What is occasional religious practice, and how does it connect families and communities to faith?
Wed, Nov 12, 2025 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM PST
St. Mark’s College at UBC, 5935 Iona Drive Vancouver, BC V6T 1J7
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, including holidays, life transitions, and times of crisis. In a North American religious landscape characterized by declining participation in religious institutions, increasing uncertainty about matters of faith, and a growing population who identify as nonreligious, occasional religious practice is a primary way that people continue to relate to religion. Sarah Kathleen Johnson introduces the concept of occasional religious practice as a novel yet intuitive way to describe, analyze, and respond to this widespread pattern drawing on three years of ethnographic fieldwork in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. One surprising pattern that emerged was the number of Catholic families choosing to baptize their children in the Anglican Church. Dr. Johnson explores these dynamics in dialogue with Roman Catholic priest Fr. Nick Meisl and Anglican deacon Rev. Alisdair Smith.
This panel is grounded in Dr. Johnson’s recent book Occasional Religious Practice: Valuing a Very Ordinary Religious Experience:
We invite you to join us for this insightful discussion, followed by light refreshments!
Listen to a brief preview of the topic of Dr. Johnson’s talks on November 12 here…
The Rev. Canon Dr. Sarah Kathleen Johnson is Assistant Professor of Liturgy and Pastoral Theology at Saint Paul University in Ottawa and the author of Occasional Religious Practice: Valuing a Very Ordinary Religious Experience (Oxford University Press, 2025). Her research at the intersection of liturgical studies and sociology of religion explores Christian worship in a changing religious landscape. She holds a PhD from the University of Notre Dame and served as president of the Canadian Theological Society.
Rev. Dr. Nicholas Meisl was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Vancouver in 2013. As part of his formation, he spent several years with the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, serving in various ministries in Tijuana, Mexico City, and Rome. Prior to teaching, he served in several parishes in Surrey and Richmond. At St. Mark’s and Corpus Christi Colleges, Fr. Nick teaches New Testament and Old Testament studies. He holds a PhD from Durham, where he researched Paul’s views on sexuality, marriage, and singleness under the supervision of Professors John Barclay (Durham, primary supervisor) and Harry Maier (Vancouver School of Theology, secondary supervisor). He also currently serves at St. Peter’s Parish in New Westminster.
Rev. Alisdair Smith serves as School Chaplain at the Vancouver School of Theology. He was previously Deacon and Business Chaplain at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, BC. He worked for many years in the credit union sector in Canada and globally, exploring governance, leadership and strategy. He is currently researching how hospitality does and could function in church life and ministries. A life-long Anglican, he is ordained as a Deacon, and as such sits on the boundary between church land and secular land, translating between the two.