Normativity as Pitfall or Ally?

When theologians, who care about church, spirituality, and theology, conduct empirical, ecclesiological studies, our underlying normative values impact the entire research process and results in unhelpful or helpful ways. In this article I propose that attending to precisely reflexivity might change...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kaufman, Tone Stangeland (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2015
In: Ecclesial practices
Year: 2015, Volume: 2, Issue: 1, Pages: 91-107
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
CB Christian life; spirituality
KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia
KDD Protestant Church
RA Practical theology
RB Church office; congregation
Further subjects:B Normativity practical theology reflexivity ethnographic research clergy spirituality Church of Norway empathic curiosity expansive learning Mary McClintock Fulkerson
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:When theologians, who care about church, spirituality, and theology, conduct empirical, ecclesiological studies, our underlying normative values impact the entire research process and results in unhelpful or helpful ways. In this article I propose that attending to precisely reflexivity might change our initial, naïve normativity from an implicit to an explicit normativity. I suggest that if these normative values are brought to the table, and self-critically and honestly reflected on, the initially naïve normativity can prove to be an interpretive key in unlocking the data, thus helping us understand the phenomenon under investigation in a more nuanced way. When making this claim, I mainly draw on my own empirical study on clergy spirituality in the Church of Norway (CofN), but also bring in the work of other scholars, and in particular Mary McClintock Fulkerson’s ethnographic work and “theology in four voices” proposed by the arcs team.
ISSN:2214-4471
Contains:In: Ecclesial practices
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/22144471-00201006