“Jesus Would Turn the Tables Over”: Five Dimensions of Authenticity Applied to Countercultural Christianity

Abstract

This paper draws on extant literature to identify five dimensions that are deployed by a wide range of social groups to claim and achieve authenticity in variety of social settings: being honest or real, forgoing external rewards or compensation, coming from or living in the right place or time, embodying or participating in something, and consuming correctly. We then demonstrate the utility of these five dimensions of authenticity in action by applying them to two different qualitative studies of countercultural Christians. Our analysis of these data shows that different communities have different understandings of what makes one authentic, but the five dimensions that we outline in this article make comparisons across different groups possible.

“I don't say that I'm a who's who”: Negotiating Identity through Humility Work

“…Rather than consumption‐driven understandings of yoga, her respondents maintain yoga as a way of life, constructing themselves as “true yogis” and “serious” seekers in contrast to “gym yogis,” who participate in yoga for exercise, and “dippy hippies,” who engage in the external performance of spirituality but do not walk the walk (Johnston 2020). The construction of the “true yogi” identity draws upon the integrity and context dimensions of authenticity (though they also engage in other performances of yogi identity) and calls into question “gym yogis'” and “dippy hippies'” consumption and being (Fuist and McDowell 2019; Johnston 2020).…”

“…Yasmine echoed respondents' framing of their socialite membership as an outcome of their personal sincerity or integrity (Fuist and McDowell 2019). As we continued to talk, she shared: “I can't say it's not fun.…”

“…While the specific practices vary, researchers categorize the general strategies for constructing authenticity into five dimensions, ranging from internally to externally evaluated and interpretive to noninterpretive components: (1) sincerity-being "true to oneself"; (2) integrity-having appropriate motives for one's behavior; (3) context-emphasizing one's background or community ties; (4) being-engaging or not engaging in various activities; and (5) consumption-consumption or display of material items (Fuist and McDowell 2019). These strategies can be used separately or in tandem, and across groups, different dimensions may be more central than others.…”

Becoming “People of Faith:” Personal Moral Authenticity in the Cultural Practices of a Faith‐Based Social Justice Movement

“…Instead, it was about demonstrating that each person in the room was likely involved in doing business with companies that support unjust policies and practices. This placed each person's consumption habits-and hence their authenticity (Fuist and McDowell 2019)-under scrutiny, even while asserting that collective social action, and not just socially conscientious individual consumer choices, was necessary to rectify the injustices that had been discussed. Then, Sharon's critique of the institutional church drew a boundary between those who authentically live out their commitments through action and those who wait for others, like the institutional church, to do the work for them.…”

“…Personal authenticity, likewise, is a relational concept that provides analytic leverage on the symbolic evaluations actors make of themselves and others by illuminating the motivations behind individual action (Erickson 1995) and the cultural categories from which collective identities emerge. Fuist and McDowell (2019) suggest that personal authenticity can include five dimensions: “(1) sincerity: being honest, true, or real; (2) integrity: forgoing external rewards or compensation; (3) context: coming from or living in the right place or time; (4) being: embodying or participating in something; (5): consumption: consuming correctly.” Together, these elements comprise a toolkit for three processes that people involved in collective action must undertake: evaluating whether a given pattern of action might further one’s “true” self; affirming, in concert with others, what it means to be a “worthy” member of a given social group; and enacting boundaries around such definitions through interaction with others. Personal authenticity takes on a specifically moral character when it prompts people to ask “am I being true to the moral commitments I hold?” and “am I representing the true values of the groups I am part of?” It operates at both individual and collective levels to provide actors with tools for evaluating their behavior and validating it together with others.…”