My Religious Landscape Notebook Name: Megan Quinn, Kayden Skinner,

Emily Purser, Austin Case, and Saireli Rodriguez.

GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS of MY LOCAL COMMUNITY:
Location: West Jordan, Utah
Why this location: We all felt like it was an area that most of us were comfortable
navigating in and that it would be interesting to understand the religious diversity that
happened close to some of our homes. It also felt like it was right in the middle of other
popular cities and we thought it would be the best combination of all of them.
What we expect to find: We expect to find a lot of “The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints” and a few catholic churches as well. We expect that there will be a
low number of diversity in West Jordan opposed to Utah and the United States. We do
not expect there to be a lot of churches an investigator or outsider can attend to learn
more.
Our Method:
We want to research all the churches in the West Jordan, Utah area by Google Maps
search engine. We want to gather all the churches that were shown and find out their
population and compare them to all the other religions we have. We will visit churches
located near or in our designated West Jordan area with the intent to find out what
religious diversity is there.

OUR FINDINGS
Christianity: 62.1%
Catholic: 9.0%
Protestant: 0.0%
Specifically?
Orthodox: 0.0%
Other Christian: (identify)
-Southside Church of Christ.
-Lifeline Community.
-Utah Christian Fellowship.
-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Islam: .5%
Hindu: 0.0%
Buddhism: 0.0%
 Judaism: 0.0%
Other Non-Christian:
-There were not any other non-christian churches in West Jordan.
What surprised you about this religious landscape?
There is quite a few churches and religions that are not represented in West Jordan,
Utah. There are some religions whose church is 30 or more minutes away from West
Jordan. This was surprising to me because I thought that there would be churches
nearby, if not in West Jordan, that would accommodate to these religions.
What seemed ordinary about this religious landscape?
We thought that there would not be a lot of diversity within West Jordan and we were
mostly correct in assuming that. There were a lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints available and not very many other churches. If there were other
religious churches, there was mostly only one option to go to in West Jordan.
RESEARCH (UTAH, RANDOM STATE, NATION):
FINDINGS FOR UTAH:
Christianity: 72.8%
Catholic: 9.5%
Protestant: 6%
Specifically?
-Black Protestant: 1.6%
Orthodox: 1%
Other Christian: (identify)
Islam: .3%
Hindu: 1%
Buddhism: .5%
Judaism: .5%
Other Non-Christian (Identify):

Other interesting demographics:

FOR OUR RANDOM STATE WE CHOSE: TEXAS
Our findings for this state:
Christianity: 10.2%
 Catholic: 19.3%
Protestant: 64.4%
Specifically?
Orthodox: 1%
Other Christian: (identify)
Islam: 1.7%
Hindu: 1%
Buddhism: 1%
Judaism: 0.2%
Other Non-Christian (Identify):
Other interesting findings about demographics:
FOR THE NATION
Christianity: 75%
Catholic: 23.9%
Protestant: 48.9%
Specifically?
Orthodox: less than 1%
Other Christian-LDS: 2%
Islam: 1.1%
Hindu: 0.7%
Buddhism: less than 1%
Judaism: 1.73%
Other Non-Christian-Sikh: less than 1%
Other interesting demographics- Percentage of Actively Religious Americans: 39%

COMPARISONS
DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISON between OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY AND UTAH
West Jordan, Utah: Utah:

Baptist: 0.7% Baptist: 0.6%

Episcopalian: 0.4% Episcopalian: 0.6%
Catholic: 9.5% Catholic: 9.5%
Lutheran: 0.6% Lutheran: 0.3%
Methodist: 0.4% Methodist: 0.4%
Pentecostal: 0.8% Pentecostal: 0.8%
Presbyterian: 0.4% Presbyterian: 0.4%
LDS: 61.8% LDS: 71.8%
Other Christian: 1% Other Christian: 1%
Jewish: 0.1% Jewish: 0.1%
Eastern: 0.5% Eastern: 0.5%
Islam: 0.5% Islam: 0.3%

