Introduction to Cultural AnthropologyReligious Observation Exercise

For this exercise, you are required to attend a religious service that is unfamiliar to you. It would be great if you could find at least one person to talk to (an informant) from the service in order to understand the service from an emic perspective. Please address the following questions:The Setting1. What kind of service did you attend? (If a Christian service, what denomination?) _____________________________________________________________________________2. Where was the service located and when did the service take place? _____________________________________________________________________________3. In what kind of building was the service conducted ? Describe the setting._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Group/Congregation4. Describe the group composition in terms of gender, age, whether they were together as families or couples, or alone. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5. Were congregants segregated by gender or age? __________________________________6. Was the service well attended? _________________________________________________The Clerical Staff7. What was the composition of the clerical staff (were they men, women, children?) _____________________________________________________________________________8. What kinds of jobs or activities were conducted by members of the clerical staff?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Were there individuals and associated activities that were unclear to you or was it easy to understand the roles of the clerical staff? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Service10. What language(s) was used during the service? ___________________________________11. How long was the service? ____________________________________________________12. Was there music? If so, what kind? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________13. Were there prayers? If so, what was said and who said them? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________14. What kinds of rituals did you observe? What was their meaning?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________15. What kinds of symbols were used? What was their meaning?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________16. What was the central message of the service? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________17. Was the cleric successful at communicating that message? What methods did he or she use in order to accomplish this? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________18. What was the response of the congregation to the central message and the service in general? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Your Experience19. How did you respond to the service? Did you feel comfortable and welcome there? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________20. What did you like about it, or not like about it? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________21. Was there anything that you didnt understand? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________22. What did you learn?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________