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.