Religious Identity

1. Religious Identity Ocean Armstrong Anne Chappell Barkett Megan Ford Corey Huffman Samuel Imeson Megan Irvine Victor Kondzielawa Meredith Morgan

2. Activity If you consider yourself to be religious go to the left side of the room If you consider yourself to be nonreligious go to the right side of the room https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7r_Ifyg4S0 Religious group: Think of what the defining characteristics are that make you label yourself as religious- also think about a definition for how to label a person as non-religious Non-religious group: Think of what the defining characteristics are that make you label yourself as non-religious- also think about a definition for how to label a person as religious

3. “Religious identity is unique from categories like race and gender…because it often encompasses a specific notion or worldview of how other individuals should relate to one another.” Lauren Lucas. “The Free Exercise of Religious Identity.” UCLA Law Review 64, no. 1 (March 2017): 54-115. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, 67

4. Definitions RELIGIOUS → “The service and worship of God or the supernatural; to be committed to religious faith or service (Religion) .” NON-RELIGIOUS → Antinomy to religious; specifically does not worship or serve a God. A specific type of non-religion is Atheism

5. Religion in Sports • Sports and Religions relationship is delicate • Tim Tebow’s involvement into the revolution of this relationship • New laws and regulations created to prevent players from portraying their religious beliefs • Media scrutiny on Tebow • This was accused of being an abuse of power • Iconic players influence on people in general • How is this shaping people’s thoughts • Players are feeding off what he has started with interviews media consulting • How this plays a role in society today • Restrictions on Religious identity in everyday life • https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B64JVXVjE-25YmM3TUxCOGh6b3VkYWp6Z2dDaHdBa0lhdVBj

6. Religious Minorities RELIGIOUS MINORITY: a group of people who are lacking full political power or participation based on their adherence to a religion or belief. -Religion is being used as an Identity/Difference by people in power to oppress people who are a minority and not in power. -Problem: Globalization has allowed for religions to spread everywhere so being a religious minority is more likely now than previously. -People who are religious minorities face discrimination daily.

7. Religious Minorities Muslims in a secular society France legislated the Burka Banlaw which made it illegal for anyone to wear any type of clothing which covered their faces, because France is a secular society Problem: Muslims felt specifically targeted because the hijab is a very large part of their religion and is an obvious way to identify a Muslim Christians in the Middle East International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was constructed to protect religious freedoms for Muslims and non-Muslims in the Middle East. Egypt, Iran, and Iraq overlooked this covenant and only provided religious freedom to Muslims in their country Christians struggled to build places of worship, congregate for worship, and even attend schools

8. Brainteaser What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? Short A man went into a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone at the party who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die? The poison was in the ice cubes. How far can a rabbit run into the woods? Halfway - After that he is running out of the woods What can you hold without ever touching it or using your hands? Your breath

9. Separation of Church and State – History of Europe • 1112 - Concordat of Worms signed by Holy Roman Emperor - separated church and state • Reformation Movement - theologians believed church should be regulated by the state • 1555 - Peace of Augsburg - Protestantism and Catholicism on equal footing with empire • 1618 - Start of Thirty Year’s War • Denmark & Norway (1536) and Sweden & Finland (1593) - governed by secular rulers on state law • Treaty and Peace of Westphalia - official religion dependent on individual rulers • Idea of religious freedom did not exist • You either submitted to official religion of a region or fled to another • Enlightenment - • North → Lutheran, South → Catholic, East → Orthodox; others were multiconfessional • France nearly expelled the Catholic church completely • 17th and 18th centuries - religion should be considered private and protected by constitutional law • 1905 - laicite → a strict institutional separation of church and state and the privatization of religion

10. Separation of Church and State • Nationalism developed which gave people a new reason to unify together • Helped the separation of the church from the state • Protective religious identity v. projective religious identity • Preserving the ability to define & pursue religious identity within the confines of their own sphere v. those who wish to affect the rights of others • Holidays and rituals are commonly what separates religious identity from other types of identity • Critical to religious identity that members are able to engage in such actions under legal protections • United States – Protection of religious identity and practice under first amendment • Example – Court clerks refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples • Europe – considered to be where societies have the weakest religious ties

11. Religion and Voting Behavior • Conditioning: a form of learning involving strengthening of an association between a stimulus and response. • Religion can be considered a form of conditioning where a group of people perform similar routines that are unique to their group. • Christianity: Bible • Judaism: Torah • Muslim: Quran • When reading the texts in one’s religion, the individual learns and incorporates the text’s values into their lifestyle and way of thinking. • Through this practice, members of the religion learn specific ideals of what is right and wrong. Individuals can then incorporate this into their identity.

