What Is Occasional Religious Practice?

Abstract Occasional religious practice is a way of relating to religion that is characterized by participation in religious practices occasionally rather than routinely, most often in connection with certain types of occasions. Occasional religious practice is defined in relation to routine and intensive religious practice, as well as to the possibility of never participating in religious practices. What is considered occasional, routine, and intensive is determined contextually. Four types of occasions are associated with occasional religious practice: holidays, life transitions, personal or communal crises, and incidental circumstances. Ethnographic data illustrate these four types of occasions. This understanding of occasional practice builds on sociological definitions of religion as practice, such as those developed by Christian Smith and Martin Riesebrodt.