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Cooper Scoles
Ms. Rebecca Agosta
UWRT 1102-018
November 18, 2014
The Christian Impact
Religious identity both affects and encompasses the lives of millions on a daily basis.
Whether an individual identifies oneself as religious or atheist, the identity derived from religion
still impacts all open-minded individuals in some shape or form. Religion typically changes
ones outlook upon life, gives people hope, allows for many to see past the mortal existence of
this worldly life and realize there is more to subsistence than what the human mind may
presently comprehend or fathom. Religion frequently offers some sort of code or morals for its
proclaimed followers to live by, which in my experience it is often positive and beneficial to our
corrupt world. Positive or negative the impacts of religious identity are ever present to all
inhabitants of this earth we call our home. Christianity is one of the most influential and popular
religions of todays era; Christian identity is a very controversial and complex topic, which I
would like to inquire upon.
I conducted various interviews with both Christians and non-Christian individuals in
order to inquire upon what exactly it means to identify oneself as a Christian. I believe that if I
hear from both sides of the religion it will allow for readers and myself to gain an unbiased look
upon the generalities of a Christian identity. I also looked to a scholarly article, which explains nidentity or nature identity, and this is the type of identity which influences your life on a basis
outside of society. A major component of nature identity could be your genes and or the impacts
on how one might be brought up and raised by ones family as an adolescent (Gee). Although
these methods of research are certainly not infallible, I believe that they are sufficient in gaining

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a deeper knowledge and understanding into the vast characteristics and traits of Christian
identity.
In my research, I was able to inquire upon the identity of Christians through interviewing
individuals whom are self proclaimed Christians along with those who do not to follow the faith.
I received many intellectual responses from both ends of the spectrum both glorifying and
condoning the faith, and the identity of its followers. All my research was immensely valuable
and enlightened me into various perspectives of the religion, I can only aspire that readers feel
like-minded. I was able to conclude many individuals share the same beliefs as myself, although
there are also many other respectable and well-rounded opinions upon the topic.
Christians typically share a guided set of genuine positive set of morals, which most
proclaimed Christians attempt to live their life by. This handbook or guide is contained in the
Christians Bible. In an interview conducted with non- Christian Briona Pfeifer she claims, The
Bible and Church do teach very good morals, that seem to correlate with a very just law system
such as similar to the one instated among the United States of America (Pfeifer). Positive
morals are very evident among the perceived identity of Christians. Christians seemingly attempt
to always do the just thing, such as by following laws and obeying the Bible although as with
any human being struggle at times. Ginny Wollin, an established Christian, believes that
Christians attempt to place a filter upon their thoughts and actions in order to sway clear of sinful
thoughts and decisions (Wollin). The religious followers of Christianity are subservient to the
higher power of God, believing it is their duty here on earth to help those around them and bring
others to Christ. Ginny Wollin claims that when a Christian dies and goes to heaven to meet his
or her creator, all they want to hear are the words, Good job my faithful servant! from the
mouth of their Lord and Savior (Wollin). A very common trait of Christians is that they both

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believe and accept that the Lord Jesus Christ is their Savior. As simply stated by Interviewee
Blake Cranor, being a Christian is simple, it means to truly accept Jesus Christ into your heart
as your Lord and Savior (Cranor). The identity has numerous positive identifiable
characteristics from viewpoints of both Christians and non-Christian individuals.
Along with many of the positive aspects of a Christian identity there are also other traits
amongst established Christians. A prominent stereotype brought fourth among some of the
interviewees responses was that Christians are typically hypocrites, not living by the standards
of which they claim to represent and stand for. Interviewee Briona Pfeifer brings up the topic of
homosexuality amongst Christian people claiming that they believe, Being gay is a sin, says
the non-married, non-virgins (Pfeifer). Pfeifer references that just because you are a Christian
that alone does not make you a good person, and that not all good people are necessarily
Christians by any means (Pfeifer). Does religion influence what type of person you are, either
good or bad? According to Rachelle Pfeifer religion has no impact on defining an individual.
She believes that people innately know right and wrong and that Christianity or religion does
not play a strong role in the definition of oneself (R. Pfeifer). Perspectives of Christian identity
have become very clear to myself that while many acknowledge the identity of Christians as very
positive, other views adherently show many flawed aspects in the definition of a Christian
individual.
A very controversial topic among Christian individuals is whether they are accepting of
those who do not necessarily share their beliefs or whether they tend to ostracize other nonChristian individuals. Through the interviews that I conducted I was able to conclude that this
topic has a very indefinite response, unlike many of the other topics that were presented amongst
the interviewees. According to Blake Cranor, Christians are typically an accepting group of

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people, who make it an objective to be welcoming and friendly to even those who do not share
mutual beliefs (Cranor). On the contrary Briona Pfeifer does not hold such beliefs on Christians.
She states, Christians isolate themselves from those who arent, of course not in all cases, but in
almost every case (Pfeifer). The diverse responses among the topic led me to the conclusion that
opinions upon ostracizing amongst the Christian religion are very unclear and highly debatable.
After conducting a sufficient amount of research through various interviews with both
Christians and non-Christians upon the topic of Christian identity, I was interested into inquiring
into the potential roots or starting point of such an identity. I looked to a scholarly article written
by James Paul Gee in order to inquire about the initial onset or development of an identity with
in the Christian faith. I believe a major part of the onset of a Christian identity can be linked to
Gees explanation of Nature Identity. Nature identity could pertain to ones traits or the roles
of ones guardians during the early uprising of an adolescent (Gee). I believe that the household
or uprising of a child in a Christian driven environment plays an enormous role in determining
whether an individual will choose to identify oneself amongst the religion. Unquestionably in my
opinion the derivative of natures form of identity is the most crucial in developing the stems of a
definitive Christian individual.
My inquiry into the identity of a Christian has been very informational and fulfilling
towards my inclination of religious impact. Religious identity and the viewpoints upon the
subject has proven to be quite diverse, complicated, and even a controversial subject to say the
least. The research conducted sufficiently satisfied my thirst for knowledge of the Christian
impact.

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Works Cited
Cranor, Blake "Perspective on Christianity." Personal interview. 31 Oct. 2014
Gee, J. P. "Chapter 3: Identity As An Analytic Lens For Research In Education." Review of
Research in Education (2011): 99-125. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.
Pfeifer, Briona A. "Perspective on Christianity." Personal interview. 21 Oct
Pfeifer, Rachelle "Perspective on Christianity." Personal interview. 31 Oct. 2014
Wollin, Ginny M. "Perspective on Christianity." Personal interview. 21 Oct. 2014