People-Centred Beliefs: Interviewing Individuals to Understand Religious Identities

Over the last few years, I have seen the difference it makes when individuals are provided opportunities to speak about their histories, traditions and practices and how it can change outsider perspectives on these aspects of humanity. During my Masters, I began studying aspects of individualized, syncretic beliefs through the vernacular religions of divination practitioners with backgrounds in Christianity, I found that my contributors had very personal connections to their practices and that they were keen to share their beliefs in the hopes that it would ease the tenuous relationship that many people perceive to be between organized religion and modern spirituality. To me, this understanding is the embodiment of practical theology.

Practical theology has been described in many ways: Helen Cameron, et. al., identify it as ‘a discipline committed to making whole and dynamic the truthfulness of Christian thought and action, through the bringing together of aspects of faith which, in truth, can never be separated from one another. Practical theology seeks in explicit and varied ways to enable the Christian practitioner to articulate faith – to speak of God, in practice.’[1] Alastair Campbell frames it as being ‘concerned with the study of specific social structures and individual initiatives within which God’s continuing work of renewal and restitution becomes manifest. These may be found either inside or outside the life of the church.’[2] Additionally, John Swinton and Harriet Mowatt claim that it ‘is critical, theological reflection on the practices of the Church as they interact with the practices of the world, with a view to ensuring and enabling faithful participation in God’s redemptive practices in, to and for the world.’[3] In my opinion, all these descriptions and more define Practical Theology as the study of the practice and worship of God through the real actions of individuals, which are interpreted and shaped by the individual’s culture, experiences and secular values, all of which culminate into individualized vernacular religion and worship.

For many scholars and leaders of religion, the term “individualized” can seem a bit charged. People may assume that individualized is synonymous with selfish and the rejection of community and practices involved within organized religion, I, however, reject this idea. Vernacular religious scholars have for decades found that simply through the act of transmission from one individual or community to another, religion is changed or modified, either to fit alongside already established cultural practices or to enable the individual to have full understanding of the religious concepts based on their current background and knowledge. Rather than being a bad thing however, it is a necessary one. Leonardo Primiano argued that ‘individual religious creativity does not detract from the dynamics involved in collective acts of religiosity; rather, it reflects realistically that people constantly interpret and negotiate “any number of influential sources” within particular contexts and in response to a range of resources.’[4] Marion Bowman follows this statement up in her honorary article to Primiano, with the belief that personalized religion gives researchers ‘insights into how people deal with enormous issues such as our place in the universe, our relationship with-other-than human beings, death, apocalypse and afterlives using an enormous ‘toolkit’ of institutional and vernacular knowledge, images and ideas.’^[5]

In an era where globalization has increased rapidly and our means of connecting with other people and cultures is multiplying, there is a religious element that has been ignored as far as the transmission, learning, and adoption of faith on an individualized level. This ‘religious dimension’ raises ‘fundamentally important questions about self-identity and the meaning of being human, both of which are increasingly considered not from the perspective of particular religions but in the wider framework of a shared humanity.’^[6] Peter Clarke attributes interest in New Religious Movements and ‘Self-religions’, in large part, to

‘this quest for a sense of self-identity and self-understanding and as part of the project of constructing a global self for a global world. This rise can also be related to the process of constructing global standards in ethics and human rights, […] and as the concern for what is happening to the planet ecologically and in terms of its bio-diversity widens and deepens.’^[7]

‘The widespread concern with the meaning and purpose of being human, with the interdependency of all things, with global ethics, and with common concepts, forms the traditional subject matter of the theology and philosophy of religion’, however, now, rather than allowing the answers to these concerns and questions to be handed out by an authority figure within the individual’s religion, the individual is searching for their own answers and coming to find a need for more.^[8]

But how do we know, truly, what the individual is participating in? How do we know what has shaped their worship and beliefs? What does their worship look like both in and outside official religious spaces? In large part, theology scholars, and even the government, have relied on the statistical analysis of surveys to provide these answers. These surveys range from the optional religious section in a country’s census, to one of the tailored religious European Values Survey’s (EVS). It is the use and analysis of these surveys that I am concerned about, specifically the example provided by Hans Knippenberg in his chapter ‘Secularization and Transformation of Religion in Post-War Europe’, within the collection, The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics. He outlines the growing trend of secularization in European countries and the move away from state run religion. Knippenberg defines secularization in a modern context as both the decline of traditional organized religion and the transformation of religion ‘into new, often privatized forms of religiosity and spirituality.’^[9] From there, he identifies that secularization can be driven by things such as the security of and within a society and territorialization, which deals with the control and identity of peoples, which then guides the formation of the state and the structure of the nation.^[10] He presents this through several charts and maps based on multiple EVS years and the issues concerning the dimensions of belonging, practicing, and believing in religious involvement. What is found in the data concerning belonging, specifically to a religious organization, is that based on a country’s state religion, they are secularizing at different rates. Protestant countries before Catholic and Catholic before Orthodox or Muslim nations. Knippenberg’s provided reasoning behind this, is that those who can practice at home based on ritual acts outlined by their church (Muslim and Orthodox) are similar to those performed on the national/communal level.^[11]