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISONS between UTAH AND A RANDOM STATE

Utah: Texas:

Baptist: 0.6% Baptist: 16.3%

Episcopalian: 0.6% Episcopalian: 0.6%
Catholic: 9.5% Catholic: 19.3%
Lutheran: 0.3% Lutheran: 1.1%
Methodist: 0.4% Methodist: 4.7%
Pentecostal: 0.8% Pentecostal: 1.9%
Presbyterian: 0.4% Presbyterian: 0.8%
LDS: 71.8% LDS: 1.2%
Other Christian: 1% Other Christian: 9.0%
Jewish: 0.1% Jewish: 0.2%
Eastern: 0.5% Eastern: 0.5%
Islam: 0.3% Islam: 1.7%

DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISON between UTAH AND THE NATION

Utah: The United States:

Baptist: 0.6% Baptist: 8.2%

Episcopalian: 0.6% Episcopalian: 0.6%
Catholic: 9.5% Catholic: 19.7%
Lutheran: 0.3% Lutheran: 2.4%
Methodist: 0.4% Methodist: 4.0%
Pentecostal: 0.8% Pentecostal: 1.9%
Presbyterian: 0.4% Presbyterian: 1.7%
LDS: 71.8% LDS: 2.1%
Other Christian: 1% Other Christian: 6.7%
Jewish: 0.1% Jewish: 0.7%
Eastern: 0.5% Eastern: 0.5%
Islam: 0.3% Islam: 0.9%

EXPLORE and DISCOVER: Site Visit #1: A Christian Religion.

Where we went: (Mountain Vista United Methodist Church; 8887 3200 w, West Jordan)
When we went: (April 14, 2019 10:00am)
Why this place:
-We wanted to go to a Christian Religion that was different than any other that we had
been to before. We all wanted to experience what happens at a Christian religion
different than our own. We also wanted to go to a church that was in our chosen area,
West Jordan. We all decided that going to a Methodist church was something we all
wanted to do because we wanted to understand their religion better.
Before you go:

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

-We have no idea what kind of practices they do.

-We know that they are christian and believe in Jesus Christ.

What assumptions, biases, prejudices or stereotypes do you hold regarding this religion?

(Everybody has these, they do not necessarily indicate intolerance or hate)

-They try really hard to convert.

-They have services where you are required to bring your own meal.

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

-We think it will be a very similar environment as a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

congregation.

-We think that everyone will have their own seat and personal space.

-We think that there will be a pastor leading and talking the whole time.

Describe the sacred space and its place in the community.

What is its history? Has the building been here long? How does it fit in with the surrounding

community?

-Mountain Vista United Methodist Church in West Jordan was established in 2000.
-They originally met in Reams Shopping Center, West Jordan.
-From 1992 to 2000 they were known as Jordan United Methodist.

-They fit in really well with their surroundings. There are two other churches near them; a Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and a Jehovah's Witness church.

Is there much decoration or symbolism on the exterior/grounds?

-There was not a lot of exterior decorations or symbolism.

-They had one sign outside saying what church they were and their meeting times.

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

-There was a cross in the center of the room. They had an alter underneath the cross with candles lit.

-There were pictures of Jesus Christ all over the building.

-They had a lot of instruments, such as; drums, microphone, piano.

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

the emotional/spiritual experience?

-The purpose of the setting was to focus on Jesus Christ

-it enhanced the experience because it was all on how you personally felt with your relationship with
Heavenly Father.

Describe the Service: Who worships here and what do they do?

Describe what happened there.

-There was a specific Pastor (Cherie Cobb) who welcomed everyone into the congregational room.

-Anyone and everyone is allowed and invited to worship there. Children started the meeting off by

dancing and singing in front of the room.

-They conduct their meeting through singing (both solos, choir, and the congregation), through messages

about Jesus Christ (Pastor Cherie Cobb gave the messages), prayer (both inwardly, outwardly, and
through children), donations (that were offered to Christ underneath the cross), and personal stories

offered by the congregation voluntarily.

