Shifting expressions of religiosity : generational changes within the urban maronite community in Lebanon and its implications on the cohesivity of Maronite public opinion

Abstract

This paper examines religious expression within the Maronite community by analyzing the shifts in religiosity since the period of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1991). This is explored through a collection of qualitative data that contrasts the opinions and experiences of two generations of Lebanese Maronites: the youth of today, in juxtaposition to individuals who are between the ages of 45-60, who were categorized as youth towards the end of the Civil War period. The aim of this study is to steer away from reverting to general indicators of religiosity (i.e. frequency of church attendance, and registration records such as baptism, marriage, and funerary documents), and instead invoke ethnographical approaches to explore symbolism, rituals, storytelling, religious-naming, and self-decoration, among others, to develop a textured and detail-oriented narrative on the progression of religiosity within the Maronite community. Understanding the shifts in religious expression and the tensions that exist between generations reveal the discrepancies in Maronite public opinion, which is traditionally deemed unified and singular on topics related to social and political issues. Contrasting religiosity and public opinion initiates a fresh conversation on the impact of Maronite religious expression in relation to group consciousness, individual religiosity, and religious self-fashioning. This implies delving into the discrepancies between individual religiosity versus communal religious expression, as well as exploring what prompts potential differences between the two. This paper additionally investigates the ways in which religiosity seeps into other aspects of individual and collective lives including commitments, world views, and relationships (including those with individuals of other sects). Moreover, it emphasizes the practices and extent of the transfer of religiosity between the two generations under analysis; before finally suggesting how religiosity impacts political opinion and the existence – or lack ther