Moving to the topic of practice, Knippenberg finds further evidence of secularization based on statistics of church attendance declining. Here is where I find fault with some of Knippenberg’s analysis. For both questions, he analyses the statistics of the same EVS’s that cover the period of approximately 1970 to 2008, taken between varying lengths of time. I accept the statistics regarding belonging, as for those who identify as Christian it is reasonable to ask “yes or no” to gain an understanding on whether they belong to a particular denomination or not. Regarding practice, however, the question of weekly church attendance is too narrow to receive any accurate answer. Firstly, by asking that point blank, it negates all the reasons individuals have for not attending church services regularly, such as medical conditions, discomfort, work responsibilities, etc. Secondly, church attendance is not the only form of religious practice, methods of showing and practicing belief are very individualized and can range from personal prayers, daily scripture reading, and even acts of service meant to bring the individual closer to Christ, practices which are defined by Grace Davie as ‘vicarious religion’, or the ‘the notion of religion performed by an active minority but on behalf of a much larger number, who (implicitly at least) not only understand, but appear to approve of what the minority is doing.’^[12] By asking strictly about their church attendance and not about personal faith practices, I believe this statistic and Knippenberg’s analysis to be too narrow to truly represent the trend of secularization in practice. This is an issue I have found when strictly using statistics and not getting the personal insights from individuals themselves. Thus, why I am determined to procure the personal narratives of individuals and highlight the necessity of doing so when researching trends within modern religion and belief.

The third data point, concerning belief, makes up for my above reservations somewhat, as when asked if they had a belief in God, individuals were given four options from believing in a personal God, to a spirit or life force, to belief but unsure, and strictly no belief.^[13] This statistic found that despite less affiliation with an official church, there was still a large amount of belief amongst Europeans. Knippenberg analyses this further when he discusses the privatization of religion, and the examination of the stance many other scholars have taken of ‘pick’n’mix’ religions, where the individual no longer accepts strict dogmatic systems or ecclesiastical guidelines, rather, they create their own beliefs based on ‘his/her own attitude to the sacred’ and their understanding of religious meaning.^[14] This relates not only to those within Christian circles of belief, but those within post-Christian spirituality, who search and combine beliefs in numerous, seemingly incoherent ways, to find the truth for themselves. However, Knippenberg believes then that these ‘New Age’ individuals must fall into the specific, again statistical, criterias of not belonging to a denomination and if they claim to believe in a spirit or life-force rather than God specifically. While I agree with Knippenberg that secularization is an ever-increasing trend found in Europe, in the sense that individuals are altering the ‘traditional religions’ to fit their own ideologies and understandings, I do not agree with the final product of his analysis. He concludes that secularization is the consequence of people wanting to break from state controlled and power-driven denomination, due to a rise in socialism and nationalism, and while I agree this was and is a contributing factor, it negates the reasons of the individual, those who altered the traditional in order to find the truth for themselves.^[15]

This is where person centred practical theology studies come into focus. Speaking directly to individuals and getting their stories and explanations for their varying beliefs and practices, even if just from small sample sizes at first, will provide a more accurate representation of the motives behind trends within religion and belief in the modern world. By not interviewing individuals and simply interpreting statistics, we ignore the agency and choices made by the individual to follow a particular spiritual path both in and outside of Christianity. A prime example of this is taken from one of my contributors for my thesis, MoragAnne Elder, a Church of Scotland Reader, who has begun holding meetings known as ‘No Pews Needed’.[16] While MoragAnne is involved directly in Church leadership, she still recognizes her and other of her congregations needs to connect with God in ways that do not strictly lie within readings of the Good Book.[17] During these ‘No Pews Needed’ sessions, MoragAnne will follow examples from the Forest Church movement, wherein each of such meeting ‘attempts to participate with creation.’[18]

We [the Forest Church] aim to learn, worship, meditate, pray and practice with the trees, at the spring, along the shore. Participants come with an attitude of experimentation, playfulness and readiness to connect with nature. God is present in creation and can be understood through creation; you’re in the sermon, the readings come from the Second Book of God. The worship will happen when your heart is caught up in the beauty of the moment.’[19]

And within this movement there are various methods of worship and faith, some take ‘a structured and liturgical approach to their events, others [simply provide] a space with very little structure. Some [facilitate] groups who are strong on meditative or ritualistic practice, others have more of a field ecology focus on the flora and fauna around them. Some people are offering something distinctly Christian, some are at the fringes.’[20] MoragAnne holds that she does this from a completely Christian perspective, pulling from ancient Celtic Christian traditions of marking the seasons and understanding God through nature, and that she began doing so after Covid, when she found she and her congregation needed something to engage with and create a more physical connection with God after being so cut off from their Church community and the rest of the world, while simultaneously meeting MoragAnne and other’s needs for environmental awareness.[21] What MoragAnne added that made this interview even more intriguing, was her praise on how beneficial the ‘Church Without Pews’ meetings are for those on the fringes or even outside of the Christian faith. She spoke of how when holding the meetings outside, those who did not attend regular services were keen to attend and participate, and how the events were welcoming to Pagans or others looking for a community within their spirituality.[22]

Through this interview I learned of a practice that started as a way for a congregation to connect outside of the confines of their designated building, and became a way for individuals from various spiritual and religious affinities and backgrounds to come together and worship in a unique way that was comfortable for them, and the knowledge of this form of community and worship would be difficult to learn of, let alone understand if only statistical data had been collected.

