My Religious Landscape Notebook Name: Harrison Wood

GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS of MY LOCAL COMMUNITY:

Location:Salt Lake Buddhist church.
Why this location: It was something everyone in the group was interested in.
What we expect to find: I am expecting to see candles, and low lighted rooms, and a statue of buddha.
Our Method: Meet at the church at 10:00 and discuss after.

OUR FINDINGS
RESEARCH (UTAH, RANDOM STATE, NATION):
FINDINGS FOR UTAH​​:
Christianity: 75%
Catholic 5%
Protestant 7%
Orthodox less than 1%
Other Christian (identify) 55%
Islam: 1%
Hindu: 1%
Buddhism:1%
Judaism: 1%
Other Non-Christian (Identify): 1%

Other interesting demographics:

FOR OUR RANDOM STATE WE CHOSE:_____Michigan_______________________

Our findings for this state:
Christianity:
Catholic
Protestant
Orthodox less than 1%
Other Christian (identify) 1% 1 temple
Islam:
Hindu: less than 1% 9 places of worship
Buddhism:
Judaism: 1%
Other Non-Christian (Identify): 2%

Other interesting demographics:

FOR THE NATION
Christianity:
Catholic
Protestant 77,760 Protestant Churches
Orthodox 0.5%
Other Christian (identify) 1.2%
Islam: 2106 Islamic mosque nationwide
Hindu: 0.7% with 254 places of worship
Buddhism:
Judaism: 1.9%
Other Non-Christian (Identify):1.8%
Other interesting demographics:

COMPARISONS
DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISON between ​OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY AND UTAH

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISONS between ​UTAH AND A RANDOM STATE

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISON between ​UTAH AND THE NATION

EXPLORE and DISCOVER

Site Visit #1: Jehovah's Witness church
Where we went: ​We went to the Kingdom Hall Jehovahs witness in sugar house.
When we went: ​We went to the 10:00 service on Nov 11th
Why this place: ​We chose that religion because we were all curious about it, and it was close

What do you know about this religion’s belief and practices? I know its people don’t celebrate any major holidays. They are a tight
community, and are particular with the people they develop relations with. I know they believe that only a small percentage of people on the
earth will make it to heaven. The Jehovah witness church is big on missionary work, they believe in the Bible, and they are not involved in
politics.
What assumptions, biases, prejudices or stereotypes do you hold regarding this religion? (Everybody has these, they do not necessarily
indicate intolerance or hate) They are a sheltered religion and they keep to themselves.
What are your expectations in terms of practice, comfort, space etc.?I assume to see a lot of latinos, an hour service, a form of sacrament,
and praying.
Describe the sacred space.
One story building, big open room with chairs and isles. Podium, TV’s, and microphones for commenting.
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 easy to find, didn’t stand out, It looked like a small church.

What decorated the interior space and what was the focal point?
Chairs, Two TV’s, isles. The focal point was the podium, and stage
What seemed to be the purpose of the setting: did it enhance the experience? Did it distract from the emotional/spiritual experience?
The Church seemed to be bare. Not having any paintings, or text on walls. They had pale walls and simple decorations. It didn’t distract.
Describe the Service: ​We were given pamphlets, many people had comments during public reading. Then single speaker gave a talk and
preached about 1 specific subject.
Who worships here? Give a “profile” of the worshipers.
-Young and old. Familyes. A lot of different ethnicities

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?

Talking between one another. Volunteer commenters. The benefit was to understand specific morals.

What were the attitudes of the participants? (fear, awe, love, hope, union, boredom, excitement, passion etc.)
-People seemed to be in an awe, and hope attitude
In what ways was it clear that this religion is part of the privileged majority?
-Wildey known, a lot of people believe in it.
What did you learn about this religion’s relationship to non-members?
-They seemed to be friendly towards newcomers, and to non believers
What did you learn about this groups contributions to their community?
-They do volunteer work

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

Yes. From going to this service I learned new things about the Jehovah Witness religion. It changed opinions and stereotypes I
had heard and thought. The people in the building were automatically nice and friendly, they introduced us to their venue and to their
ceremony. After sitting down in single chairs one man stood at the front of the room and began to talk about the topic of the month. The
common topics preached in this church was found in a pamphlet called The watchtower. Another man stood next to him and read from the
pamphlet, after each paragraph people in the congregation would raise their hands and wait to be called on, after they would be passed a
microphone and include appinions, and stories.
After reading for about an hour the two men stepped down to be seated with the congregation. A third man walked up to the stand
and had prepared a topic to discuss. No comments were brought up by the congregation. Only this man was speaking to us. After an hour
and a half the man finished his lesson, and had stepped down. I new man from the audience walked up and closed the ceremony.
Following classes were held based on age group. Some stayed for the next section of the service and others left.

