Ethnographic Observation In An Adoration Chapel

[AugustineA]

"A female approaches.." 

 

 

[Gabriela]

shouldn't you be observing something you are not familiar with?  and observing something you're not familiar with it doesn't mean not observing something at your parish-- sit in at a youth group meeting or the Legion of Mary meeting or a charismatic prayer group or even bingo…

 

It doesn't have to be something you're not familiar with. It usually is for ethnographers, but you can just as well observe something you're familiar with and try to simply see it like you never have before. I've never gone to the Adoration chapel and just sat there and watched other people, looked really closely at the space, noticed stuff, you know? I go in, kneel, cross myself, walk to a pew with my eyes focused on Jesus, and then keep my eyes focused on Jesus till I leave. It's actually the one place I go where I've pretty much never looked around!

[beatitude]

I have been a little nervous about being watched in church ever since a group of fundamentalist Christians came to the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham and created a mocking website about it, complete with photos. I was a regular visitor to the shrine at the time, as it was local to me. I felt pretty creeped out to think that they could have been gathering those pictures while I was praying, and wandering through the shrine sniggering to themselves at all the popery on display. I know you will be treating the situation respectfully, as a Catholic yourself, but for some reason the whole experience has made me feel uneasy about being observed in church, no matter how sincere and kind-hearted the observer and no matter what the purpose. But I doubt most people would have a problem with it, providing it's done considerately and there's nothing that could identify them in what you write.

Edited May 28, 2014 by beatitude

[NotreDame]

With a few exceptions, most chapels are filled with so many noisy people (praying out loud, kids playing/crying, mentally ill talking to themselves out loud) that you have to try really hard to get noticed.  If you are at one of these chapels, I can't imagine your "observing doing any harm."   If you are lucky enough to be at one of the very few chapels that never has any of these distractions, then there probably aren't enough people to make observing worthwhile anyway.

[Credo in Deum]

"Here we are, observing the Catholic in his natural environment..."

 

 

"His gaze is fixated on an object of interest about 10 meters distant, totally unaware of our observation as we remain downwind."

 

 

"Here we see one of college age, so at peace and tranquility that he appears to be slowly nodding off... and so he does!"

 

You just had to tempt them didn't ya?!

 

Now look what you've done!

 

[Gabriela]

You just had to tempt them didn't ya?!

 

Now look what you've done!

 

 

Oh my gosh, dude, that's a riot. I am totally showing this to my prof.