Abstract
Cultures give rise to and support different kinds of self-constructions and types of faith. In this article I argue that particular Western beliefs and values can give rise to modern maladies of self and faith—borrowed selves and collective faith. Borrowed selves reveal a fundamental insecurity or anxiety that comes from a felt lack of possessing or owning the attributions of one's identity, which in turn shapes the very relationships and faith upon which identity is linked. More specifically, I identify two distinct, though related, manifestations of borrowed selves—normotic selves and nomadic selves—and their concomitant types of collective faith—merged faith and eclectic-autonomous faith. Both self-constructions and types of faith manifest persons' specific stance with regard to community and its traditions, and both are fueled by an unconscious anxiety and a belief in what I call relativistic individualism.
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LaMothe, R. Modern Maladies of the Self: Borrowed Selves and Collective Faith. Pastoral Psychology 51, 309–325 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022585316213
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022585316213