Places of Faith: A Road Trip Across America's Religious Landscape
Abstract
When you go from town to town, state to state, and region to region, it is easy to think that America's religious geography is without variation. Like chain stores, the ubiquitous signs of the Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and other "typical" churches found in almost all American towns give an illusion of homogeneity. This feeling is heightened by the fact that while many people may go out of their way to try a local restaurant, few people go out of their way to explore different types of religion. Chris Scheitle (Sociology) will present photographs and stories from his six-week road trip with Roger Finke (Penn State University) exploring some of the unique aspects of America's religious geography. A book based off of this project titled Places of Faith: A Road Trip Across America's Religious Landscape, will be released by Oxford University Press in February of 2012.