Weddings in Catholic strong belief communities: a qualitative examination of Catholic deep-faith spouses’ experience of their wedding.

Phillips, Rita

Abstract

Previous research indicated that traditional rituals, social codes, and contemporary norms strongly influence a wedding’s construction. This project aimed to understand how members from strong belief Roman Catholic communities negotiate between social influences impacting their wedding. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of eight interviews revealed how couples construct and communicate pertinent aspects of a combined self. The participants’ conception of the wedding was perceived as a representation of their ‘true’ selves and strongly informed external religious authorities. Engaging in religious practices enabled participants recreate group expectations and norms and internalize them as personal mental property. The Community’s support and acceptance of the individual stabilized and affirmed their religious-identity, causing it to be shielded from potentially conflicting out-group expectations. This allowed the individual to express their identity regardless of context. The wedding in this sense became an expression of their religious identity and reaffirmed the bond with their Roman-Catholic strong-belief group.

Citation

PHILLIPS, R. 2020. Weddings in Catholic strong belief communities: a qualitative examination of Catholic deep-faith spouses' experience of their wedding. International journal of religion and spirituality in society [online], 10(4), pages 87-103. Available from: https://doi.org/10.18848/2154-8633/CGP/v10i04/87-103

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 31, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Dec 31, 2020
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2020
• Deposit Date: Feb 18, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 18, 2021
• Journal: International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society
• Print ISSN: 2154-8633
• Electronic ISSN: 2154-8641
• Publisher: Common Ground Research Networks
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 87-103
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/2154-8633/cgp/v10i04/87-103
• Keywords: Wedding; Self; Subcultures; Strong-faith communities; Identity
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1206220