OUR RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE

JOSE MONTERROSO, JONATHAN LEHR, BRANDON LUECKER

OBJECTIVES

 Look closely and critically at the diversity of our community

 Learn about religious diversity in our local area, Utah as a whole, the state of Alabama, and the Nation
 Communicate your findings visually and in writing
 PowerPoint, and Portfolio
 To gain knowledge and understanding of some of your religious communities
 Attend rituals and events at the Cathedral of the Madeline, and the Holy Trinity Church
 Develop an awareness of and interest in generative religious pluralism
GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

 Location
 Sandy City, Utah
 Why?
 We knew of 3 distinct churches within the area
 Familiar with the location
 What we Expect
 We Expect to find Multiple LDS Churches
 Mainly Churches of the Christian faith
 Method
 Neighborhood knowledge
 Google Maps
GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS – FINDINGS Local Religions in our Area
 Catholic 16
 Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Saint Thomas Moore 14
Catholic Church, LLC 12
10
8
 Protestant 6
 St. James Episcopal Church, Mountain View Christian 4
2
Assembly, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Grace Lutheran 0
Church, Hilltop United Methodist Church, Community Of Christianity Islam Hindu Buddism Other
Grace Presbyterian Church, The Fellowship, Grace
Community Bible Church Types of Christianity In our
Location
 Non-Denominational
 City Church, The rock church, Sandy Ridge Church, The Well
Church

 Non-Trinitarianism Catholic (13%) Protestant (53%)

 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Non-Denominational(27%) Non-Trinitarianism (7%)
GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS – FINDINGS CONT.
 Data Reflection
 Our data shows that out of the 15 churches found in our area 53% were protestant while 7% were of the LDS
faith. Furthermore, 27% were non-denominational. However, of all those churches none were non-Christian.
 What surprised you about this religious landscape?
 What surprised our group the most was the lack of Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish religious
establishments. We assumed that there would be at least a couple around the area. What also surprised us was
the churches that we found were so closely located to each other, they were within at least walking distance.
 What seemed ordinary about this religious landscape?
 What seemed ordinary was our findings. We assumed that most of the religions that we were going to find in
this area would be primarily Christian. That was accurate, given that it’s Utah and the majority of the churches
found within our area are of the LDS faith.
RESEARCH – FINDINGS FOR UTAH
 Christianity: 73% Religion in Utah
 Catholic: 5% 80
 Protestant: 14%
70
 Orthodox: < 1%
60
 Jehovah's Witness: < 1%
 LDS: 55% 50

 Other: 24% 40

 Islam: 1% 30

 Hindu: < 1% 20
 Buddhism: 1%
10
 Judaism: < 1%
0
 Unaffiliated: 20% Christianity Islam Hindu Buddhism Judaism Unaffiliated Atheist

 Atheist: 3%
RESEARCH – FINIDINGS FOR UTAH CONT.…
Types of Christianity in Utah

 Our research indicates a dominating Christian Utah

 To the Right you will find a chart of Christianity in Utah
 While the Second majority appears to be Unaffiliated
 When it comes to other world religions Muslims, Hindus,
and Buddhist are at a really low membership in Utah
 At most, each being at 1% in Utah
Catholic 5% Protestant 14% Orhtodox 1%

Jehovah's Witness 1% LDS 55% Other 24%

RESEARCH – FINDINGS FOR ALABAMA
Religion in Alabama
 Christianity: 86%
 Catholic: 7% 90

 Protestant: 78% 80
 Orthodox: < 1%
70
 Jehovah's Witness: < 1%
60
 LDS: 1%
 Other: 12% 50

 Islam: <1% 40

 Hindu: < 1% 30
 Buddhism: <1%
20
 Judaism: < 1%
10
 Unaffiliated: 9%
0
 Atheist: 1% Christianity Islam Hindu Buddhism Judaism Unaffiliated Atheist
RESEARCH – FINDINGS FOR ALABAMA CONT.…
Forms of Christianity in Alabama

 Alabama as our randomly picked state shares

similar demographics as Utah
 They are both dominantly Christian
 Have a low number of non-Christian Religions
 Alabama however is primarily protestant as
compared to Utah which is primarily LDS
 The top 3 Protestant groups are: Evangelical
Protestants, Mainline Protestants, and Black
Protestants