Through interviews, researchers can learn about the values, lines, and variations that exist within not just Christian denominations, but within individuals as well. Even amongst MoragAnne’s congregation, there are some who refuse to participate in ‘No Pew Needed’ because it is too ‘pagan’, whereas MoragAnne would not consider herself to be remotely close to crossing that line.[23] Among my other contributors, there are lines which they set that they will not cross, but there are also compromises and beliefs held by each that allow them to follow practices that help them to feel complete and whole. Sabīne Fraser, a reiki healer and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, requires both her spiritual practice and faith to feel complete and have the means of understanding the world around her. She acknowledges that some people may have a problem with one side of her belief or the other, but for her, the two work harmoniously because of her understanding of religious and spiritual terminology.

[…] I feel like, we like to call all these different things different names but if we actually stop looking at the differences and start looking at what’s actually common, then we see that it’s exactly the same thing, it’s exactly the same things that we’re talking about. It’s just that, as I said, one calls it God, one calls it universe. One calls it a blessing, other one calls it manifestation, you know, just whatever it’s the same thing. Some people have problem with religion, so they choose to go to esoterical side of things even though it’s literally the same thing. [laughs][24]

This is a nuance of belief that is unique to Sabīne’s faith and understanding of religion and spirituality that would never be known if she had only been surveyed on what sort of entity she believed in, God, Spirit, something other, or nothing altogether.

It is my belief, that with the ever-growing access to new knowledge and practices from around the world, individual belief will continue to become more personalized and unique for everyone, and if we continue to limit our research and understanding of these individualized beliefs to the examination of statistical data, then we will lose the truth and convictions that are behind these beliefs. Statistics are only the edges of the puzzle, if we, as researchers, want to complete the picture and see the whole image of a person or community’s belief identities, then we need to have a more person-centred approach. By interviewing groups and individuals, we will not only provide an opportunity for the individuals to explain their practices in the hope of garnering outsider understanding, but we will also be committing to the accurate representation of the religious, spiritual values, and faiths we study by collecting material from those who are the authorities on personal belief, the individuals themselves.

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References

[1] Cameron, Helen, Deborah Bhatti, Catherine Duce, James Sweeney, and Clare Watkins. Talking about God in Practice: Theological Action Research and Practical Theology. London: SCM Press, 2010. [pp.20-21]

[2] Campbell, Alastair V. “The Nature of Practical Theology.” In Theology & Practice, ed. Duncan B. Forrester, 10-20. London: Epworth Press, 1990. [p.18]

[3] Swinton, John, and Harriet Mowatt. Practical Theology and Qualitative Research. London: SCM, 2006. [p.6]

[4] Bowman, Marion, ‘Vernacular Religion and Contemporary Spiritualities. Tribute to Leonard Norman Primiano (1957-2021)’, Traditiones, 50, no. 3 (2022), 7–14 (10).

[5] Ibid., 10. 

[6] Peter Clarke, New Religions in Global Perspective (London: Routledge, 2006), 6.

[7] Ibid., 7.

[8] Ibid., 7.

[9] Hans Knippenberg, ‘Secularization and Transformation of Religion in Post-War Europe’, in The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics, ed. By Stanley D. Brunn (Springer: Dordrecht, 2015), pp. 2101–2107 (2102).

[10] Ibid., p. 2105.

[11] Ibid., p. 2108

[12] Grace Davie, Religion in Britain: A Persistent Paradox, 2nd edn (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2015), p. 6.

[13] Ibid., p. 2114.

[14] Ibid., p. 2119.

[15] Ibid., p. 2124.

[16] Elder, MoragAnne, interviewed by Brenna Quinton, ‘Connecting Faiths with “No Pew Needed”’, Elphinstone Institute Archives, yet to be accessed, 10 November 2024, 00:05:58.

[17] Ibid., 00:03:18.

[18] Stanley, Bruce, Forest Church: A Field Guide to Nature Connection for Groups and Individuals (Powys: Mystic Christ Press, 2013), 12.

[19] Ibid., 12.

[20] Ibid., 12–13.

[21] Elder, MoragAnne, interviewed by Brenna Quinton, ‘Connecting Faiths with “No Pew Needed”’, Elphinstone Institute Archives, yet to be accessed, 10 November 2024, 00:04:11.

[22] Ibid., 00:05:07.

[23] Ibid., 00:08:08.

[24] Sabīne Fraser, interviewed by Brenna Quinton, Aberdeen, Scotland, 30 June 2022, ‘Evolving Religious and Spiritual Beliefs of the Contributor’, EI 2022.003, 00:44:42, Elphinstone Institute Archives.

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© Brenna Shay Quinton, 2024.

This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Cover Image: Taken by the author.