Name: Ishan Saikia
Roll: 285
Department: ECOA
Foundation Course Assignment
Semester 1
How Religion Affects an Individual’s Identity,
Personality, and Choices
Table of Contents
Religion and the Individual Identity
1
The Effect on Personality and a Person’s Choice
2
The Five-Factor Model of Personality
3
Religion and Choice
4
Conclusion
5
Reference List
6
Name: Ishan Saikia
Roll: 285
Foundation Course Assignment
Semester 1
How Religion Affects an Individual’s
Identity, Personality, and Choices
Religion is a phenomenon that has been known to humankind before history even began: since
the age of the Neanderthals; Various artefacts confirm the existence of religion in the Palaeolithic
Era. According to NPR1, the archaic humans even had what can now be identified as primitive
burial customs, indicating that even they believed in religion and an after-life. The point is:
religion is a social institution that is as ancient as our ancestors; human beings are always on an
eternal quest to quench their religious needs.
Religion is also a pervasive and perennial interest of humans. It can be found in almost all forms
of societies, past or present. Beyond the satisfaction of their base biological, economical, and
social needs, humans have had a religious need. Ergo, the Biblical saying, “Man cannot live by
bread alone.” In a PEW study conducted in 20172, a massive 86% of the world’s population
identified with some form of religion or the other. So, while not everyone is religious, a good
majority of people still are, amplifying the importance of this institution to our society.
Although religion — the concept — is omnipresent, the diversified beliefs of each religion, along
with their customs and rituals, provide each with its own nuance. And so, thousands of religions
came to be with their own unique communities, composed of individuals who identify with a
particular religion.
Religion and the Individual Identity
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry,
their passions a quotation.”
- Oscar Wilde, De Profundis
In quoting Mr. Wilde, I have fulfilled his prophecy on quotations; but there is still more truth to
the line: people are a summation of the various groups and social structures they identify
themselves with. I may be a Hindu, but I may also be a Bengali, a poet, a playwright, a painter,
and a philosopher. Of course, I am not the polymath Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, but any one
of these identities was a part of his total identity, not necessarily his only one.
Religion can constitute a small, a large, or even no part, in forming a particular individual’s
identity. This variation depends on how much of an effect religion, as an agent of socialisation,
has had on said individual. Socialisation is nothing but the process by which people learn and
acquire social skills and gain an identity. As per the works of Mol3, this shaping of identity is
composed of two aspects: an immutable and an ever-changing one. The immutable part is a
holistic one; it is what makes up a person’s core personality and other traits. Although it may
change slowly with time, it is generally a constant product of what her experiences were,
especially in youth (the clean slate where people are more susceptible to change). The other
refers to the identity of a person from time-to-time. This aspect is by no means constant, and
changes based on what she experiences on a daily basis.
The primary groups to which one belongs, such as family, influence the core. The secondary
groups, such as a workplace or a classroom, work on the base, made by the more stable group,
and give society the individual’s identity and behaviour on any given day. The question now lies
in whether religion can be considered a primary group or a secondary group.
In the eyes of one of the founding fathers of sociological thought, Émile Durkheim, religion is
the most fundamental social institution, with nearly all other social institutions, at some point in
history, stemming from it. Revising his earlier thoughts4, he claimed that, while the specificities
of religions may vary, religion itself will, in some form or the other, always be a part of social
life5.
The credibility of Durkheim’s claims is put to question in the modern context now, as his
research was primarily based on the totemic religion of Australian aborigines, in a singular,
possibly outdated, case study. However, a key takeaway from his insights may still hold: that
human beings do not gain an identity from being a part of a religion only; rather, the regular
practices of rites and rituals, customs and traditions, celebrations and festivities — all contribute
to a certain degree of social interaction. It is only through this regular or semi-regular interaction
that people find meaning and a sense of community within their religion. This feeling is
responsible for the creation of the aforementioned ‘religious identity.’
