Paper short abstract:

The presentation has a twofold aim – to explore the development of religious identities via identifying main dimensions of their transformation and anchors of retention and to show the ways were traditionalism and religious innovations intersects.

Paper long abstract:

The presentation has a twofold aim - to explore the development of religious identities via identifying main dimensions of their transformation and anchors of retention and to show the ways were traditionalism and religious innovations intersects. The paper is based on the data of the research project conducted in 2010-2012 in Lithuania.

Although the research data shows that majority of Lithuanian population in construction of their personal religious identities combine non-institutional practices and spiritual beliefs, they also hold on Catholic identity. Informants' choices in the religious field could be interpreted as a response to the field structure that provides certain resources and imply specific habitus. Institutionalized religion remains important for informants by fulfilling meaningful social functions. Catholicism is perceived as an almost inherited trait, affiliating the individual with Lithuanian-ness and Lithuanian traditions as the way to transmit and retain them. "Catholic" becomes a mark of cultural, rather than religious identity. This identity is chosen not as a mark of religious, but of cultural affiliation. Such identity illustrates the overlapping of cultural and religious meanings, marks certain way of life and frames as well as challenges the cultural identity in the context of rapid social changes.