Identity resolution in feminists raised Catholic: A narrative analysis of life histories

Using narrative analysis of life histories, we explored the interplay between Catholic religious background, identity formation, and feminist activism. We used data from 13 oral histories of feminist and LGBTQ+ activists in the US and Italy who were raised Catholic. In the first stage of Downing and Roush’s model of feminist identity development, passive acceptance, religion can play a significant role. We found that whether religion is central to a person's worldview or not, and whether it is rigid or flexible, influence how individuals handle identity conflicts related to gender and sexuality during the revelation stage. Dissonances were caused by discrepancies between Catholic norms and diverging personal experiences and beliefs regarding sexuality or gender. We identified three paths: (a) a perception of religion as central and flexible facilitated the integration of identities and the individualization of faith; (b) high centrality and high religious rigidity led individuals to reject Catholicism or religion entirely; (c) religion seen as not central but rigid facilitated conversion to a different denomination. This contributes to a nuanced view of the dynamic nature of belief systems in the horizon of young adults’ identities dissonant with childhood values, and it shows the many ways how to deal with these dissonances.