What Does it Mean to Be Religious?

Many define "religion" as a "belief system." But religion encompasses a lot more than "belief" and "doctrine." In fact, many religions don't emphasize personal faith much at all. For many people, their religious identity is derived through the rituals they decide to participate in and the cultural identity that they have adopted. How, then, can we complicate our "belief centric" view of religious identity?

Uploaded 01-09-17

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Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry

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B-reel footage used with permission from the following photographers:
EC Henry: https://www.youtube.com/user/tlwll
Jennifer Lindsay: https://www.youtube.com/user/jenniferslindsay

Bibliography:

Ben Marcus on the 3B Framework of Religious Identity:
“Religious Literacy in American Education,” in The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education, ed. Michael D. Waggoner and Nathan C. Walker (Oxford: Oxford University Press, Forthcoming).

More from Ben Marcus on 3B Framework: http://www.religiousfreedomcenter.org/schools/grounding/identity/

Belief in God Pew Research study: http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/belief-in-god/

Catholic views Pew Research study: http://www.pewforum.org/2013/03/18/us-catholics-happy-with-selection-of-pope-francis/

Another study on Catholic views on birth control and homosexuality: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/19/majority-of-u-s-catholics-opinions-run-counter-to-church-on-contraception-homosexuality/

For a fuller discussion on Charles Hardwick and the "Protestant bias" in the study of religion, see:
Dr. Tomoko Masuzawa, "The Invention of World Religions," p. 127

Dr. JZ Smith, "Drudgery Divine," (the whole book, its great).



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