In this project, you will undertake a participant/observation of a religious practice that you have not experienced
before. You should utilize the concepts discussed in this course to analyze your fieldnotes. You must also draw
upon the concepts in Chapter 13: “Religion” of Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age to help you
describe your observation.
Procedure
- Identify a religious group or community near where you live. This community should be one that you are not
familiar with, but is open to visitors. Pick one that has regular meetings or observances. - Where possible, call and ask first if observing visitors are welcome. If you would not be welcome, thank the
person for his or her time and pick a different group. - Ask about expected behavior and forms of dress for visitors. Some questions you might want to ask are:
aWhat manner of dress is expected of a visitor of your gender? (headcovering, hats, or skirts for women)
b What forms of dress are discouraged? (leather clothing, bright colors, jeans)
c Which parts of the service are restricted to members?
d Where and how can you sit and observe as a visitor?
e Will you be expected to introduce yourself, or be introduced?
f What other taboos or norms should you be aware of? - Talk to people. You will get a lot more out of this if you extend yourself: Introduce yourself, ask questions, be
honest about why you are there, and keep an open mind. This may be the hardest part of doing fieldwork, but it
is also the most informative..