Elsbeth Visser-Vogel

Bio: Elsbeth Visser-Vogel is an academic researcher from Utrecht University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Religious identity & Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 10 publications receiving 52 citations.

Developing a Framework for Research on Religious Identity Development of Highly Committed Adolescents

Abstract: The aim of this article is to present a framework for studying the religious identity development of highly religious Christian and Muslim adolescents. Building on existing theories on identity development, the authors define highly religious Christian and Muslim adolescents as orthoprax adolescents and explore the consequences of this for reflection on the religious identity development of these groups of youngsters. This study is a first step toward gaining qualitative insights into the religious identity development of orthoprax adolescents and filling up a perceived gap in research on religious identity development.

Being Young and Strictly Religious : A Review of the Literature on the Religious Identity Development of Strictly Religious Adolescents

Abstract: Strictly religious adolescents grow up in highly religious contexts with orthodox beliefs and practices that usually contrast with those of pluralist and secularized societies that can be perceived as promoting unhealthy religious identity development. For these adolescents, religious identity development may be a challenge; however, there seems to be a lack of theoretical and empirical understanding of how these adolescents develop their religious identities. To address this, a literature review was conducted, and 15 studies were selected after the application of selection criteria. This review focuses on the characteristics of these studies to understand the religious identity development of strictly religious adolescents. Implications for theory development and further empirical research are discussed.

Religious identity commitments of emerging adults raised in strictly Reformed contexts in the Netherlands

Abstract: This qualitative study examines the religious identity commitments of 18 emerging adults who grew up in strictly Reformed contexts in the Netherlands During in-depth narrative interviews with phot

Sources for Religious Identity Development of Orthoprax Muslim Adolescents in the Netherlands

Abstract: This interview study examines sources for the religious exploration of orthoprax Muslim adolescents in the Netherlands. We use the term sources to emphasize that we are also interested in sources other than parents and other persons. By using our interview guidelines, we succeeded in discovering sources other than persons: for example, specific events and opinions of others in the societal context of the Netherlands. This study also gives insight into which sources stimulate religious identity development, and how they are of importance in the process of religious identity development. Lastly, we distinguish five actions perceived as being important to success.

Religious identity development of orthoprax Muslim adolescents in the Netherlands

Abstract: The central research question of this study is the following: “How do orthoprax Muslim adolescents construct and perceive their religious identity and their religious identity development?” At the start of our research project, we developed a framework based on several theories of identity development, particularly harking back to Marcia’s Identity Status Interview model (Marcia et al., 1993). We also used the narrative approach of McAdams (1997, 2005, 2008) to investigate the life story of adolescents and to gain insight into the content of religious identity development. In this research project, we chose the label “orthopraxy” and distinguished four criteria for “orthopraxy.” Based on the developed framework, we undertook our empirical study. The results of this research paint a rich and varied picture of orthoprax Muslims in the Netherlands. Our study first provides insight into the religious identity of orthoprax Muslim adolescents when it comes to important themes in the construction of their religious identity. The study results found three important themes in the religious identity construction of highly committed young Muslim adults: acquiring knowledge, participating in and being involved with their own communities, and following the commandments of Allah. The results also show which practices and choices are important to the participants’ religious identity. Second, we learned more about how the societal context of the Netherlands influences the construction of religious identity. Identity construction, indeed, depends on the context, situation, and reactions of others (Erikson, 1968; Mitchell, 2006). The respondents seemed aware of the negative image of Muslims in the Netherlands and set themselves apart from the “general Muslim,” claiming different practices and beliefs from them. Respondents particularly mentioned being different from the mainstream, forming part of their religious identity. Third, processes of religious exploration appeared to be of particular importance. By describing four different elements of the exploratory process (catalysts, content, strategies, and results), we found three styles of exploration among respondents: “exploration in depth,” “conscious and deliberate choices,” and “exploration process isolated from final commitment.” We argued that the identity statuses of Marcia’s theory (1966, 1980) do not completely align with the three styles found in our group of respondents. To a certain extent, two styles of exploration mirror Marcia’s statuses approach, but one style is not covered by any of these statuses. Fourth, we detected seven categories of sources for the religious identity development of our respondents: people with the same opinion, people with opposing opinions, Islamic organizations, events, the adolescents themselves, Muslim identity, and opinions from others in the societal context of the Netherlands. In addition, we examined how respondents in our study perceived the importance of sources to their religious identity development. We distinguished exploration-stimulating actions and commitment-stimulating actions. In addition, we categorized five successful actions of importance: people’s open mindedness, the relationship between adolescents and sources for religious identity development, having authority, sharing similarities, and controlling practices. Fifth, we conclude that orthoprax young Muslim adults feel opposed to Dutch society and do not feel connected to it. However, most of the time, they participate in society by having jobs, studying, and making friends. We also see that respondents are particularly active in and involved with their own Islamic communities. In many cases, respondents do not link their religious identity to their participation in society. This study shows three different styles of linking religion to participation: “participating as far as Islam allows,” “religion is very personal and individual,” and “bridging the gap.”

Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion

Abstract: Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion. By Rodney Stark and Roger Finke. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. 343 pp. $48.00 (cloth); $18.95 (paper). At a recent American Academy of Religion meeting, after a brilliant paper was presented on God and religious experience, the speaker was asked this question by an academic: "But how can you say these things in our postmodem, anti-enlightenment, pluralistic age?" Acts of Faith secures the thesis that not just talk about, but devout belief in, God is rational, widespread, and shows no sign of abating. For a vast number of well-educated, articulate human beings talk of God is not very difficult at all. Acts of Faith is an important treatment of the sociology of religious belief and should be considered required reading by anyone interested in the social standing and assessment of religion. It overturns the conventions of a great deal of earlier sociological inquiry into religion and stands as a model of clarity and rigor. Rodney Stark and Roger Finke begin by documenting the social and intellectual history of atheism, noting how history, sociology, and psychoanalysis have been employed to exhibit the irrationality of religious belief. They underscore how many of these projects have done little more than presup- pose the credulous nature of religion. There is something darkly humorous about the many techniques employed by "intellectuals" and social scientists to explain why religion persists and even grows amidst "modernity." Stark and Finke's analysis is devastating. From the outset through to the last chapter the writing is crisp and at times quite amusing. Here is a passage from the introduction, lamenting the fact that many sociologists focus their work on fringe religious groups: A coven of nine witches in Lund, Sweden, is far more apt to be the object of a case study than is, say, the Episcopal Church, with more than two million members. Some of this merely reflects that it is rather easier to get one's work published if the details are sufficiently lurid or if the group is previously undocumented. A recitation of Episcopalian theology and excerpts from the Book of Common Prayer will not arouse nearly the interest (prurient or otherwise) than can be generated by tales of blondes upon the altar and sexual contacts with animals (p. 19). Stark and Finke have written a text that abounds in technical case studies, while at the same time giving us a book that is a pleasure to read. The introduction and first three chapters alone are a tour de force. They expose the blatant inadequacy of sociological work that reads religious belief as pathology or flagrant irrationality. They challenge the thesis of impending, virtually inevitable secularization, for instance, in part by refuting the claim that in the distant past almost everyone was religious. …

Insight and Responsibility

Abstract: From the combination of knowledge and actions, someone can improve their skill and ability. It will lead them to live and work much better. This is why, the students, workers, or even employers should have reading habit for books. Any book will give certain knowledge to take all benefits. This is what this insight and responsibility tells you. It will add more knowledge of you to life and work better. Try it and prove it.

The "Ins" and "Outs" of Rural Teachers: Who Are Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers.

Abstract: Researchers who seek to understand the complex dynamics of rural schools and communities have investigated the circumstances and experiences of rural residents whose characteristics differ from the norm and whose life choices differ f rom conventional wisdom about how best to live one's life. This study follows our own path within that tradition (see, e.g., Barton, 2012; Burnell, 2003; Jacob, 1997; Sherman, 2009), focusing on the "life choice" among some teachers to be nonreligious in rural places where religious observance is expected-as it is elsewhere across the United States.To learn about the experiences of nonreligious rural K-12 teachers, we interviewed 24 individuals (working in all regions of the United States) who explicitly disclosed their nonbelief in a supernatural deity. Based on our reading of the related literature, we could find no evidence that anyone had previously studied nonbelieving K-12 teachers-wherever located. This report is part of a larger effort, in fact, that included 85 teachers from rural, urban, and suburban locales nationwide.As our background prominently includes rural education research, the study was attentive to locale, and we asked all interviewees what their communities were like. If locale were not evident in teachers' discourse, we asked about it. Probes often asked about social class structure and dynamics, race, and economic circumstances. As we explain later, our sample was neither random nor stratified, but because we were tracking locale, we were able to determine that 28% of our respondents worked in rural schools. Indeed, we were able to identify which schools they worked in and then retrieve additional contextual data from public sources.One might frame the principal issue of the study as "marginalization," with the implication being that life choices, including the choice to hold a particular viewpoint that differs sharply from conventional wisdom, are abnormal, perhaps even deviant.1 Atheism, for instance, would be read as abnormal on such a basis, especially considering that rural community members adhering to strong local norms with respect to religion (e.g., Elder & Conger, 2000) would be likely to make such a judgment. We predictably do not make that judgment, because we understand as legitimate the decision making (about life's meanings and purposes) that arises from many sources including various sorts of thought processes, commitments, and ideologies.We mention this view at the outset because it underwrites our efforts to keep systematic bias from influencing our data and our interpretation. Neither Barton (2012) nor Burnell (2003) presumed that the characteristics, practices, and beliefs of their subjects (respectively, homosexuality and refusal to pursue college studies) were abnormal, inadequate, or reprehensible. Those scholars' efforts to bracket their personal perspectives, whatever those perspectives might have been, enabled them to derive insights that would otherwise have been unlikely.2Therefore, we undertook this research with the assumption that atheism is normal because it can be a reasonable position that might even harbor interesting and useful insights for decision making about life's meaning and purposes. Furthermore, we made the assumption that what nonbelieving teachers think about the relevant issues and circumstances (e.g., what it means to hold a view counter to conventional wisdom, what personal skepticism contributes to one's views about teaching) might prove interesting to education scholars and curious practitioners.At the same time, some evidence suggested to us that rural places might not be uniformly narrow and judgmental in their treatment of difference. Some studies of international immigrants to rural places in the United States, for example, showed that they may find such places hospitable in part because they develop bonds within their own locallyestablished cultural groups before establishing bonds with others, especially those with long-standing family ties to the local mainstream community (e. …

Religious Identity Choices in English Secondary Schools.

Abstract: This paper explores religious adolescents' reported experiences of secondary schools. Fifty-four qualitative interviews were conducted in places of worship in three cities in England with Christians (n=46), Jews (n=38) and Muslims (n=15). Secondary schools of a religious and non-religious character were reported as not providing a suitable environment for religious observances, nor as a place to act and behave according to participants' religious principles. Religious adolescents reported prejudice and criticism of their beliefs or religious affiliations from their peers and sometimes from teachers. They also perceived their religious traditions to be distorted, inaccurately or unfairly represented in some lessons. The focus of this paper is the identity choices religious adolescents reported in response to these challenges. Three groups of identity choices are theorised and explored: religious identity seeking, religious identity declaration and religious identity masking. The findings are discussed in view of religious identity construction theory, good practice for teachers and also the potential concerns of faith communities.