Catholic 7% Protestant 78% Orthodox 1%

Jehovah's Witness 1% LDS 1% Other 12%

RESEARCH – FINDINGS FOR THE NATION
Religion in the United States of America
 Christianity: 70.6%
80
 Catholic: 20.8%
 Protestant: 46.6% 70
 Orthodox: 0.5%
60
 Jehovah's Witness: 0.8%
 LDS: 1.6% 50

 Other: 29.7%
40
 Islam: 0.9%
30
 Hindu: 0.7%
 Buddhism: 0.7% 20

 Judaism: 1.9% 10
 Unaffiliated: 22.1%
0
 Atheist: 3.1% Christianity Islam Hindu Buddhism Judaism Unaffiliated Atheist
RESEARCH – DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISONS
 Between our Local Community and Utah
 The majority of our local religions were Mormon, followed by mainline/evangelical Protestant, non-
denominational, and Catholic. Compared with Utah, our sample is fairly reflective; Utah’s majority religion is
the LDS faith, and that is what we found.
 Between Utah and Alabama
 We consider Utah and Alabama to be comparably diverse. Utah and Alabama have similar percentages of
Catholics, Orthodox, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other Christians. Alabama also has about double the percentage
of mainline Protestants that Utah does. Utah is more diverse when it comes to non-Christian groups.
 Between Utah and the Nation
 Utah is less diverse than the USA, but not as much as one would expect. Utah and the USA have comparably
low numbers of Orthodox, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other Christians. Utah’s non-Christian breakdown is very
similar overall to the USA’s, with the exception of the Jewish population.
 Are we as diverse?
 Yes and no. We are diverse in the sense that there are multiple religions all around America. But we are not
diverse enough, because we lack numbers all around the nation. Non-Christian religions fall short in a nation
that's predominantly Christian.
SITE VISIT #1: THE CATHEDRAL OF THE MADELINE

 Where?
 331 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84111-1226.
 When?
 Sunday June 24th for the 11 am Mass
 Why?
 We were curious about the Catholic church
 The Cathedral’s design is really cool
 First established Catholic church in Utah
 SITE VISIT #1 – THE SACRED SPACE

 The history of the Cathedral of Madeleine began with its construction in 1900
and was completed in 1909.
 The Cathedral is chalk full of decorations. It includes stained glasses windows
with pictures, there is also paintings on the walls and roof, there are huge
beautiful columns and the floor where the priest presides is marble.
 The Cathedral combines a predominantly Romanesque exterior, and Gothic
interior. The building on the inside is painted with a tan color, while the roof
is also painted with a tan color but parts of it are painted turquoise.
 The main focal point appears to be the front were the priest gives his talks.
You can tell it’s the focal point because the pews are facing towards the front,
which is surrounded by paintings and other decorations, and also there is a
giant paining of crucified Jesus.
SITE VISIT #1 – THE SERVICE
 The service
 The worship began with the priest walking towards his altar, while the people sung. Once
at the altar he turns to the people and said some words and the people replied. This
continues for a long time.
 Following that we have another prayer. Later the priest partakes of the bread and drinks
some wine. Next the people stand and get in line to partake of the bread and wine.
Helpers around the front of the church either give you the bread in the mouth or place it
on your hand. Finally, the priest talks and blesses the people, telling them to go in peace.
 How we felt
 Not all of our senses were engaged, we were able to see the ritual, smell the candles of
the church, taste the bread and wine, hear the people replying, but we didn’t really touch
anything.
 I think that this experience will affect us in a positive way. It’s great to participate and
learn new things. This experience has also taught us that our stereotypes were incorrect.
SITE VISIT #1 – OUR THOUGHTS

 It was interesting to see how the people had everything memorized and were saying the
correct words in unison.
 We were all in awe of the building because we have never seen anything like it. The inside
of the Cathedral is gorgeous, there was so much to look at. The art style and architecture
is really interesting.
 We were also surprised by the amount of people that were genuinely focused on what
was occurring.
 Overall it was a cool experience, it was really interesting to see how different religions
worship or pray. One thing is learning about it in class, but another thing is actually being
there seeing it done first hand.
SITE VISIT #1 - Q&A
 Who worships here?
 Of the people that showed up to Mass on Sunday, most of them were older individuals. They came to mass dressed
neatly and nicely, but not in Sunday best. A great majority of the attendees had a golden cross necklace. Everyone
appeared nice, and willing to be at Mass.
 What were the attitudes of the Participants?
 They looked happy to be there, but they weren’t in awe because they have probably seen the Cathedral to many
times to count. During Mass the people were quiet and looked righteous. They were focused in what the priest was
doing and saying.
 In what ways was it clear that this religion is part of the Privileged Majority?
 By looking at the building in which they worship you can tell a lot about certain groups. The Cathedral is huge, and
contains lots of decoration, it’s obviously worth a lot. Therefore, it would require huge sums of money, or a
continually providing fan base.
 This groups contribution to the community?
 The Cathedral of the Madeline itself, holds festivals, that invite people to join and have fun. They also have service
projects, and volunteer works. One of these such projects is the Good Samaritan Program, that aids the poor.
SITE VISIT #2: THE HOLY TRINITY CATHEDRAL

