Encounter
Encountering the Silicon Valley Religious Landscape
Living Religion Collaborative faculty have developed courses that invite students to conduct ethnographic research in the field, connecting them to local religious and spiritual communities and practitioners whose religious and spiritual lives are a central focus of student learning. Each quarter, students in a range of undergraduate religious studies courses record geographically located snapshots of their observations. In addition to recording the dynamism of religion and spirituality in Silicon Valley, their observations offer insight into how young adults experience these spaces—what they see, hear, feel, and understand as interesting, significant, or meaningful.
Encounter their ethnographic work by clicking on the blocks on this page.
Students record observations and experiences of communities.
Students record observations and experiences of daily religious practices and sacred rituals.
Students record observations and experiences of sacred spaces.
Explore the history of the diverse Silicon Valley religious landscape through this storymap by SCU graduate Dhruv Pais (’22).
LRC Encounter GeoMap
Santa Clara Students in place-based course map local religious and spiritual spaces, practices, and communities in the Silicon Valley and beyond.
Photo by Jaime Wright, 2020
Religious sites come in various forms, some institutional, others more ad hoc. This story map explores murals painted on buildings, fences, and other structures throughout San Jose by area residents and artists. Murals are expressions of culture, history, and identity that often draw on religious iconography, locales, and stories.