Political Socialization

Our ideas and belief of what the government should be and the political values we each hold all come together to create our own political identity. Political socialization, which is the process of gaining these beliefs, is affected by several agents making each of our political values and identities completely different from one another. Agents such as age, gender, race, family, religion, media, and education are all in play when forming one's political identity. My political identity has been shaped by all of these factors and could possibly change down the road.

During the process of building up your political identity, there are some agents of political socialization that you can’t really change as much. These agents of political socialization include, family, age, gender, race, and possibly religion. My family comes from a South Asian background with both of my parents born in India. My mother was raised into a Roman Catholic household and was generally a bit more conservative. My father on the hand was raised into a Hindu household and converted to Christianity as a result of attending a Catholic School for 6 years. These are important factors in deciding my political identity as the shared beliefs between my parents

Education can change the way you perceive government and can ultimately shape your political identity. I have received a public school education all the way up to this point and plan on pursuing greater education. The media can also change your view on the government as the media acts as the gatekeeper in between the government and the public. Spending a lot of time watching the news can give you a bit of background information on important issues and subjects and may change your current