Another key aspect of religion’s role in constituting an individual’s identity is how much that
individual allows religion to affect her overall identity. As stated by Dr. Amartya Sen in his book,
Identity and Violence6, “in each social context, there would be a number of potentially viable and
relevant identities which one could assess in terms of their acceptability and their relative
importance … The person may have to decide on the relative significance of the different
affiliations, which could vary depending on the context.” He goes on to compare and add a
constraint to this choice, through an analogy of budget constraint affecting consumer choice in
the field of economics. The context Dr. Sen has referred to includes that constraint.
Take, for example, a child who has been brought up in a Mormon household in the United States.
If this household were to be conservatively run, offering the child no exposure to other media,
especially that of other religions, there is little scope for the child to want to pursue anything but
the Mormon religion. In such an extreme case, the constraints were massive, and the choice was
practically nonexistent, as, even if the child were to have some revelation and want to convert to
an ex-Mormon, notwithstanding the likelihood of that even occurring, the family would end the
idea before it reaches fruition.
There are other such examples where people may have choices, but not with respect to all
religions. Social taboos and fear of ostracisation within a religious community prevent many
from even knowing what another religion is about, let alone wanting to join it.
To summarise and state the obvious, a person’s sense of religious identity is totally dependent on
how much that individual actively listens to and believes in religious texts, and (sometimes)
participates in religious customs. A person whose level of involvement in their religion is sparse
— if at all any — will hardly choose religion as a major part of her identity. In fact, studies by
Hunsberger7 show that these individuals may even experience identity diffusion, that is, a loss of
a sense of identity.
The Effect on Personality and a Person’s Choice
If identity was who we are, personality is how we ‘live in’ that identity. This distinction is
important because an individual may identify as something, but display a personality not
conforming to that identity, subconsciously or otherwise. While not everyone has the tendency to
do this, it is easy to think up situations where people may be religious, but do not (or choose not
to) make it a large part of their personality. One may attend all the religious festivities, read all
the holy texts, and have an unwavering devotion to God, but still not be perceived as religious by
others. She chooses not to make her religion a part of her social life, even though it may be a
large part of who she is.
Of course, on the opposite end of the spectrum, are people who also choose to portray religion as
a large part of themselves. The purpose of this may be because they find certain aspects of
religion to be a way of expressing oneself. They may also wish to preach the overtones of their
beliefs to others around them.
All the other kinds of people identifying with a particular religion fall somewhere in between this
spectrum. Regardless of the extent to which a person exhibits religion as a personality trait, no
one can conclude that one person is ‘more religious’ than another. It may be a good indicator of
religiosity, but it is not definite.
The Five-Factor Model of Personality
Most research papers and psychologists utilise the five-factor model of taxonomy for personality
traits. Also known as ‘the Big Five’ traits, it is a tried and tested way of concisely categorising a
person’s personality and drawing other inferences based on the classifications given.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Extraversion - how sociable or shy a person is.
Neuroticism - how anxious or relaxed a person is, generally.
Conscientiousness - the level of organisation and care the person has.
Agreeableness - the difference between a cooperative and understanding individual and a
rude or cold one.
5. Openness to Experience - how innovative, complex, and unconventional a person is.
On the basis of this model, many surveys and studies have been conducted in the specific
context of the religiosity of people. The Iranian Journal of Psychiatry8 conducted a study of
exactly this. In it, they found that people holding basic religious beliefs were more likely to be
extraverted, conscientious, agreeable, and open to experiences; they, however, were significantly
less likely to be neurotic.
These results are not, by any means, perfect. For starters, the cited studies display weak
correlation or have far too small a sample size for proper analysis. However, by combining both
intuition and loose data, one can hypothesise some interesting reasons as to why and what effect
religion has on personality.
1. Religion provides peace of mind - this may explain the negative correlation between
neuroticism and religiosity. At every crisis, whether it be personal or as a collective,
religion is brought in as a source of consolation. The comforting blankets that are
religious teachings wrap around one in their time of need and are a means of emotional
support. In a constantly churning world of uncertainty and turmoil, religion may be a
first or a last resort for many to find inspiration and courage in.
