Researching Children in New Religious Movements

ABSTRACT: In this Field Notes essay, the author describes the evolution of her methodology in research on children in new religious movements, both in and outside of Sweden, drawing on ethnographic examples among groups such as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and the Knutby Filadelfia congregation. She discusses the clashes between the standardized protocols imposed by ethics boards and the flexibility and adaptability required to address the unique challenges in studying children and youth in new religious movements and spiritual communities. Drawing on personal experiences, the author also describes the complexities, risks, and rewards of bringing one’s own children on field visits. The special ethical, data collection, legal, and interpersonal challenges involved in conducting research with children in new religious movements are highlighted. By applying the concepts of organization studies scholar John Van Maanen of “confessional” and “impressionist” reports of dynamic participant-observation, as opposed to detached, third-person “realist” accounts, the author points to the ways in which the agency, rights, and lived experiences of children can be centered in presentations of data such as interviews and field observations.