Places of Faith: A Road Trip across America's Religious Landscape

265 Pages·2012·12.89 MB·English

by  Christopher P. Scheitle

PLACES OF FAITH
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PLACES OF FAITH
A ROAD TRIP ACROSS
AMERICA’S RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE
Christopher P. Scheitle
& Roger Finke
1
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Copyright © 2012 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Scheitle, Christopher P., 1981–
Places of faith : a road trip across America’s religious landscape /
Christopher P. Scheitle and Roger Finke.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-19-979152-1 — ISBN 978-0-19-979151-4 1.
United States—Religion. I. Finke, Roger, 1954– II. Title.
BL2525.S325 2012
200.973—dc22 011010041
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For our parents,
Ed and Margie Scheitle
&
Alvin and Fauneil Finke
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
Introduction 3
ONE MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 11
View from the Road: The Underground Railroad 32
TWO HOUSTON, TEXAS 37
View from the Road: Hispanic Infl uences 60
THREE COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO 63
View from the Road: Cowboy Church 85
FOUR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 89
View from the Road: Hare Krishnas 113
FIVE SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 117
View from the Road: Our Lady of Peace Shrine 141
contents
SIX CENTRAL NEBRASKA 145
View from the Road: Signs 167
SEVEN DETROIT, MICHIGAN 171
View from the Road: Monastery of the Transfi guration 193
EIGHT BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 197
View from the Road: The Amish 219
CONCL USION RETURNING HOME: CENTRAL
PENNSYLVANIA 223
INDEX 239
viii
PREFACE

This book is about a road trip across America. We weave
through the country exploring churches in small towns
and rural areas as well as the megachurches, storefronts, syn-
agogues, Islamic centers, Eastern temples, and other places
of faith in cities. Drawing on the thousands of pictures we
took and the numerous conversations we held, we show you
what we saw, tell you what we heard, and share our experi-
ences.
We have each published extensively on historical and na-
tional trends in American religion, but this book is neither a
history of American religion nor a statistical overview of
recent trends. It is about experiencing and discovering local
religious communities and traditions. We hope that our
stories, pictures, and experiences will give life to otherwise
lifeless statistics and bring far-removed historical accounts
into closer view. We invite you to join us in discovering the
religious landscape of America.
ix