2. Religion is sacred - religion provides an experience like no other — a connection to a
higher power. Through prayer and meditation, the individual undergoes an inexplicable
experience. By forgetting worldly life and its issues, one can ennoble human desires,
ideals, and values. This further facilitates the development of personality, sociability, and
creativeness.
3. Religion provides transcendence - for those living a life filled with hardships and
disappointments, religion provides an escape from frustration. These religious needs
transcend worldly experience and tell followers that there is more to life. The perils of
one moment may push an individual to push harder in the next. This perseverance is
brought about by religion.
Religion and Choice
“If humans could have everything they desired, there would be no choice.”
- Unknown
In economics, choice refers to one alternative good being selected over another. Applied to the
broader context of the world, choice refers to our decisions on a daily basis. From the smallest
‘what should I eat today’ to the life-changing ones, like marriage, we all make choices.
The part religion plays in determining certain or even all choices made by an individual depends
on her personality, identity, and social context. Since the assignment of religion as her identity is
usually a choice, how much she allows religion to affect her decisions is a choice in and of itself.
Most religions act as means of social control, propagating norms and ideologies through both
positive and negative reinforcement. Concepts like karma, heaven-hell, a peaceful afterlife come
into play here as they incentivise followers to make decisions for the good of the community as
well as themselves. According to Shariff and Norenzayan’s study in 20119, individuals who
believe in the fear of God are more likely to behave in a moral or honest manner. Religious
scriptures may also act as a prescription of acceptable social behaviour.
It is, therefore, no surprise that religion has had a heavy influence on decisions throughout
history. Many political and socio-economic goals have had a religious basis to them, and,
oftentimes, people have risen to power in the name of religion.
Conclusion
The modern view of religion is very different from how people saw it centuries ago. No longer is
it a bastion of truth, mandatory for all to follow. Religious authority is on the decline, as more
and more people are making the choice of how much religion is a part of their identity for
themselves.
Subsequently, religion is not and should not be the only basis for judgment of a person’s entire
identity. The loss of identity this way leads to the creation of stereotypes and generalisations.
This dehumanises the individual and furthers religious prejudices, causing hypocritical and rash
behaviour that ignores the ubiquitous religious teachings of being kind to one’s neighbour
In a world filled with enough pain and suffering, we all must learn to respect our differences in
religion, as it is that very religion so many turn to in times of peril.
Reference List:
1. King, Barbara J. “Were Neanderthals Religious? : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture.” NPR, 7
December
2016,
https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/12/07/504650215/were-neanderthals-religious.
2. “World's largest religion by population is still Christianity.” Pew Research Center, 5
April
2017,
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/05/christians-remain-worlds-largest-relig
ious-group-but-they-are-declining-in-europe/.
3. H, Mol. Identity and Religion. Sage publications, 1978.
4. Durkheim, Émile (1997). The division of labor in society. Translated by W. D. Halls, Free
Press.
5. Durkheim, Émile (2001). The elementary forms of religious life. Edited by Associate
Professor and Chair Department of Religion Mark S. Cladis and Mark Sydney Cladis,
translated by Carol Cosman, Oxford University Press.
6. Sen, Amartya. Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny. Penguin Books, 2007.
7. Hunsberger, et all (2001). “Adolescent identity formation: Religious exploration,
commitment and identity.” An international Journal of Theory and Research, vol. 1, pg.
365-386.
8. Khoynezhad G, Rajaei AR, Sarvarazemy (2012) A. Basic religious beliefs and
personality traits. Iran J Psychiatry.
9. Azim F. Shariff & Ara Norenzayan (2011) Mean Gods Make Good People: Different
Views of God Predict Cheating Behavior, The International Journal for the Psychology of
Religion, 21:2, 85-96, DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2011.556990