 Where?
 279 S 300 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
 When?
 Sunday July 22th for the 9 am Worship
 Why?
 Never attended a Greek Orthodox Church
 Curiosity
 Nearby
SITE VISIT #2 – THE SACRED SPACE

 There was an original Greek Orthodox Church that was built in 1905, but
because of the growing number of Greek immigrants to Utah, they had to
build a bigger church. In 1920, the community sold the original church for
$18,000, and bought a new Site for $20,000.
 There are stain class windows all around the building, depicting biblical
images. The inside is shaped like a dome, with Greek style columns all
around.
 The inside is painted white, with a light blue concave roof. Around the base
of the dome there are images of saints.
 The Focal point is the very front. There is a huge image of what we believe to
be The Mother of God (Theotokos) extending her arms out with Jesus the
Child, underneath there are various other pictures.
SITE VISIT #2 – THE SERVICE

 The practices of the Holy Trinity church were marginally

different to the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The
main difference that we noticed was the lack of Latin phrases
used during their ritual.
 Prayers, hymns and scripture readings were all used
throughout the ritual.
 Most of our senses were engaged during the ritual. We could
see the ritual, the interior of the church, and the people
participating. We could smell the essence burning, taste the
bread and wine, and hear the priest and the people replying.
SITE VISIT #2 – OUR THOUGHTS
 The Interior Sacred Space
 Our group agreed that the interior was an appropriate setting for a church. It wasn’t vastly
decorated, nor did it distract us as much as the Cathedral of the Madeline did.
 Unsurprisingly the building was beautiful, inside and out, and the community appeared close not
only for their shared beliefs but as well as their mutual respect for one another.
 The Greek Orthodox Church
 When it came to the expectations of the Holy Trinity Church we could have not been more wrong
about the ritualistic and individual aspect of the Greek Orthodox religion.
 This experience was exciting and interesting for all of us because it was completely different from
what we originally though it would be
 We have gained a new-found respect for the Greek Orthodox community and were surprised to
learn that their teachings were not so different from the ones that some of our group mates
encountered growing up.
SITE VISIT #2 – Q&A
 Who worships here?
 The majority of the people who worshipped on the day we arrived appeared to be of Greek decent. Some men wore
shirts and slacks, and some women wore dresses, but the majority all went in casual clothing.
 What were the attitudes of the Participants?
 The participants looked comfortable and happy to be attending. Furthermore, there was a feeling of hope, and
union. Before the service started, they were all talking to each other, and saying hello to their friends.
 In what ways is this religion’s culture of origin represented?
 They are represented through the service and the architecture and decoration of the Cathedral. Some parts of the
ritual (prayers, hymns, and biblical versus) were in a language unknown to us which we believe was Greek. The
exterior architecture depicts a Greek building, including traditional Greek columns.
 Does this group face any Challenges or struggles?
 Some small issues could be that people might not know of them as a Christian religion, causing anger and inaccurate
prejudice against them. Because they are a minority religion, it’s tough to keep a church going or growing without
proper funds.
CONCLUSION
 Recap
 Our Geographical Analysis was in Sandy Utah
 Familiarity/Knowledge of area

 Site visit one was The Cathedral of the Madeline

 Site visit two was The Holy Trinity Church
 What did you learn?
 Catholic and Greek Orthodox worship
 Statistics regarding Religious diversity in America
 All research was found on the Pewforum website
 When it comes to diversity/pluralism the United States has a huge job to do

 New found Respect for the Religions we visited

 Got rid of our inaccurate stereotypes and biases
CITATIONS
 https://www.utcotm.org/about/history
 http://gocslc.org
 http://www.pewforum.org/
 https://www.prri.org/
 https://news.gallup.com/poll/224642/2017-update-americans-religion.aspx