Social Identity Theory in Religion
In this experiment I want to find out whether social identity theory
works in religion.
Firstly, I would put an advert in a local newspaper asking if anyone
wants to take part in an experiment for five pounds.
This advert will including asking them to reply to the address on the
ad with their name and address inside.
I will then send out questionnaires to the willing participants asking
them important details including their religious background. There
will be a few in depth questions involving religion in particular as
well as other details, so as not to draw too much focus on religion.
These questionnaires are not only to establish religion, but also
whether they were enthusiastically religious and went to their
religious place of worship regularly, or whether they didn’t follow
their religion and were just born into it or used to it. This should
help me get a better result for my experiment.
When I get the questionnaires that I want back I will separate them
into three categories; Christians (regular church goers), Muslims
(attending a mosque regularly), and non believers. I will disregard
any other questionnaires, at the end of this experiment however I will
still send the disregarded participants a letter debriefing them and
they will still receive their five pounds for taking part.
My sample size will be ten participants in each category, so thirty
all together. Others will be disregarded and five pounds will also be
sent to the individuals at the end of the experiment.
I then send two CV’s out to the three chosen categories. Both CV’s
have the same grades, the same age on them, the same sex and different
school names on them, but the schools being of the same standard to
each other. Names might be changed, however the two CV’s are the
equivalent to each other. However on one CV the religion will be
Christian on the other CV the religion will be Islam.
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Zora Neal Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, reveals one of life’s most relevant purposes that stretches across cultures and relates to every aspect of enlightenment. The novel examines the life of the strong-willed Janie Crawford, as she goes down the path of self-discovery by way of her past relationships. Ideas regarding the path of liberation date all the way back to the teachings of Siddhartha. Yet, its concept is still recycled in the twenty-first century, as it inspires all humanity to look beyond the “horizon,” as Janie explains. Self-identification, or self-fulfillment, is a theme that persists throughout the book, remaining a quest for Janie Crawford to discover, from the time she begins to tell the story to her best friend, Pheoby Watson. Hurston makes a point at the beginning of the novel to separate the male and female identities from one another. This is important for the reader to note. The theme for identity, as it relates to Janie, carefully unfolds as the story goes on to expand the depths of the female interior.
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