Identity encompasses one's memories, experiences, relationships, and values that create a sense of self over time. Identity is constructed through social interactions and develops across different domains like family, gender, ethnicity, and religion at various stages of life. Erik Erikson proposed that people experience crises during life stages that influence identity development. James Marcia identified four identity statuses - identity achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion - based on whether an individual has experienced a crisis and made commitments in important identity domains. Studying identity statuses can provide insight into how individuals develop their sense of self, including their religious or ethnic identity.

1. Self-Identity

2. Identity encompasses the memories, experiences,
relationships, and values that create one’s sense of self. This
amalgamation creates a steady sense of who one is over time,
even as new facets are developed and incorporated into one's
identity.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/identity

3. Nature of Identity
1. Identity is Constructed

4. Nature of Identity
1. Identity is Constructed
2. Identity is Socially Constructed (social interaction)

5. Socially Constructed
Someone told you,
• You’re a man or woman
• You’re pretty (you are all pretty!!)
• You’re an American
• You are black/white

6. Jewish Identity is
Socially Constructed
“You are a Jew!” “ You are a Hebrew”

7. ‫י‬ ִ
‫ְר‬‫ב‬ִ‫ע‬ ‘ivri
Hebrews (noun). Occurs 34 times in OT. In almost all cases, it is
used to describe the Jewish people by another people group in
distinguishing Jews as “others”.
Freedman—Willoughby. Botterweck, G. Johannes, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, eds. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Revised; Accordance.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.

8. The Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with
the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. (Gen 43:32 ESV)
Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast
into the Nile (Exod 1:22 ESV)
[Pharaoh’s daughter] saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him
and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children (Exod 2:6 ESV)
The Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in
the camp of the Hebrews mean? (1 Sam 4:6 ESV)

9. ‫יהוד‬ Yehud
Jew. From the land of Judaea. The Persian designation of the
province.
Freedman—Willoughby. Botterweck, G. Johannes, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, eds. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Revised; Accordance.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.

10. Internally Constructed
You chose parts of your own identity
• You chose to believe in Yeshua
• You chose to attend TKU
• You chose to be a missionary

11. Nature of Identity
1. Identity is constructed
2. Identity is socially constructed
3. Identity is composed of Domains

12. Domains
• Name
• Family
• Language
• Gender

13. Domains
• Ethnicity
• Culture

14. Domains
• Religious
• Political
• Ideological
• Vocational

15. Nature of Identity
1. Identity is constructed
2. Identity is socially constructed
3. Identity is composed of Domains
4. Identity domains develop at di
ff
erent times in di
ff
erent ways

17. Family
Gender
Toddler
Cultural
Elementary
Racial /
Ethnic
High school
Religious
College +
Vocational
20 - 30
Stages of Identity Development

18. Childhood
• Name
• Family
• Gender

19. Elementary School
• Cultural
• Religious Practices
• Family Values

20. High School
• Race
• Ethnicity

21. College
Emerging Young Adulthood
• Ethnicity/Race (cont…)
• Religious Identity

22. Adulthood
• Ideology (social, political)
• Vocational Identity

23. Emerging Adulthood
Je
ff
rey Arnette, PhD
Emerging Adults in America: The winding
road from the late teens through the twenties

24. Emerging Adulthood
The time from the end of adolescence to the young-adult
responsibilities of a stable job, marriage and parenthood
https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun06/emerging

25. Emerging Adulthood
1. Age of identity exploration
2. Age of instability
3. Age of self-focus
4. Age of feeling in between
5. Age of possibilities

26. Nature of Identity
Thin italics
1. Identity is constructed
2. Identity is constructed through social interaction
3. Identity is composed of Domains
4. Identity domains develop along different paths
5. Identity domains develop in stages

27. Crisis
According to Erik Erikson, a crisis is an existential challenge that people experience
several times throughout their lives, and such experiences will in
fl
uence people's
personality and identity development.
Saul McLeod, “Erik Erikson’s Stages”, Simply Psychology, 2023, https://www.simplypsychology.org/erik-erikson.html

28. Crises
Psychosocial existential con
fl
icts involving the psychological needs of the individual
con
fl
icting with the needs of society.
According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy
personality and the acquisition of basic virtues.
Saul McLeod, “Erik Erikson’s Stages”, Simply Psychology, 2023, https://www.simplypsychology.org/erik-erikson.html

29. Identity Statuses

30. James Marcia (1966)
Identity Statuses
James Marcia, Alan Waterman, David Matteson, Sally Archer, Ego Identity (New York: Springer, 1993).

31. a. Identity Foreclosure

32. b. Identity Moratorium

33. c. Identity Achievement

34. d. Identity Diffusion

35. Identity Diffusion Identity Moratorium
Identity Foreclosure Identity Achievement
Low High
Low
High
Crisis
Commitment
Can’t decide
Doesn’t care
Can’t decide
Does care
Been decided
Didn’t care
Did decide
Did care
😐 🤔
☹ 😋

36. What is their Identity Status?

37. Case Study: Nadia
Nadia is a student at the University of Texas in Dallas. She is studying home
economics. She is engaged to Usama, a businessman in Phoenix. Her plans
are to finish college, get her degree, marry Usama, and have children. Over
lunch you asked her if this is what she wants, she says “It is what I’m supposed
to do as a good Muslim.”

38. Case Study: Chu
Chu is from Taiwan and is from a Buddhist family. He is a barrista at Starbucks.
You speak with him every time you visit the store. He loves coffee. But he also
likes to hike, take long bike trips, meditate, do Yoga, and cook. You asked him
what he believes as a Buddhist. He responded, “I don’t know…actually, I don’t
really care!”

39. Case Study: Rachel
Rachel is a UCLA student. She grew up in Santa Monica, in a Reform Jewish
household. She’s taking Eastern Religion at UCLA. She attends a meditation
class in Santa Monica on Tuesdays. She is going with her family to the
Wilshire Blvd. Temple for the Jewish high holy days this week. Yesterday,
over coffee, you told her about your church, and she actually said she’d like
to come with you one Sunday.

40. Case Study: Nate
Nate’s father is Roman Catholic, and his mother is Yakima Indian. Nate is from
Seattle. For years, he told people he’s agnostic. However, in his last two years at
the University of Washington, he majored in Native American studies. His senior
project was to interview his mother’s Yakima family members. He says he now
prays, attends religious events with his family, has a ritual bracelet around his
wrist, and communes with an Eagle spirit.

41. What does Identity Status have to
do with studying Jewish Identity?