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Accepted Paper:
Paper Short Abstract:
Reflecting on challenges in anthropological work amid religious aversion and suspicion when studying diverse beliefs. Examining insights from fieldwork in evangelical churches in Chile and Spain (2019-present), navigating biases and dualities in understanding religious experiences.
Paper Abstract:
As anthropologists, we consistently encounter challenges from various fronts in our work. Firstly, there is a notable aversion to the religious field among colleagues within our discipline. Secondly, we face suspicion from individuals we engage with in the field when expressing that we are "studying religion," as they do not identify their actions or belief as "religious" Thirdly, there is the complex task of participating in activities with a "religious" nature while setting aside potential biases.
This paper reflects on the insights gained from intermittent fieldwork in evangelical/Pentecostal churches in Chile and Spain from 2019 to the present day. This exercise involves critically considering my positionality, the perspectives of others, and the inherent secularist lens of anthropology which often seeks to impose "religious" concepts or definitions on certain actions that are far from being defined as such by the practitioners.
The article aims to discuss the challenges and obstacles faced as a female anthropologist in these spaces that tend to be predominantly male, where entering the field often requires behaving in a certain way but also demonstrating interest in the faith of those who open the doors of these churches.
Moreover, the anthropologist's epistemic role becomes a potential obstacle, as community members may perceive the researcher as a possible "convert." Consequently, knowledge produced from this epistemic tension results in a duality between objectifying knowledge and the "religious" experiences of the individuals studied. As an anthropologist, my "mission" is to understand the meanings of evangelical/Pentecostal beliefs, while theirs is, to witness my conversion to their Christian beliefs and lifestyle.
Doing fieldwork in religious arena. Epistemological challenges for ethnographic participation
Session 1 Thursday 18 July, 2024, -