ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that religious identities, like gender identities, are not merely a compound of internalized beliefs and commitments. They are forms of practice and, more especially, they constitute a performance of identity not unlike the present understanding of gender. Therefore, they should be treated as such when deciding whether they are due legal accommodation. The law has long recognized that unlawful discrimination can take the form of restrictions on the performance of gender. The chapter asks what would happen if we brought a similar approach to the application of law to religion in the marketplace. As a test case, it considers how religious tithes and offerings are treated in bankruptcy proceedings and what might change if these offerings were understood as a performance of religious identity, not merely an exercise of conscience or belief.
