Personally, I think that religious texts have played one of
the most vital roles in the production of categories of identity. Religion provides very diverse categories of
identity, and although religion itself was not really “produced” by literary
works, the use of these sacred texts has created very distinct and separate
categories of people. Whether it’s the Bible, the Qur’an, the Tanakh, the
Vedas, the Book of Mormon, Buddhist texts, etc., each one of these books is
accompanied by a specific group of people that live by its teachings. Depending on their degree of religious
commitment, these people’s morals, core beliefs, and outlooks on life are
largely influenced by, if not completely based on, the sacred texts of their
religion. So much so, in fact, that the
connotations associated with these groups of people create completely
segregated categories of people with completely different identities. These different religious identities, in
turn, can also affect other major “categories of identity”, such as sexuality,
gender roles, and in some cases ethnicity.
While this does provide diversity and differing perspectives, these different
categories can also be the cause of hostility and intolerance. Religious categories can be very strictly
defined, as can many other categories of identity, and in some cases don’t
allow much leeway.
Your point about the religious texts defining how people live is good, but I feel you could have gone more in depth. Books like the Bible especially have almost entirely shaped Western culture, from our gender roles, to our moral system and even our laws and politics.
ReplyDeleteI guess this isn't so much a comment on how you answered the prompt, but I disagree that religious categories and other forms of identity have to be strictly defined. I was raised Catholic, but am still able to identify with the teachings of religious texts other than the Bible. However I do see your point that religious texts help form many people's identities, and like how you argued your point.
ReplyDeleteI am by no means saying they are always strictly defined, but can be, as I have encountered many people that fall into that category. I was raised Christian but identify with many others as well.
DeleteI love your point about the different, and often hostile, categories created by religion. I definitely feel as though this is observed in these texts (i.e. infidels, blasphemy, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI do wish you could have expanded a bit more about how these categories are created, that would have simply enhanced the blog.