Being authentic is the new image: a qualitative study on the authenticity constructions and self-images of Christian millennials in Africa

Abstract

The article is a qualitative study that focuses on the authenticity and self-constructions of Christian millennials in Africa. While exploring how 15 respondents manifested their authentic self-behaviours using a case study design, the hallmark of the study was to observe the common coping mechanism of self-regulation, adopted by respondents to deal with their internal crisis. This coping strategy was employed as they remained true to self by creating new "authentic" images of themselves in the forms of the borderline self, the promissory self, the hyphenated self, and the religious self. By implication, looking at the issue of authenticity from an African context has produced an African conceptualisation of authenticity. I argue that African authenticity can be understood by interpreting Africa's voices of self-expression and images of selfdefinition, resonating within various African contexts in hope for some kind of cathartic and authentic living experience. ARTICLE HISTORY

Between God and self: exploring the attachment to God and authenticity/inauthenticity tendencies of South African Christian youths

“…Authenticity/inauthenticity reflect a coherent, durable, autonomous, rational, unique-tothe-person, masterful, agentic self that is embodied in its biological and environmental configurations (cf. Counted, 2016a;Vitz, 2006;Vitz & Felch, 2006).…”

“…Recent studies show that attachment relations with caregivers are outlets through which individuals form their authentic self-behaviours, cultivate their identity, and regulate their social relationships (Counted, 2016a(Counted, , 2016b(Counted, , 2016cDavis, 2010;Gillath, Sesko, Shaver, & Chun, 2010). In situations where the individual is struggling to cope with their attachment difficulties and insecurities due to experiences of abandonment, emotional betrayal, separation from an attachment figure, or due to unavailability or inaccessibility of a relational partner, their self-actualisation and authenticity can come under attack, having a huge impact in the way they see themselves when dealing with others and the world around them.…”

“…In situations where the individual is struggling to cope with their attachment difficulties and insecurities due to experiences of abandonment, emotional betrayal, separation from an attachment figure, or due to unavailability or inaccessibility of a relational partner, their self-actualisation and authenticity can come under attack, having a huge impact in the way they see themselves when dealing with others and the world around them. Counted (2016aCounted ( , 2016d studied how this breakdown can lead to a weak-self integration and an identity crisis, making the self split into different fragmented pieces, as a coping mechanism to maintain authenticity and regulate negative attachment experiences. Barry, Nelson, Davarya, and Urry (2010) argue that the way individuals are drawn to attachment figures at a relational level is the key outlet for the cultivation and activation of their authenticity.…”

Missionising Youth Identity Crisis: Towards a missional hermeneutic of coping in youth ministry practice

“…Due to our nature as creatures, we are left within the confines and crisis of our "world" to discover ourselves and experience God for ourselves in relation to what our identity should look like. Therefore, it is on this basis that the author gives a definition to the phenomenon of identity crisis, in particular the subcultures of 'self and God images' as the constellation of the human identity and our nature as creatures -necessary to discover the core of our existence as we stay true to self and maintain a positive relationship with the divine (to read more see Counted 2016aCounted , 2016b. Identity crisis is therefore a time of testing and a "period of transition, on the borderline between a paradigm that no longer satisfies and one that is, to a large extent, still amorphous and opaque" (Bosch 1991, 366).…”

“…Elsewhere (Counted, 2015b(Counted, , 2016a(Counted, , 2016b(Counted, , 2016d) the author has established that staying true to self and resolving a relationship conflict with God due to the effects of attachment abuse, abandonment depression, separation with loved ones, etcetera, are the building blocks of youth identity crisis. These negative and conflicting experiences often give young people problems coming to terms with what their identity should look like in relation to the "mission of God", i.e.…”