Religiosity, National Identity and Legitimacy

Israel as an Extreme Case

Bibliographic Data

ID2321939
AuthorsT Sorek (0000-0002-2363-4888, University of Florida, corresponding author), Alin M Ceobanu (0000-0002-1777-5393, University of Florida, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume43
Issue3
Pages477-496
Publication date2009-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0385 • E-ISSN: 1469-8684
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0038038509103204
OpenAlexW2061046940
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited36

This article investigates the relationship between religiosity and contemporary national identities by using Israel as a case study and comparing it to other countries. Survey data from the ISSP 2003 (ZA 3910) module and the Jewish Religious Behaviour in Israel study (2000)1 are used to evaluate the level of national sentiments among people with different degrees of religiosity. It is found that secular Jewish Israelis are significantly less proud in almost every dimension of national pride than other Jewish Israeli groups. A similar pattern was noticed in other countries, but the gap in national pride between religious and less religious people in Israel is the highest among the 17 majoritarian ethnic groups examined.These findings point to the difficulty of stripping ethnic symbols from their religious origin, as well as to the special quest of Israeli Jews for legitimacy, which can be achieved more easily via religious justifications

Aesthetics · Ethnic group · Identity (music) · Islam · Judaism · Legitimacy · National identity · Political science · Pride · Public opinion · Religiosity · Religious identity · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of religion · Theology · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Jewish Identity and Society · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies · Social Psychology