Varieties of belief over time: reflections from a longitudinal study of youth and belief

This paper reports on longitudinal research involving young people in adolescence and early adulthood, focusing on questions about belief and identity. The author finds that significant varieties of belief: propositional, felt (emotional/embodied) and performative were created and sustained through social relationships. A seven-part analytical model permits holistic, organic analysis to identify the shifting and mutually interdependent dimensions of belief: content, source, practice, salience, function, time and place. The paper forms part of a special issue titled: Young People and the Cultural Performance of Belief.