Religion, Language and Traditions in Everyday Life

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that nationalism or the identification with a nation is historically linked to religion. Indeed, national identity is generally defined by objective and subjective characteristics like language, territory, religion, tradition, legal rights, a common economy, historical memory and myths. Barth’s (1969:14,15) concept of ethnic categories, which serve as “socially relevant distinctions” made up of “overt signals or signs” and “basic value orientations”, also include religion as a possible key characteristic for the boundary maintenance of national groups. For instance, within the spectrum of national identity characteristics, religion may be pivotal for symbolism, common myths and history. As a consequence, religion has considerable potential for mobilization and the creation of group identity. Sherkat and Ellison (1999:369), for example, have paid attention to the role of religion for social movement theory since it provides “organizational and symbolic resources, leadership, a premobilized constituency embedded in dense social networks, and as an indigenous source of funding”.