptualizations of nonreligiosity beyond the mere absence of religiosity, and for testing for nonlinear relationships. When these aspects are included in empirical research, differences in the level of life satisfaction between religious and nonreligious individuals largely disappear.

None of the Above: Non-Religious Identity in the US and Canada, by JOEL THIESSEN and SARAH WILKINS-LAFLAMME

None of the Above: Non-Religious Identity in the US and Canada, by JOEL THIESSEN and SARAH WILKINS-LAFLAMME

Review: None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada, by Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme

Review: <i>None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada</i>, by Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme

None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada by Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme

None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada by Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme

The Political Choice of Orthodox Believers in Russia: Strengths and Limitations of Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Research

Previous studies have shown that religiosity is a heterogeneous concept combining identities, practices, and beliefs. At the same time, most of these studies are based on a quantitative methodology. It allows a relationship between religiosity and the political choice of believers to be found, but imposes a limitation on the analysis. The quantitative methodology does not control the interactions of aspects of religiosity, and cannot explain the discovered relationships. This paper proposes an alternative research strategy, specifically, (1) the proposed model allows an analysis of the multiple influences of both religious and non-religious identities, practices and beliefs, and that (2) the qualitative data collected from in-depth interviews with believers complements previous research of the mechanisms of religious influence on political choice. A subjective assessment of one’s position and the actions of the authorities are the most important aspects to the voter (the role of beliefs). An assessment leads to a political choice when (1) a group-identity intensifies the significance of the political problem and poses questions for the individual, and (2) a set of norms and practices provides clues on how to solve a problem. An empirical test of the model was carried out in 2019 in three settlements in the Lipetsk region. The findings illustrate the sufficient potential of the chosen research strategy. The different political choice among respondents, who were expected to have the same political attitudes by quantitative indicators, are explained through the choice of motives and context.

(Non)Religious Diversity and correlation of religious, spiritual and secular in the consciousness of modern man

Non-religious diversity is growing in the world nowadays. In the current context it is understood not as a diversity of faiths, religions, non-religions, etc., but as a variety of types of non-religious consciousness and categories of non-religious identity. The article covers only a few aspects of this vast topic. First, the theoretical prerequisites and substantiations for the change in the Western non-religious identity taking place during the transition from the Westphalian to the post-Westphalian system of religious governance and the emergence of a special type of pluralism that is formed in the process of dedifferentiation of religion, globalization and the transformation of the “religion of place and nation” into a transnational religion “without place and nation”, when the ratio of religious, spiritual and secular in the mind of a postmodern person changes. Second, the author analyses the origins and causes of this transformation of non-religious consciousness in the "long 1960s". Third, the author traces the evolution of such types of non-religious diversity as “spiritual but not religious”, “none” and “post-protestants” and the concept of “spirituality” that connects them. The category "spiritual but not religious", sometimes perceived as dubious and unconvincing, appearing in the context of countercultural spirituality, in the author´s opinion, is very important for understanding Western, especially American irreligiousness in general and the processes taking place today in particular. The processes that are associated with the growth of "none" and the proliferation of "post-Protestants" related to the Woke culture, who claim the role of "saviours of humanity", attaching more importance to the "new post-Protestant ethics" (rather than religion and tradition), seeking to politicise religion, to sacralise politics, race and gender relations. Rejecting the "old religion" and proclaiming a "new ethics", moving from the ideals of diversity, universal tolerance and political correctness to "militant moralism and cruel dogmatism”, they confirm the idea of "complex irreligiousness" in the era of "late modernity", that seems to be a sign of the times and requires close attention of scientists.