Tim, At 07:21 AM 9/17/2005, you wrote: >>A person can identify himself as anything. That provides insight into how the >>person sees himself.<<
In the sociology of religion, such identifications are generally regarded as important for simple categorization, such as in survey research. Whether they provide insight into self-identity, in some broader sense, is probably a matter for cognitive and social psychologists. >>Sociologists excepted of course :^)<< I would accept that person's self-definition even if I were not a sociologist. There is a difference between self-definition and whether a person satisfies the criteria for membership in a religious organization. >>If a person describes himself as an expert in the Chinese language, people >>will expect him to be able to read and translate a Chinese newspaper. If a >>person describes himself as a Baha'i, other Baha'is will have certain >>expectations, based on the statements of Shoghi Effendi and the House of >>Justice.<< Claiming to be able to translate a Chinese newspaper is an easily verifiable empirical statement. You place a newspaper before the person and request the translation. Similarly, identifying with the Baha'i Faith is also empirical. You ask a person if she or he has that identity. Short of mind-reading, that is the best one can do. >>I do understand the point that membership in an organization, is not the same >>as simple self-identification. But in this contingent world, being a Baha'i >>entails being part of an organization.<< Being a *member* of the Baha'i Faith entails being part of an organization. I, for one, would never judge that someone was not a Baha'i because she or he did not belong to the Baha'i International Community. `Abdu'l-Baha's definition of a Baha'i, which I accept, was very broad. On the other hand, Shoghi Effendi dealt primarily with the criteria for membership in a religious community. >>But, in regular, everyday life, it isn't necessary to know another person's >>inward reality. However, in this world, it sometimes is necessary to know >>whether a person's self-identification corresponds with outward reality. For >>example, does the self-described carpenter actually know how to build a >>house?<< No "outward reality" is required for self-identification except an assertion. Via moderna, Mark A. Foster . http://markfoster.net ... [a] word is ... a universal. - William of Ockham Structurization Tech: http://tech.structurization.com The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments thereto ("e-mail") is sent by the Johnson County Community College ("JCCC") and is intended to be confidential and for the use of only the individual or entity named above. The information may be protected by federal and state privacy and disclosures acts or other legal rules. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error please immediately notify JCCC by email reply and immediately and permanently delete this e-mail message and any attachments thereto. Thank you. __________________________________________________ You are subscribed to Baha'i Studies as: mailto:[email protected] Unsubscribe: send a blank email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: send subscribe bahai-st in the message body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=bahai-st Baha'i Studies is available through the following: Mail - mailto:[email protected] Web - http://list.jccc.edu:8080/read/?forum=bahai-st News - news://list.jccc.edu/bahai-st Public - http://www.escribe.com/religion/bahaist Old Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] New Public - http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
