Paper short abstract:

Relationships in fieldwork require a respectful, continuous management of expectations, and sensitivities to personal frames of reference. This paper is a reflexive account of fieldwork with Pentecostal Nigerians in Dublin.

Paper long abstract:

Shortly after the break up of my long term relationship, the Pastor of the parish in which I conducted most of my MA fieldwork, suggested I read the Proverbs passage "The Virtuous Wife". He proposed, perhaps this would help me find a husband. My initial internal reaction was certainly not one of grateful appreciation, however my outer anthropologist curtsied the "Nigerian" way and offered my thanks through a painful smile. This is a reflexive paper about conflicting personal dialogue and the complex nature of relationships built in the field. It highlights many of the messy moral entanglements of my fieldwork experience with Pentecostal Nigerians from the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Dublin. The paper explores the complexities of respectfully and honestly negotiating fundamental differences between myself and my research participants in terms of religious, cultural and social frames of reference. Drawing on my experience of fieldwork in the emotionally charged context of Pentecostalism, I argue that particularly in fieldwork with religious communities, the moral boundaries between researcher and participants are sharpened and this is often personally challenging for the researcher.

Keywords: Fieldwork in religion, Pentecostalism, Moral Relativism