Label, state, path: three functions of Buddhist identity

Gordon-Finlayson, A. (2013) Label, state, path: three functions of Buddhist identity. Paper presented to: British Psychological Society's Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section (QMiP) Conference 2013, University of Huddersfield, 04-06 September 2013. (Unpublished)

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Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Abstract:	Sociologists of religion have struggled to agree on a taxonomy of Buddhist groups and adherents that can comprehensively account for Buddhism as it exists in both the West and the East: the global Buddhist community is remarkably heterogeneous. A typical solution is to talk of “new” and “ethnic” Buddhists (Coleman 1999) or “convert” and “culture” Buddhists (Numrich 2000), splitting Buddhists into either Western converts or those born into Asian Buddhist households. There are numerous problems with this dichotomy, though, with other theorists proposing a threefold (Prebish 1993) or even fourfold (Tanaka 2007) structure. To date, no consensus has been reached. As part of a wider grounded theory investigation into the psychological processes of conversion to Buddhism in the West, 18 Buddhist practitioners from the North West of England were interviewed about their experiences leading up to and after their contact with Buddhism. It was found that even among this group of ‘new Buddhists’, the notion of a Buddhist identity is far more complex than had previously been suggested, with many long-term practitioners even being uncomfortable with the notion of identifying as Buddhist at all, in spite of a clear commitment to Buddhist practices, traditions and communities. A model of Buddhist identity is proposed that distinguishes three different identity functions: “Buddhist” as a label, “being Buddhist” as state, and Buddhism as a path. Each of these is explored, allowing us to achieve a nuanced understanding of what is involved in being Buddhist in the West. There is some conceptual overlap between this model of identity and the notion of religious orientation, which posits extrinsic and intrinsic religious orientations (Allport & Ross 1967) and a quest orientation (Batson 1983). This more complex understanding of Buddhist identity may not solve the issue of Buddhist taxonomy, but at least helps account for the seeming inability to arrive at a consensus.
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BQ Buddhism B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion > BL51 Philosophy of religion. Psychology of religion. Religion in relation to other subjects
Creators:	Gordon-Finlayson, Alasdair
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes:	University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Group > Social and Cultural Research in Psychology Group University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > School of Social Sciences (to 2016) University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Psychology Research Centres > Centre for Psychology and Social Sciences
Date:	4 September 2013
Date Type:	Presentation
Event Title:	British Psychological Society's Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section (QMiP) Conference 2013
Event Dates:	04-06 September 2013
Event Location:	University of Huddersfield
Event Type:	Conference
Language:	English
Status:	Unpublished
URI:	http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/5962

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