An ethnomethodological account of Catholic members' identity

The Catholic Church is a complex and broad organization where many different types of communication occur. This setting allowed for the study to take off in any direction that was developed by the participants and researcher. For the most reliable data possible from the participants’ observation and interviews were conducted. This allowed participants to tie into their comfort zone and dive into important aspects of communication (within the church) that relates to their identity An ethnomethodological approach was used along with symbolic interactionism to evaluate the participants’ information. This study included 11 female participants that were able to relate their experiences as Catholic members’ to their identity. This study focused on symbols and the framework of mass. Specifically, the study focused on the following questions 1) how do symbols influence your identity as a Catholic person? 2) how does the framework (procedures) of mass influence your identity as a Catholic person? Participants for this study were from a Catholic Church in the west Texas area. Data was analyzed using Mead’s Philosophy of the Act. There were several symbols and parts of the framework that was similar with the participants. Findings and implications are discussed.