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Believing in Belonging: An Ethnography of Young People's Constructions of Belief

Day, Abby (2009) Believing in Belonging: An Ethnography of Young People's Constructions of Belief. Culture and Religion, 10 (3). pp. 263-278. ISSN 1475-5610. (doi:10.1080/14755610903279671) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:31274)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14755610903279671

Abstract

Evidence from a three-year case study suggests that how young people discuss their beliefs reflect where they define and locate legitimate sites of power, meaning and authority. For many young people today, religion is an insufficient source and mode of belief and belonging. The findings discussed here suggest an orientation to family, friends and other social relationships as legitimate and sufficient sites for locating belief, authority and transcendence. I argue that the young people studied do not holds beliefs to be ‘true’, in that they are propositional creed-like statements. Young people have shifted the meaning of belief to describe affective relationships in which they feel they belong to. Such a shift necessitates a relocation of the transcendent to the everyday and social. That shift is particularly evident as young people discuss how they continue their relationships with the deceased loved ones.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/14755610903279671
Uncontrolled keywords: belief, meaning, youth, belonging, ethnography
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of Culture and Languages
Depositing User: Fiona Symes
Date Deposited: 04 Oct 2012 18:03 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:09 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/31274 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Day, Abby.

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