People Living with Dementia Celebrating Christian Worship: Agency and Vulnerability in Ethnographical Research

Abstract

Based on ethnographic research on worship with people living with dementia, this contribution raises the issue of agency in pastoral practice as well as in its empirical investigation. Both empirical research and professional literature on worship tend to position people living with dementia as vulnerable, frail and in need of protection and care, thereby fostering an image of passive fragility. Research experience however tells a different story. People take an active part in what is going on, sometimes even claiming liturgical leadership. The paper discusses how such discrepancies could be reflected in actual research. With its focus on methodology, it makes a case for a deeper understanding of agency both in contexts of liturgical studies and pastoral care.