Developing Spiritual Identity: Retrospective Accounts From Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Exemplars

Spiritual Identity outside Institutional Religion: A Phenomenological Exploration

“…The third theme highlights the dialectic tension between a sense of alienation and criticism with regard to their social context and, at the same time, a strong sense of prosocial responsibility, mission, and calling. Previous research has found that elements of responsibility, a sense of being chosen, as well as obligation and calling, are prominent among nominated religious exemplars who view their vocational and social identity as integrated with their spiritual experiences and understanding (Reimer et al, 2009). Our findings suggest that these elements also play out significantly among individuals who do not perceive themselves as an integral part of their familial and social contexts, even when they feel alienated and rejected by these contexts.…”

“…Their analysis outlined five themes reflecting shared aspects of spiritual identity across religious contexts: relational consciousness, vocational identity, stewardship, tradition, and the divine as omnipotent. Further, with regard to the identity theory of MacAdams (1993MacAdams ( , 2006, Reimer et al (2009) found differences in the distribution of this theory's three precepts of mature generative identity (redemption, agency, and communion) in the narratives of the different religious groups, emphasizing the significance of religious context in forging spiritual identity. Kiesling et al (2006), who interviewed participants in a convenience sample of 28 devoutly spiritual adults, adopted Marcia's (1966) adult-appropriate extensions of commitment and exploration; that is, role salience and role flexibility respectively.…”

“…Both empirical studies (Kiesling et al, 2006;Reimer et al, 2009) focused on groups of exemplars or religiously devout individuals; their findings, therefore, are difficult to generalize regarding individuals outside institutional religion or those who are not extreme on the continuum of religious commitment. This may limit our capacity to understand spiritual identity because the institutional community focus of religion-as opposed to the more individual, experiential focus of spirituality (Van Dierendock & Mohan, 2006)-may carry distinct meanings in association with identity processes.…”

“…Empirical attempts focusing on spiritual identity per se from the perspective of the individuals themselves can be found in qualitative studies by Reimer, Dueck, Adelchanow, and Muto (2009) and Kiesling, Sorell, Montgomery, and Colwell (2006). Using a naturalistic approach, Reimer et al (2009) explored spiritual identity among exemplary individuals from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian contexts who were recognized for their outstanding spiritual maturity, using a grounded theory method.…”

“…Using a naturalistic approach, Reimer et al (2009) explored spiritual identity among exemplary individuals from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian contexts who were recognized for their outstanding spiritual maturity, using a grounded theory method. Their analysis outlined five themes reflecting shared aspects of spiritual identity across religious contexts: relational consciousness, vocational identity, stewardship, tradition, and the divine as omnipotent.…”