Researching Religion and Non-Religion with Albert Piette

Albert Piette's views on religion, as detailed in his 1999 book, La Religion de près , offer valuable insights into how religion is experienced in daily life. While he critiques existing sociological perspectives, his ideas align with the current focus on 'lived religion' by contemporary sociologists. We'll look at where Piette's ideas match and differ from these scholars, and then explore the growing study of non-religion. Despite some limitations in Piette's micro-level approach, his work still provides useful concepts and methods for studying religion and non-religion. To illustrate this, let's consider the Community Gardens research project by Nonreligion in a Complex Future. This project shows how people, both religious and non-religious, express and shape their beliefs in community gardens. Imagine religion as a living, breathing part of our everyday routines. That's what Piette suggests in his work. He emphasizes the need to understand religion from the ground up, through people's actions and experiences, rather than just looking at big theories. This idea of 'lived religion' is increasingly important in sociology.

But what about those who don't identify with traditional religious practices? Here, Piette's work can also guide us. His focus on the individual's experience can help us understand 'lived non-religion'— how people who aren't religiously affiliated still grapple with issues of faith, meaning, and identity. The Community Gardens project is a great example of this. Here, people from various backgrounds bring their beliefs (or lack thereof) to the same space. Some find spiritual connections through nature, others use garden time for reflection, while some simply enjoy the community aspect. However, Piette's approach isn't without issues. His focus on individual experiences can sometimes overlook the bigger social and cultural contexts that shape these experiences. Still, his methods offer a fresh lens for studying the complex dance of religion and non-religion in our lives.

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