ABSTRACT

Identity development is an important developmental task impacted by many facets of a person’s life, including ethnic background, abilities, and religion. Notwithstanding its decisive role in identity development, however, religious identity research has been rather sparse. Religious identity refers to how the person uses religion to answers the question “who am I?” or “who are we?.” Research that focuses on the religious identity development of particular groups is more scarce. This review article intends to synthesize the current state of the research in regard to religious identity development, especially as it relates to emerging adult Catholic religious identity development. A brief consideration of theories that may aid in understanding religious identity will be undertaken, followed by a review of empirical literature that suggests possible influences on religious identity. The methods, strengths and weaknesses of current research will be considered with implications for future research. It is hoped that through a better understanding of the current research on religious identity development a clearer path forward may be paved in research development.

摘要

身份发展是一项重要的发展任务，受到一个人生活的许多方面的影响，包括种族背景、能力和宗教。然而，尽管它在身份发展中起决定性作用，但宗教身份研究却相当稀少。宗教身份是指人们如何使用宗教来回答“我是谁”的问题。或“我们是谁？” 专注于特定群体宗教身份发展的研究更为稀缺。这篇评论文章旨在综合有关宗教身份发展的研究现状，特别是当它与新兴的成人天主教宗教身份发展有关时。将简要考虑可能有助于理解宗教身份的理论，随后是对表明可能对宗教身份产生影响的实证文献的回顾。将考虑当前研究的方法、优势和劣势，并对未来研究产生影响。希望通过对当前宗教身份发展研究的更好理解，可以为研究发展铺平更清晰的道路。