Distinguishing Between Belief and Culture: A Critical Perspective on Religious Identity (original) (raw)

Current literature about religion in higher education typically emphasizes belief as a central component of religious identity. Through framing this discourse with a critical social justice lens, I argue that there needs to be a purposeful distinction between religious/spiritual belief and religious identity/culture in order to acknowledge the socio-cultural nature of religion and to more clearly understand the privilege/oppression dynamic associated with it. By describing the way Christian privilege and religious oppression are often independent of individuals' religious or spiritual beliefs, I discuss implications of this over-emphasis on belief for religious minorities and explain how focusing instead on religious culture can help make campus-based interfaith initiatives more social justice oriented. Since 2001, there has been a substantial increase in the amount of research and discourse on religion, religious identity, interfaith dialogue, and religious diversity initiatives in the realm of higher education (Astin, 2004; Clark, Brimhall-Vargas, Schlosser, & Alimo, 2002; Rockenbach, Mayhew, & Bowman, 2015). As religious tension has risen (and continues to rise) both domestically and abroad, so too have campus-based initiatives aimed at reducing this tension by promoting respect for religious diversity and social justice for religious minorities. The current body of scholarship related to this phenomenon typically relies on an interpretation of religion and religious identity that emphasizes belief as a central (if not the only) component defining this aspect of students' identities (Astin, Astin, & Lindholm, 2011). This widely accepted and unchallenged perspective downplays (or overlooks entirely) the socio-cultural nature of religion, contradicting literature in both religious studies and critical identity studies that explains how persons' religious cultures are largely unrelated to their personal beliefs. In this article, I reflect on the concept of religious identity using a critical social justice lens and argue that there needs to be a purposeful distinction between religious/spiritual belief and religious identity/culture in order to more clearly understand privilege and oppression as they pertain to religion. Making this distinction can shed light on the ways culturally Christian agnostics/atheists may benefit from Christian privilege and how oppression of religious minorities stems from their religious culture in addition to their beliefs, perhaps even more so.