Who participated and what were their roles?

-Pastor Cherie Cobb gave the messages, led the meeting, and offered the prayers and offerings.

-Children were able to come on the stage and sing, participate in a “Children Time”, and help out with

prayer.

-Musicians/”Leaders” were the ones to start and conduct the music. They used guitar, Drums, and the

Piano to play the music. They also conducted the role play portions of the meetings. The choir was also a

big part of the meeting.

-The congregation was invited to share their struggles and joys with everybody else. They were then

prayed over by Pastor Cherie Cobb.

What seemed to be the benefit of these rituals for those in attendance?

-They were a time to come together and learn more about Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and the Spirit.

-It was a time to feel the spirit and share that with others.

-It was a time to make donations/offerings to Jesus Christ.

-It helped them be able to socialize with one another and be able to help each other out.

Were you fully engaged (all your senses)?

-They were constantly inviting the congregation to stand up and sing then sit down and listen.

-They offered food as a fundraiser to get more bibles for the youth.

-They had candles lit for visual benefit as well as smell.

-They had many objects for the lesson that the congregation were allowed to touch. (Palms, Music Books,

and glitter boxes for the kids).

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

passion etc.)

-They were very grateful, welcoming, loving, and united.

-They constantly came over to us and introduced themselves and tried to serve us in any way they could.

-They took time out of their meeting to greet one another and ask how they were doing.

-The testimonies given were about gratitude and love.

-They spoke often how they could serve one another and listen to one another. It felt very united and

everybody was equal.

Draw some conclusions:

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

-Their building was very nice and decorated with amazing artwork and decorations.

-They had an abundance of food (as a fundraiser) for the congregation.

-They had a lot of technological advances that helped with their meeting by showing videos, slide-shows,

and music.

-There were a lot of people that came and they even had to hold two meeting times in order to make sure

everyone got to come and participate.

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

community?

-They are very welcoming and inviting whether you are there to join their congregation, just visiting, or

investigating. They were not pushy or demanding for your reasoning to be there and they did not expect

anything from us.

-They try and do service projects often to help out in their community.
-They try to get the public information about their activities and events so that anyone can participate with

them.

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

-They had quite a few service projects and activities they were planning on doing in the next few weeks.

-They had a variety of events that would contribute to the community. Whether it was going out

somewhere and helping a particular area out (cleaning, offering services, offering food, or offering

interesting activities) they were all similar and different in the sense that there was something for

everybody.

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

minimum)

-This experience with the Mountain Vista United Methodist Church will affect us because we learned a lot

about how there are similarities and differences with our own beliefs. Our whole group is Christian and it

was very interesting to all of us to experience another Christian religion where they choose to talk about

and practice things differently. We were fascinated to discover that there were more similarities than

differences. We felt that this experience was very beneficial for us because it gave us an opportunity to

open our ideas to new ways to worship a similar concept to our beliefs. We were all very fond of the

music and thought that the way they chose and believe in music was a very exciting and good

experience. We thought the music enhanced the experience and we were definitely affected by it in a

good way. We all agreed that this affected us with a new understanding that other Christian religions are

not people doing crazy and wrong things but that they are essentially practicing the same concepts just

with different ideas and ways how to do it. We all felt like we became more rounded people by this

experience and able to understand why Methodists believe the way that they do.

EXPLORE and DISCOVER Site Visit #2: A non-Christian (or minority)

Religion.
Where we went: Salt Lake Buddhist Fellowship
3474 S 2300 E Ste 1 SLC, UT 84109
When we went: March 17, 2019 10 am
Why this place:
We thought that it would be beneficial for all of us to try a different religion that was
unique to all of us. We chose the Salt Lake City location because they were near our
area we chose for the project.
Before you go:

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

-They are very focused on being peaceful and personal in their religion. They focus a lot of their religion

on Buddha and his practices.

What assumptions, biases, prejudices or stereotypes do you hold regarding this religion?

(Everybody has these, they do not necessarily indicate intolerance or hate)

-They pray most of their day. We believe that majority are monks that dress in specific clothing.

