Religious identity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Religious identity is a matter of self – identification and self – declaration of those, who only believe in, or also follow the doctrines of a particular religion. There are two complementary tendencies that have shaped the greater and smaller religions through the ages. The first is a tendency to form a strong identity, that can be found mainly among the great religions of the Mediterrianeum, with the help of an exclusive self – image, that attepts to create one’s unique form of belief. Usually this happens by the means of clearly defined doctrines, rituals and customs, as well as clearly established criteria for drawing the borderlines that separate the community’s religion from all the others. The other is a tendency to accommodate and adapt, or even mix, the forms, beliefs and thought – patterns of different traditions, leaning to syncretism. On the contrary, the first type of religious identity we can call a striving towards exclusive identity.
