Religiosity and young people’s construction of personal identity

According to Erikson (1964, 1965), developing our individual approach to religion is a very important part of our mature and integrated identity development. The aim of the present study was to determine the connection between religiosity and identity development in adolescence. 300 students of Cracow’s high and junior high schools (including Catholic schools) filled in Polish versions of Huber’s Centrality of Religiosity Scale and Berzonsky’s Identity Style Inventory. The results confirmed the expected connection between identity styles and religiosity constructs defined as a system located in the personality of the individual. Indicators of religion correlated most positively with the normative and informational styles and negatively with the diffuse/avoidant style. Attaching weight to religion and giving it an important role in life was associated with having a more mature and adaptive identity style. Lack of interest in religion occurred in people whose identity was fragmented and nonintegrated. Some differences were noted between students of Catholic and non-Catholic schools.