Belief as cultural performance: towards a new framework for studying the religious and secular life-worlds of young people

There are significant changes in the ways in which young people interact with religion in economically developed societies, both in terms of new forms of intense religious engagement and the construction of secular life-worlds. Academic interest in these changes has prompted a number of major studies of changing patterns of belief amongst young people in various national contexts, including Britain, Scandinavia, Holland, North America and Australia. With the exception of particular religious sub-cultures, these studies have tended to show that even in more overtly religious societies, such as the United States, young people tend to be 'incredibly inarticulate' about their beliefs and the role that these beliefs play in their lives. This has led some scholars to express concern about the apparent loss of religious memory and commitment in the wider population of young people, as well as leading others to suggest that this data provides fresh evidence for debates about the secularization thesis.

Whilst this body of research has provided valuable data, the concept of 'belief' that underpins it is open to question. Within the anthropology of religion there is a well-established debate as to whether 'belief' - in the sense of individual assent to a particular creed or metaphysical propositions - is a culturally universal phenomenon. Historians have also suggested that such a notion of individual, propositional belief is a product of post-Reformation Western culture, in which questions of individual religious identity and creedal affiliation became more pressing, and that in medieval Europe belief took the form of maintaining pious practices rather than giving concious assent to metaphysical propositions. Where as most contemporary sociological studies of the beliefs and spirituality of young people typically assume that belief as assent to metaphysical propositions is a universal human phenomenon, there are reasonable grounds for exploring the idea that belief is better understood as a cultural performance, learned in particular historical, religious, social and political contexts, which can also take non-verbal and embodied forms. This raises questions about why particular performances of belief become popular or important for young people in specific contexts, as well as the processes through which young people learn to become 'believing subjects'. It also raises questions about the limits of the concept of belief. Is the concept of 'belief' always necessarily a helpful way for framing the ways in which young people experience meaning and value in their lives? And is the performance of belief something to be associated primarily with particular kinds of engagement with religious tradition, or do young people also demonstrate secular forms of belief?

This network will use two workshops and a conference, as well as an on-line 'virtual conference', to explore theoretical assumptions about belief, and to discuss how a critical approach to the concept of belief can inform the study of the religious and secular life-worlds of young people. Participants will explore the idea of belief as a cultural performance from a range of disciplinary perspectives - including sociology, anthropology, practical theology, drama, religious studies and cultural studies. Theoretical ideas about belief as cultural performance will also be refined through a range of empirical case studies drawn from different times, places and religious traditions. This will help to clarify the different forms that belief might take in various social and cultural settings, as well as to expand our understanding of different kinds of performances of belief. The network will also place a strong emphasis on thinking about how understanding belief as cultural performance could influence the methods that researchers use to study religion and youth.