My Religious Landscape Notebook Name: Derek Morton

GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS of MY LOCAL COMMUNITY:

Location: Viewmont High School
Why this location: It is by where most of us live.

What we expect to find:

We expected to find a lot of Christian churches.

Our Method:

_We looked online to see when services were. We picked one that we found interesting, and
we went to experience it.
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OUR FINDINGS
Christianity:
Catholic There are three catholic churches in the area.
Protestant Four churches in the area.
Orthodox There are no Orthodox churches.
Other Christian (identify) Jehovah Witness, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints,

Islam: There are zero Islam churches.

Hindu: There are Zero Hindu Churches
Buddhism: There is one Buddhist church.
Judaism: There are zero Judaism Churches
Other Non-Christian: There no other Non-Christian
What surprised you about this religious landscape?
We were surprised to find there was a variety of Christian Churches. There are a lot of LDS
churches
What seemed ordinary about this religious landscape?
There was a lot of LDS churches.

RESEARCH (UTAH, RANDOM STATE, NATION):

FINDINGS FOR UTAH: Saint George Temple Utah
Christianity:
Catholic There is one church.
Protestant There is six churches.
Orthodox There is one church
Other Christian (identify) There are six churches.
Islam: There are zero churches.
Hindu: There are zero churches.
Buddhism: There is one Buddhist.
Judaism: There are zero Judaism churches.
Other Non-Christian (Identify): The Church of Saint George.

Other interesting demographics:

We were very surprised that there weren’t very many non-Christian religions.
FOR OUR RANDOM STATE WE CHOSE:_Vermont___________________________
Our findings for this state:
Christianity:
Catholic 26%
Protestant 39%
Orthodox >1%
Other Christian (identify)1%
Islam:>1%
Hindu:>1%
Buddhism:>1%
Judaism: 2%
Other Non-Christian (Identify):>1%

Other interesting demographics:

FOR THE NATION
Christianity: 70.6%
Catholic 20.8%
Protestant 25.4%
Orthodox .5%
Other Christian (identify) morman 1.6% Jehovah Witness .8% other .4%
Islam: .9%
Hindu: .7%
Buddhism:.7%
Judaism: 1.9%
Other Non-Christian (Identify): 1.5%

Other interesting demographics:

We found interesting how many Catholics there are in the nation. There are a lot of Christian
religions in the United State.

COMPARISONS
DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISON between OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY AND UTAH
IN Bountiful there is a much high population of LDS members, and a lot fewer Christian
denominations as well as non-Christian religions. There is a bigger variety of Christina churches
in other places of Utah than around Salt Lake City.

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISONS between UTAH AND A RANDOM STATE

When comparing Utah to Vermont,, Vermont is somewhat split between being dominant
catholic and protestant, Whereas Utah is ore than half LDS. Vermont also has a lot of other
churches besides just Christian ones such as Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, and Judaism.

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISON between UTAH AND THE NATION

Utah has huge difference when it comes to the dominant religion. Utah obviously being
dominant LDS with over 60% of the population being members. While in the United States only
is 2% LDS.

EXPLORE and DISCOVER

Site Visit #1: A Majority Religion.
Where we went: (NAME AND LOCATION)
We went to the Cathedral of the Madeleine
When we went: (DATE AND TIME)
November 18th, 2018 6:00 PM
Why this place:
Because it is a pretty building.

What do you know about this religion’s belief and practices?

They are a Christian. They believe in transfiguration. They worship idols, the virgin Mary and the
golden scriptures. The Bible is very important to them. They believe in baptism.

What assumptions, biases, prejudices or stereotypes do you hold regarding this religion? (Everybody has
these, they do not necessarily indicate intolerance or hate)

Catholics are very traditional, but low commitment. They drink a lot of wine.

What are your expectations in terms of practice, comfort, space etc.?

We accept the music to be very pretty. We expected it is be very big and beautiful.
Describe the sacred space.
What is its history? Has the building been here long? How does it fit in with the surrounding community?
Is there much decoration or symbolism on the exterior/grounds?
It was completed in 1909. It serves has the mother church. It is Christian like a lot of the churches around
that area. They have four crucifixion. There is also three spires.