EXPLORE and DISCOVER

Site Visit #2: Buddhist church
Where we went: ​Salt Lake Buddhist church
When we went: ​211 west 100 south Oct 21st 10:00am
Why this place: ​It was a church that was interesting to all four of us and was close.
What do you know about this religion’s belief and practices? The Buddhist church is a really loose religion. Loose with its rules and
standards. They believed in several higher beings. They don’t have any sacred text, they are thought of more of a philosophy then a religion.

What assumptions, biases, prejudices or stereotypes do you hold regarding this religion? ​(Everybody has these, they do not
necessarily indicate intolerance or hate) I assumed there would be a lot of chinese integration, and meditating. I assumed we would be
sitting on the floor on pillows.
What are your expectations in terms of practice, comfort, space etc.?​​ I was expecting pillows, chinese people chimes, gold figures, and
bells.

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 their a decade or so. It looks like a small gym kind of building. I was bushes
and statues surrounding the building.

What decorated the interior space and what was the focal point?
Benches with one isle. Gold statue at the front. Painting of figures, writings, and a pulpit
What seemed to be the purpose of the setting: did it enhance the experience? Did it distract from the emotional/spiritual
experience? ​The setting seemed to be more distracting in terms of focusing on the spiritual experience.
Describe the Service:​​ Intro with business. ​Welcoming newcomers, and continuation after session.

Who worships here? Give a “profile” of the worshipers.​​ Mostly Chinese/Vietnamese Old and young

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? ​Singing, chanting, standing. Benefit of knowing all is good and everything will be okay

What were the attitudes of the participants? (fear, awe, love, hope, union, boredom, excitement, passion etc.)
The people in attendance seemed to have hope, and love

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

Chinese writing, flowers, Buddha statue
What aspects of Americanization did you observe? (“immigrant” religions)
Instead of pillows to sit on we had benches, and their were TV’s to display lyrics and words to the chants

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

Does this group appear to face any challenges or struggles?

They survive on low amounts of donations, and fundraising

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

Yes my expectations were met. This experience will open my eyes and mind to new ideas and a better sense of what new religions beliefs,
and societies are like. I was introduced to brand new ways of livelihood, and new ideas. I got a sense of how other religious group choose to
connect, and share with one another. Learning their beliefs puts me in a space of open mindedness. After seeing this service performed I
would think it to be interesting to learn more, and to attend a second time. I learned to be grateful for the things that I have.
During this experience I learned that people have different views on the world and how its ruined. People of the buddhist church
believe that the world is what we believe it as. And that we can changed it from becoming a place of caose to a place of peace, and
calmness. My thoughts and knowledge of this belief have been widened, and has been turned around from my previous ideas.
I think by attending this ceremonie it would change the opinions of many other people, who have false ideas and attitudes if they could
participate in these interesting practices.

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.
My local city puts together activities for religious groups to come and affiliate with one another, and to share
their beliefs and moral practices. This city also helps by giving donations to churches, and places of worship. Without
these donations some churches would end up worse off without it.

Overall, how do you feel we as Americans are managing religious diversity/pluralism? Could we do more?

-​​I feel that America and the people in it are providing the best help and information to assure that this country is managed rightly
with its religious diversity and pluralism it needs.

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?
-The United States of America was founded under the christian belief and was supported by those many christian
followers in help of bringing it up. But as the years and years go by eventually leading up to today, I would say that
America has become a lesser christianity based nation.

As new groups and ethnicities of people have been brought, and coming to this land they also brings their beliefs.
Eventually those beliefs will grow and become more than what it was.
New religions are becoming real every day. It's also becoming more easy to find and shop for new religions. At the
same time old religions like the christian church are becoming more modernized. America is no longer a Christian
country.

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?
-I can see the U.S.A. being widely spread with new and exciting religions, maybe new kinds of religions we already
know, and brand new ones that have never been thought of. I also think that the nation will become more oriental as
new people from countries are moving here.

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?

On the topic of islamophobia, I believe that the people of this country and others around the world are
becoming more afraid of the possibility that they or someone they know could be killed in a terrorist attack. After the
attack on September 11th safety and guns have been a relevant topic.

The subject about the public's “belief in God has wavered” made sense to me. Once I thought about it its
reasonable that with new generations making life easier and easier for the future people lose their need to reach out
to God. Centuries ago there was little resource and much need for help, so people turned to their Gods. In today's
society people have so many resources and little help from a higher being.