CHAPTER 2: A PRACTICAL THEOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY 81 his/her method of working, allowing the reader to evaluate the process. This section offers such an account by reflecting on various aspects of the role of the researcher and the interaction with the research objects and by presenting the actions and choices made throughout the research process. Gatekeepers and preconditions Throughout the process, the role of so-called gatekeepers has been rather substantial. A gatekeeper, in empirical research, is a person who can grant or deny access to a particular community (be it religious or societal), because of his or her position within the group. He or she has the responsibility for protecting the group, the mandate to grant access to a target group, or at least the possibility to negotiate between the group’s interests and those of the researcher. I was confronted with gatekeepers in both communities, assigned by the priors. The priors themselves were the actual decision makers, relying on the discretion of their gatekeepers. In Taizé, this was the same person I encountered during the research for my master’s thesis into the community. He communicated my plans and requests to Brother Alois, who gave me permission to access community members in order to interview them. However, the access was conditional: Brother Alois assigned three members whom I could interview. He did not communicate the specific considerations for assigning these particular brothers, but the reasoning is quite clear. The first is the gatekeeper and senior member of the community (38 years in Taizé), coming from the Swiss Reformed tradition. The second is a Roman Catholic, who has spent over forty years in the community and who wrote a book about Yves Congar: Congar’s influence on the theology of the Taizé community is obvious. The third brother is Dutch and relatively young, coming from the Dutch Calvinistic tradition. Apart from appointing designated interviewees, the gatekeeper communicated that Brother Alois insisted that I add another community to my research. This was to protect internal community life: the community obviously needs to secure its own coherence and integrity amidst the missions it has committed itself to; by welcoming all the young visitors, the community’s inner dynamic is tested and challenged. It is also tested by the impact of the interaction with so many churches and church leaders from different confessions. In addition, although the Eucharistic practice of Taizé is exceptional in the sense that its legitimation is based on an exception to general ecclesial regulations, Eucharistic hospitality itself is quite common in the daily
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