What decorated the interior space and what was the focal point?

Paintings were all around the church. The alter was the focal point.

What seemed to be the purpose of the setting: did it enhance the experience? Did it distract from the
emotional/spiritual experience?

We were pretty distracted by everything. The music definitely enhanced the experience. The music was
very pretty and peaceful.

Describe the Service:

Who worships here? Give a “profile” of the worshipers.

The worshipers are mainly English and Spanish speaking people.

Describe what happened there. Were you fully engaged (all your senses)? Who participated? What
seemed to be the benefit of these rituals for those in attendance?

We were not fully engaged because we were distracted by what was going on. Everyone participated in
this service. The benefit from this rituals was the people felt peace. They also get blessings in return.

What were the attitudes of the participants? (fear, awe, love, hope, union, boredom, excitement, passion
etc.) The attitudes of the participants were love, hope, and passion.

In what ways was it clear that this religion is part of the privileged majority?

They have a bomb church. As the majority religion it is more respected than other religions.

What did you learn about this religion’s relationship to non-members?

They are very nice to non-members. They are very welcoming to others wanting to join or check out the
religion.

What did you learn about this groups contributions to their community?

They have a lot of donations during Christmas time. They are about helping the community and trying to
improve the world around them.

Were your expectations met? How do you feel this experience will affect you? (200 words minimum)

We feel this experience with this religion will open minds better. It was a very peaceful service.
The music was very pretty. Everyone was very reverent and respectful. We also learned that we
can be better about giving back to our community. There was a lot of standing and sitting during
the service. A lot of people helped during the service. They had different people collecting
donations. There were a lot of families there together. We like that different people helped in the
service. It was different from other church services we have been to. The dress was very different.
Some people were dressed in Sunday dress. Others were dressed in casual clothes. During the
sacrament that had cups of wine. It was a good experience going to this religion. It was good to
get a different kind of experience. The music was very loud. The building is very big and there is a
bunch of empty space. The seats were not very comfortable. During the prayer everyone was very
silent and peaceful. They had a lot of different prayers going on. They read out of the golden bible.
It was hard to understand what they were saying. Overall this was a very good experience.
EXPLORE and DISCOVER
Site Visit #2: A Minority Religion.
Where we went: (NAME AND LOCATION)
Kingdom Hall.
When we went: (DATE AND TIME)
November 11th , 2018 11:00 PM

Why this place:

It was close to where most of us live.
What do you know about this religion’s belief and practices?
We knew that this religion doesn’t have many celebrations. They believe in Jehovah. They believe
only a certain number of people are going to heaven.

What assumptions, biases, prejudices or stereotypes do you hold regarding this religion? (Everybody has
these, they do not necessarily indicate intolerance or hate)

They had a weird doctrine. They don’t like to have any fun.

What are your expectations in terms of practice, comfort, space etc.?

Are expectation for the service are we sit in one big room.

Describe the sacred space.

What is its history: Has the building been here long? How does it fit in with the surrounding community? Is
there much decoration or symbolism on the exterior/grounds?
The building has been there since 1997. It doesn’t fit in with the surrounding community. The surrounding
community is mostly LDS and catholic. There are no windows at the church. Other than that there was
nothing that made the building special.

What decorated the interior space and what was the focal point?
They had scriptures on the wall. Other than that it was very plain. There wasn’t much going on.

What seemed to be the purpose of the setting: did it enhance the experience? Did it distract from the
emotional/spiritual experience?
No the setting was very boring and plain. It made us pay attention because there was no distractions.

Describe the Service:

Who worships here? Give a “profile” of the worshipers.

There are different types of people in the religion. They are very reverent people.

Describe what happened there (Were you fully engaged (all your senses)? Who participated? What
seemed to be the benefit of these rituals for those in attendance?

They had a guess speaker first talk. After him they had watchtower. One main person read the text. After
the room was open to give in there answers.

What were the attitudes of the participants? (fear, awe, love, hope, union, boredom, excitement, passion
etc.)

The attitudes of the participants they were very quiet. They didn’t do much during the service. They were
all very respectful of each other.

