Participant Observation of a Religious ServiceIn this exercise, you will consider the physical appearance you ascribe to God and the consequences for society of that image.You are going to learn outside of the classroom by attending a religious service in your community. If you are not religious, this is a great opportunity to examine a religious service. If you are religious, this will allow you to visit with a religious faith other than your own or to analyze (and not just participate in) a service in your own religious organization.In Chapter 3, you learned about participant observations where you observe, interact, and participate in the social context that you are studying. You will conduct a participant observation of a religious service. Before conducting your research, you need to

Question

think about the ethical and methodological issues of doing participant observations. You do not want to present yourself as someone else. If you are asked about yourself, you can say, "I am a student at [school]. My professor gave us an assignment to visit a religious service and I am interested in learning more about your religion." You must be respectful of the religious practices and rituals while also paying attention to what you see around you. You can take mental notes or, if appropriate, take notes on a small pad of paper. As soon as you leave the service, you should take further notes so that you remember what you observed. Pay careful attention to the following:What was the demographic makeup of the people attending the worship service? Was it racially and ethnically diverse? Were there more women than men? Were there mostly older people in attendance? Did children attend the same worship service?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

varies