Geography ETDs
Publication Date
Spring 4-12-2019
Abstract
This paper focuses on the non-traditional Christian worship site of Mountain Cathedrals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I argue that affectual and emotional responses are elicited from the congregants of Mountain Cathedrals through the process of sacralization. It is shown that Christian worship in a non-traditional outdoor setting affects the ways in which the congregants engage with, participate in, and create sacred space. I survey current literatures of sacred space, the contemporary Christian church, and non-traditional worships spaces. Using the literature as a backdrop, I utilize Mountain Cathedrals as a case study for understanding the ways in which sacred space is created in a non-traditional Christian worship environment. Through this research, the voice of geography is brought into conversations of sacred space. The study is centered upon the voices of the congregants and their worship experiences with Mountain Cathedrals. This in contrast to many studies that had focused on the clergy, architecture, or history of the Christian church. I utilized observation, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews to collect data and found that the sacred space of Mountain Cathedrals is sacralized via practice, shared experience, sensuous experience, and sacred fusion.
Degree Name
Geography
Department Name
Geography
Level of Degree
Masters
First Committee Member (Chair)
Dr. John Carr
Second Committee Member
Dr. K. Maria D. Lane
Third Committee Member
Dr. Kathleen Holscher
Document Type
Thesis
Language
English
Keywords
affect, emotion, religious geography, sacred space, Christianity
Recommended Citation
Nixon, Brendan Isaiah. "ENGAGING SACRED SPACE AND EXPERIENCING GOD IN THE MOUNTAINS: A STUDY OF THE NON-TRADITIONAL WORSHIP ENVIRONMENT OF MOUNTAIN CATHEDRALS, AN ECUMENICAL MEETUP GROUP BASED IN ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO." (2019). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/geog_etds/45
Included in
Biblical Studies Commons, Catholic Studies Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, Cognition and Perception Commons, Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, History of Christianity Commons, Human Geography Commons, Liturgy and Worship Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, New Religious Movements Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, Other Geography Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Sociology of Religion Commons, Tourism Commons