In what ways is this religion’s culture of origin represented?

This question does not apply to Jehovah witness.

What aspects of Americanization did you observe? (“immigrant” religions)

This was not an immigrant religion.

What did you learn about this religion’s relationship to non-members and the broader community?

They are very cut off from the world. They live in their own corner.
Does this group appear to face any challenges or struggles?

They struggle with their image. They are very stereotype in this country. They struggle finding joy.

Were your expectations met? How do you feel this experience will affect you? (200 words minimum)

It opened our eyes to see what dedication people have in a different religion. We did not want to go back
to this religion. As soon as we walked into the building they knew we were visiting. They came up to us
and started telling us about the religion. They wanted to make sure we were prepared. During the service
we found what people said very interesting. After the service people came up to us to tell us to come next
week. They also were very excited that we were there. They told us about what other services they
offered. They were definitely talking to us a lot. They were very welcoming when we first walked in. They
were very excited to see new people come through the door. They were also told us what to read for the
next week. It is very interesting to see the differences in this religion compared to other religions. The
people at the service seemed very closed off from the world. It was very interesting to see how respectful
these people were during the service. Overall this was a very interesting experience. The things they
were teaching are very similar to other Christian religions.

APPLICATION (COMPLETED INDIVIDUALLY)

Pluralism
For many, religious “diversity” and religious “pluralism” are the same thing, but we now know
differently. Do some research to discover what your community (local, city, or state) is doing to
encourage religious pluralism. Describe below.
___One thing that I have noticed here in Bountiful is the increased use of the community
church. It has been placed right next to the food pantry in a ver public place, and they have a
big sign out front advertising events and religious offerings. At this church, different
denominations as well as non-Christian denominations gather for community events and to
worship or celebrate. On the state level, there have been calls for increased tolerance between
religions and the beliefs of the public, i.e. the acceptance of the LGBTQ community into
Christian churches.
Overall, how do you feel we as Americans are managing religious diversity/pluralism? Could we
do more?
_____My perspective may be a little biased simply because I live in Utah, but I feel that
diversity and pluralism haven’t come very far. I feel like most people stick with their own
religion, or at the very least they participate in “spiritual shopping,” but as far as combining
religions and becoming plural I can’t say I’ve seen it much. In my own opinion, I think religions
sticking to their roots is a positive thing and pluralism will just create a lot of “watered-down”
religions that have plagiarized beliefs from one another. I prefer individuality and personality
rather than all becoming one gray, boring conglomerate of each other. Maybe I’m old fashioned
or close-minded, but that’s simply my opinion.
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DRAWING CONCLUSIONS (COMPLETED INDIVIDUALLY)

Find out more information about religion in the United States. Research more about religious
trends nationally and globally and respond to the following related questions.
Is the United States a Christian country?
_____It seems as if the United States was once a Christian nation in its roots, but since
immigration has become common we no longer can consider ourselves a purely Christian
nation. We have become, rather, a nation of believers. Jew, Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, and many
other religions are now much more common than they were at the beginning of our
history.________________________________________________________________________
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In the year 2050 you all will be somewhere between the ages of 50 and 70 (Perhaps with a few
exceptions) Where do you see the U.S. in 2050 (religiously speaking)? Why?

______If the trends of today continue, I think we will be more of a spiritual nation rather than
a religious nation. More and more people are choosing to dip their feet in the spiritual water
rather than being fully immersed in what they believe. They want to believe in something, but
not be committed for life. _________________________________________
Read the following article (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/american-religion-
trends_us_570c21cee4b0836057a235ad) and choose 1-2 trends to comment on. What do you
find compelling about the information from this list? ________________In the article, I found
the trends “church membership declines” and “online spirituality emerges” interesting. I
believe that the two may be related. As the article stated, attendance within religions has
declined steadily since the 1960s, and I think the internet has had a huge part to do with that.
Social media, online reading and learning resources, and peer pressure have become magnified
by the internet. Many people can just get their spiritual fix by reading online, taking an online
class, or simply leave their religion altogether after reading about it on the internet. I think this
trend will continue as younger generations that are raised completely with the internet
continue to come to maturity and make their own decisions.
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