12. Religion and voting behavior • A study was developed displaying the increased correlation between significance of religion and one’s voting behavior. In this historical review, they found that there has been a consistently positive association between religion and voting behavior. • Results of the study showed that between 1980 and 1994, the gap between religious and non-religious affiliations has increased. • For example, Protestants were found to identify with the Republican party, while Jews identified with the Democratic party.

13. Clinton vs. Trump • Although Christians make up 70% of the population, there is less pronunciation between the two parties in their voting behavior. • On the other hand Jewish, other faiths, and religiously unaffiliated had very strong preferences for the Democratic side vs. Republican • While making up 22.8% of the population, the religiously unaffiliated groups are growing in their influence on the religious vote (68%).

14. Religious Extremists • Religious Extremist: person who holds extreme views and often resorts to extreme violence. • Violence is usually directed towards an outgroup • Examples of hostility: 9/11 and Boston Marathon Bombing • An outgroup could be members of an opposing faith or even members of the same faith • Same faith members are often viewed as not being true believer or as not being religious enough

15. Muslim Extremists Actions Justified • They see their actions as rational • Actions are also justified by means of incentive • Money • Spiritual incentive • Interpretation of the Koran • Each individual must make a sacrifice • Actions seen as a way to gain favor with God • Through these actions, they strive to unify all of Islam • Radical hardships that are faced are used to justify their actions • Facing hardships shows that they are on the right path for God

16. Extremist Identity • Use the idea of hegemony → their way is the right, natural, and only way • Rally followers based on the idea of nationalism and religious identity • Extremists use their religious identity label to sort themselves and others • Based on what they are and what they are not • Extremist groups such as ISIS use their religious identity to bring themselves together to form their own community and to see themselves as a nation.

17. Major Religions and What Gives them Identity • Religion, to most people, is a system in which a certain group of people use faith or worship to connect themselves to something superhuman. • Religion helps people cope with difficult things in their life and gives them a sense of empowerment to overcome hardships. • Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism • The cross is an important symbol to Christians. It resembles the sacrificial crucifixion of Jesus Christ. • Buddhists do not believe in an actual god, but strive to attain the spiritual enlightenment that the Buddha had. • Like Christianity, the Muslim religion believes in one god only. Their god is Allah. They believe he is the source of all things, good and evil. • Hindus believe in many gods and goddesses and also believe that your previous life determines how well you live your next life.

18. How Those Religions Give Themselves an Identity • How religions view the afterlife is a major characteristic of a religion so when identifying them, it’s important to take that factor into account. • For some religions, how they view the afterlife is similar in some ways and actually have the same idea in a lot of ways, but for others, it is quite different. • Christians believe that how you live your current life determines where you end up after death. • Buddhism and Hinduism have a few distinct differences but they each believe in the same concept for how they approach the afterlife. • Islam has the same concept as Christianity but with different beliefs. • All of these similarities and differences within these religions give each of them a sense of empowerment over one another and with that then gives them a certain identity.

19. Religiosity within Religion • Religiosity- strong religious feeling or belief • Religiosity can be thought of how serious someone takes their religious duties and obligations • One way to tell if someone has high levels of religiosity is to observe their daily actions • Highly Religious people tend to spend more time with family and volunteer in the community • Religiosity can empower people within their religious groups • Religiosity can also empower people within their communities • Religion as an identity/difference • Religiosity can be used to group people across different religions

20. Parental Influence on Religious Identity • Parents can influence religious identity in both a negative and positive way towards their children • Statistics show that children who were brought up with a strict particular religion would continue to follow throughout life • “A parent's faith can directly influence a child to follow their footsteps” • Some studies show that teenagers should grow up forming their own opinion on a religious viewpoint • Also they claim that difference in religious views by parents can help the child believe there is more freedom

21. Small Group Questions • In what situations does an identity label of being religious or non-religious matter? • Have you personally ever experienced discrimination based on your identity label of religious or non-religious? • Are there any ways your religion might shape your choice to vote for a particular party? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM57H6HDfPM

22. References "Religion." Merriam-Webster. Accessed March 14, 2017. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion. "Conditioning." Merriam-Webster. Accessed April 19, 2017. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conditioning. Smith, Gregory A., and Jessica Martínez. "How the faithful voted: A preliminary 2016 analysis." Pew Research Center. November 09, 2016. Accessed April 19, 2017. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/how-the-faithful-voted-a-preliminary-2016-analysis/. Wormald, Benjamin. "Religious Landscape Study." Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. May 11, 2015. Accessed April 19, 2017. http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/. Layman, Geoffrey C. "Religion and Political Behavior in the United States: The Impact of Beliefs, Affiliations, and Commitment From 1980 to 1994." Public Opinion Quarterly 61, no. 2 (1997): 288. doi:10.1086/297796.