Maronite Liturgy as a Developmental Space for Its Emerging Adults in Lebanon

Based on empirical research, this article explores how Maronite young
people participate in their church liturgy in Lebanon. It uses theories
about religious identity development of emerging adults in general and
Maronite identity in particular to analyse the data. It establishes that in
a rapidly changing context, Maronite emerging adults interact with
their church liturgy through a dynamic junction of commitment
and exploration processes. The liturgical participation offers a space
for engaging with the political, cultural and economic layers of what is
called ‘maronitism’. The data harvested indicates that this liturgical
participation is fraught with ambiguity and places the emerging adults’
social-spiritual identity in tension with the dominant discourses of their
community maintained so far by both the religious and political elite.