Balancing Repertoire Arrangements

Abstract

In this chapter, I turn to consider the three degrees of practice that make up the religious repertoires model: pivot, peripheral practices, and inactive religious forms. The three degrees are considered separately and offer opportunities to discuss notions of religious membership, secondary practices, and the relevance of one’s religious past. Special attention is paid to the tension between institutional expectations, social norms, and personal religious agency, the latter often being justified through appeal to a “freedom of worship” discourse. The chapter ends with an ethnographic focus on the common practice of “church visits,” which is integrated into the religious repertoire model as a central facilitator of familiarization.