Habitus: A Conceptual Study on the Formation of the Religious Faith Habitus

Habitus is a system of embodied dispositions, tendencies that organize the ways in which individuals perceive the social world around them and react to it. The concept of habitus refers to the physical embodiment of cultural capital, to the deeply ingrained habits, skills, and dispositions that we possess due to our life experiences. These dispositions are usually shared by people with a similar background (in terms of social class, religion, nationality, ethnicity, education, profession etc.), and reflects the lived reality to which individuals are socialized, their individual experience and objective opportunities. Thus, the habitus represents the way group culture with personal history and shapes social action in the present. Habitus is not fixed or permanent, and can be changed under unexpected situations or over a long historical period. Religion is a multidimensional concept which is an individual's journey through other aspects of life. Religious habitus is a generic term, which designates infinity of different possibilities and has four characteristics: It is mainly unconscious for the bearer, it is stable over time, it is the incorporation of social structures and it implies and enables strategic action within a faith field. This study focuses on the concept of religious faith habitus and the answers it provides given the potential areas of conflict between structure and agency and actors’ intentions and unconsciousness. In this context, this study, designed as a conceptual review, primarily concentrates on habitus’ concept and then the focuses on the religious faith habitus. The main aim of this study is a conceptual one: To further elaborate the concept of religious faith habitus, especially under the perspective of its inertia and social theory, and to discuss its usefulness for some aspects of analyzing and interpreting faith