Saint Louis is among the most religiously diverse cities in the American Midwest. It boasts mighty cathedrals, towering minarets, synagogues old and modern, extravagant temples, humble storefronts, and endless domestic shrines, altars, and prayer corners. The sounds of the city and county are pierced with voices in song, protest, and prayer. The story of the city—from empire, settlement, enslavement, and immigration, through civil rights, manufacturing, the arts, and, of course, beer and baseball—is intimately wound up with communities of faith, religious practices, and the power of religious thought.

This course places the religious life of St. Louis at the center of the city’s history, civic landscape, and public life. While anchored in the local context, the course engages a wide range of global religious traditions and diasporic communities in the city as well as the intersections of local, regional, and global issues, identities, and politics.

Rachel Lindsey
Author

Saint Louis University
Institution

Private College or University
Institution Type

Syllabus
Resource Type

Undergraduate Course
Class Type

2019
Date Published

Religious Studies, History, Theology
Discipline

Buddhism, Catholic, Hinduism, Indigenous, Islam, Judaism, New Religious Movements, Protestant
Religous Tradition

Topics