The Backstory-S01E07-Nancy Ammerman

Welcome to The Backstory's expert episode featuring sociologist Nancy Ammerman. Nancy introduces the idea of lived religion and explains how narrative methods—asking "tell me about a time," using audio prompts, photos, and PhotoVoice—help researchers build trust and surface everyday sacred and spiritual experiences.

She also offers practical guidance on listening for people’s vocabulary, layering multiple methods to deepen stories, and organizing qualitative data through coding and memoing to find meaningful themes.

https://studyingcongregations.org/

https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Stories-Spiritual-Tribes-Religion/dp/0199917361