The pews overflow on Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. A mother reaches
out to a local church for the first time to request the baptism of her
newborn. The death of a public figure is marked with an extravagant
funeral at a cathedral. These are all examples of what Sarah Kathleen
Johnson calls occasional religious practice. Occasional religious
practice is a way of relating to religion that is characterized by
participation in religious practices occasionally rather than
routinely, most often in connection with certain types of occasions,
including holidays, life transitions, and times of crisis. In a North
American religious landscape characterized by declining participation
in religious institutions, increasing uncertainty about matters of
faith, and a growing population who identify as nonreligious,
occasional religious practice is a primary way that people continue to
relate to religion. Johnson introduces the concept of occasional
religious practice as a novel yet intuitive way to describe, analyze,
and respond to this widespread pattern. _Occasional Religious
Practice_ integrates interdisciplinary perspectives from sociology of
religion, religious studies, and liturgical theology. Anchored in
three years of qualitative research in the Anglican tradition in
Toronto, Johnson weaves together stories and interview quotations to
show the complexity and depth of occasional religious practice. She
argues that it is crucial to attend to occasional religious practice
to understand the contemporary religious landscape, how religious
rituals function and evolve in religiously diverse contexts, and the
benefits of doing theology in conversation with people who relate to
religion in a range of ways, especially those on the theological and
liturgical margins. This research takes occasional religious practice
seriously as a substantial way of relating to religion. It recognizes
the vast diversity of occasional practitioners. It explores the power
of occasional practice to shape ritual. It advocates for doing
theology in dialogue with participants in religious practices who
relate to religion in different ways. It is a call to value and learn
from the very ordinary experience of occasional religious practice.
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Valuing a Very Ordinary Religious Experience
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780197806555
Publisert
2025
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter