Abstract
A sense of belonging is conceptualized with the help of some theoretical notions of J. Searle. According to Searle institutional facts are created by constitutive rules. Through these rules people coordinate their actions within institutions. Institutional facts need collective acceptance or agreement. Activities of Catholic schools by which they express their identity, can be seen as institutional facts. These facts can vary from religious meetings (school mass) to study meetings on school identity by teachers. Teachers differ in the type of involvement with these collective actions. This empirical study shows that the difference in involvement in activities that are an expression of the collective identity of the school, is related to the religious profile of teachers. This interaction between personal and collective identity gives insight into the dynamics of the construction of identity of religiously affiliated schools.
