Sacred Presence and Lived Religion: Robert Orsi's Methodological Contribution to Contemporary Religious Studies and Islamic Studies

Abstract

The lived religion paradigm has significantly transformed contemporary religious studies by shifting scholarly attention from religious doctrines and institutions toward the everyday experiences through which believers understand, negotiate, and embody their faith. Among the leading scholars within this tradition, Robert A. Orsi has made a distinctive contribution through his concept of sacred presence, which understands religion as a network of relationships between human beings and sacred realities actively experienced in everyday life. This article examines Orsi's concept of sacred presence within the broader development of lived religion scholarship and explores its methodological relevance for contemporary Islamic studies. Employing a qualitative library research method, the study analyzes Orsi's Between Heaven and Earth alongside major works on lived religion, material religion, digital religion, and contemporary Islamic studies. The analysis demonstrates that sacred presence extends the lived religion paradigm by providing an interpretive framework capable of explaining how believers experience the sacred through relationships, memory, ritual, material culture, and ordinary social practices. Furthermore, the article argues that Orsi's framework offers valuable methodological contributions to Islamic studies by complementing conventional textual, legal, and theological approaches with greater attention to lived religious experience. Rather than replacing established Islamic disciplines, sacred presence broadens their analytical scope by illuminating how Muslims encounter, interpret, and embody religious meaning within diverse social, cultural, and digital contexts. The study concludes that Orsi's concept of sacred presence constitutes a productive methodological framework that enriches both contemporary religious studies and the ongoing development of interdisciplinary approaches within Islamic studies.