What makes us who we are? Religion often plays a central role in how we understand ourselves. By informing personal values, faith can be a defining part of individual identity. Many people also find meaning in religious congregations, where those who often have similar worldviews and interests gather together for spiritual development. But religious teachings can also be in tension with certain aspects of personal identity, such as gender and sexuality. When faith and identity clash, some people question or even leave their religion. The interaction between faith and identity can have a transformative effect on us as individuals while we sort who we are in the world. In this collection of conversations, people share how faith has shaped their identity.
The interviews below were recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.
November 14, 2023
More stories about: Indigenous Race
Colleagues and friends Jerilyn DeCoteau (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians) and Rick Williams (Oglala Sioux Tribe and part Cheyenne) discuss the terms "indigenous" vis-a-vis "American Indian" and the implications regarding identity and tribal sovereignty when people self-identify as Native but are not formal members of a tribal community.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
November 14, 2023
More stories about: Indigenous
Colleagues and friends Talia Aygun and Matau Setshase discuss building spiritual connections with others, whether via negotiation with one's ancestors that generates an attitude of surrender, or via the ecstatic experience of truly understanding another person.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
November 14, 2023
More stories about: Buddhism Islam
New friends Nandi Pointer and Saleema Robinson reflect on their spiritual journeys through Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam as they seek liberation and truth through faith in a higher power.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
November 13, 2023
More stories about: Christianity
Married couple Kelly FitzSilva and Pedro Silva interweave the beautiful and difficult aspects of the ways they've dealt with change across the decades, pointing to their relationship as an expression of faith that embodies their distinct approaches to spirituality.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
November 13, 2023
More stories about: Hinduism
Jyotsna Raj speaks with her daughter Indra Raj about Hindu faith, which Jyotsna values for its freedom of thought and flexibility in individual practice, while Indra is skeptical about the existence of the divine, particularly as portrayed in Western Christianity, and aims to live a moral life outside organized religion.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
November 2, 2022
More stories about: Catholicism
Ashe Frances-Martinez talks to Paul Schutz about her relationship to God and how her identities as a Catholic and a trans woman affirm one another.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
November 2, 2022
More stories about: Race Christianity
Friends and colleagues Bryson White and Taylor Dalton discuss how their Black identity has influenced their understanding of their Christian faith and the importance of instilling a sense of compassion in the next generation.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
November 1, 2022
More stories about: Catholicism Immigration
Friends Anh Nguyen and Anne Hayes discuss how they've experienced love and human connection through practicing their Catholic faith, which has connected Anh with his Vietnamese heritage and demonstrated to Ann that God is love.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
November 1, 2022
More stories about: Catholicism Indigenous
New acquaintances Maria Autrey and Jean Molesky-Poz reflect on the ways Indigenous spirituality emphasizes mutuality and how expressing that spirituality in combination with queer identity disrupts Catholic conceptions of linear time.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
October 31, 2022
More stories about: Hinduism Immigration
Lolita Lodhia speaks with her daughter Sharmilla Lodhia about being forced to practice Christianity while growing up Hindu in South Africa, how their family's faith journey changed when they moved to California, and the spiritual legacy she wants to pass down.
This story was produced by David Dault at Sandburg Media, LLC.
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