Theological Ethnography as a Tool for Human Accountability

Abstract

A recent methodological approach, theological (ecclesiological) ethnography, has begun to initiate a "blurring of boundaries" between theological ethics and the social scientific methods. Advocates of this approach argue that this method creates awareness of theological and ethical innovations. It is based on the premise of the impossibility of doing good theology and ethics without the experiences of a concrete community. Furthermore, ethnography as theology and ethics makes a novel contribution that enables theological accountability and honesty, since it turns the spotlight towards the researcher and the field of theology. This happens within a framework that sees human experience and knowledge of the divine as a (1) source (embodied knowing) and (2) substance (lived practices) of theology while subjected to (3) critical self-reflexivity. This paper attempts an analysis of these claims and further explores the question of whether theological ethnography is an honest process to access both human experiences and divine knowledge.

Keywords: Theology, Empirical Research, Ethnography, Ecclesiology, Praxis, Method, Accountability, Honesty, Reflexivity