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

-They all have a little shrine where they can offer incense. They wear very comfortable clothing that

allows them to pray and meditate. We think they will have a lot of room to practice their religion.

-We expect their practice to be based around Buddha and that there will be a lot of prayers. We expect

the atmosphere to be very peaceful and respectful. We expect a lot of people to be dressing the same.

Describe the sacred space and its place in the community.

What is its history? Has the building been here long? How does it fit in with the surrounding

community?

-The building fits in with the other structures around it. It was part of a strip mall studio. However, they

recently relocated from Sugarhouse to Salt Lake City.

Is there much decoration or symbolism on the exterior/grounds?

-There was minimal decoration regarding their practices on the outside due to the small space of the Salt

Lake strip mall location.

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

-The focal point was the Sensei in the middle of the room and the shrine right behind him. The

decorations in the room consisted of Buddha statues, drawings on the walls, incense, and other

decorations that represented the culture the religion came from. They had curtains for doors and yoga

mats offered as a place to meditate.

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

the emotional/spiritual experience?

-The purpose of the setting was to have testimony meetings and bring everyone together. It enhanced the

experience as it correlated with the decoration and setting of the room. It added more emotion to the

experience because everyone was allowed to express themselves without judgement.

Describe the Service: Who worships here and what do they do?

Describe what happened there.

-They read a lot of prayers from their “practice book” and sang songs all together and shared personal

stories/testimonies. Anyone was welcome to share their thoughts during given testimony times. Their

main motto was “Come As You Are”.

Who participated and what were their roles?

-The Sensei started the chants and led the discussions/session and everyone in the congregation was

invited to participate and read along from their “practice book”.

-Everyone was invited to share their thoughts and testimonies.

What seemed to be the benefit of these rituals for those in attendance?

-It brought peace to people and gave them the opportunity to practice their religion and become closer to

their beliefs. It was a way for people to feel listened to and able to take stress away from personal

situations they were going through.

Were you fully engaged (all your senses)?

-All of our senses were engaged except taste. They had incense in the room to help you feel more

peaceful through smell. They had books for everyone to hold to be able to participate along. They sang

songs to enhance spiritual feelings.

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

passion etc.)

-The attitudes of the participants were; love, peaceful, respectful, passion, and safe.

Draw some conclusions:

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

-Through the decorations and the language they spoke were translated from the origin of the culture.

What aspects of Americanization or American Culture did you observe?

-The Americanization and American Culture we observed how they put their own spin on how the service

was conducted. The clothes that they wore were very untraditional.

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

-They talked about community service. They talked about how they had opportunities for deep listening

experiences. They were doing an event on the first day of spring to celebrate it and have a change to get

together.

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

community?
-They were very inclusive in regards to everyone and open to visitors of any background. Their motto was

“come as you are”.

Does this group appear to face any challenges or struggles?

-They are a new group so they are still working on growing and providing a space big enough to fit all the

members that come to participate.

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

minimum)

-This experience was very unique and intriguing to all of us. Our whole group had never been to a

Buddhist Church before and went in not knowing what to expect. We thought that there would be a lot

more chants and reference to Buddha. We did not expect there to be a “leader” or Sensei. It was

surprising to us that it seemed to be his church because he was the one that created this place for all of

them to practice their religion together. However, our expectations were met since we did not fully

understand what we were going to experience. There was time set aside for mediation, like we guessed.

Everyone was very non-judgmental and seemed genuinely concerned and interested in everyone’s

overall well-being, whether that be their physical or mental state. We thought there would be calming

music and incense and our expectations were exceedingly met. They had a lot of incense and created a

very peaceful environment with certain noises and bells. We thought that they would not have a

supercritical dress code and that expectation was met as well. Many people wore clothing that resembled

yoga clothing or even work out clothing. It took away the pressure of having to look a certain way in order

to get the full experience or be “worthy” of worshiping your religion. Overall, it was a very good experience

and our expectations were definitely met to the fullest.