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Using Contact, Contention, and Common Conditions to Create Multicultural and Multifaith Shared- Space in a Repurposed Aurora, Colorado, Church

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Using Contact, Contention, and Common Conditions to Create Multicultural and Multifaith Shared- Space in a Repurposed Aurora, Colorado, Church University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2019 Social Belonging and Built Space: Using Contact, Contention, and Common Conditions to Create Multicultural and Multifaith Shared- Space in a Repurposed Aurora, Colorado, Church Kassandra Irene Soppas Neiss University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons Recommended Citation Neiss, Kassandra Irene Soppas, "Social Belonging and Built Space: Using Contact, Contention, and Common Conditions to Create Multicultural and Multifaith Shared-Space in a Repurposed Aurora, Colorado, Church" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1606. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1606 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. Social Belonging and Built Space: Using Contact, Contention, and Common Conditions to Create Multicultural and Multifaith Shared-Space in a Repurposed Aurora, Colorado Church _____________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Social Sciences University of Denver _____________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts ____________ by Kassandra I. S. Neiss June 2019 Advisor: Dr. Dean Saitta ©Copyright by Kassandra I. S. Neiss 2019 All Rights Reserved Author: Kassandra I. S. Neiss Title: Social Belonging and Built Space: Using Contact, Contention, and Commonality to create Multicultural and Multifaith Shared-Space in a Repurposed Aurora, Colorado Church Advisor: Dr. Dean Saitta Degree Date: June 2019 Abstract Global patterns of human displacement and migration are diversifying the user base of urban churches. This change produces new settings of cross-cultural encounter and adaptation of social space. This study examines the transition of a Lutheran church into a multifaith and multicultural community center. In Aurora, Colorado, a majority- minority city, the facility offers vital support for immigrants, refugees, and low-income community members while maintaining links with pervious congregants. Using ethnographic methods, I explore the cultural dimensions of repurposed space for a diverse constituency. Discussed herein are the ways in which the physical space is interpreted, how contention and divergent experiences aid in the construction of shared- space, and the place of commonality in a diverse setting. Using these findings, this paper offers suggestions and strategies for accommodating religious and social diversity in globalizing cities. Key words: multiculturalism, community center, multifaith, converted churches, Colorado, urban planning, applied anthropology ii Acknowledgements A big thank you to the Village Exchange Center (VEC) community and St. Matthew Lutheran Church. The community members and leaders who make up this dynamic group of people shared with me their impressions of and visions for the VEC building, and taught me about what it means to be a community and how to be a better researcher. Next, thank you to the person who introduced me to this project, Dr. Dean Saitta. Without your guidance, support, or knowledge of the urban form and diversity within it, this project would not have been initiated, nor completed. To the rest of my thesis committee, Dr. Alejandro Cerón, Dr. Richard Clemmer-Smith, and Dr. Sarah Pessin, who all shared their expertise on authorship, cultural anthropology, applied research, and interfaith dialogue. Family members, chosen and biological alike, were necessary supportive agents along this path. From encouraging me to attend graduate school to assisting my process with copy editing; I am not the sole driver of my future. Thank you to the Department of Anthropology and the University of Denver for the education I received, and funding supports along the way. Lastly, thank you to Denver, Aurora, Colorado, the Rocky Mountains, and the Great Plains where both my work and play happens in various urban and natural landscapes. Even though I was not born here, this landscape provided me with vital knowledge and wellness. iii Table of Contents Introduction 1 Study purpose 1 Study design 5 Comments on applied anthropology 6 Terms and definitions 9 Organization of this thesis 13 Chapter 1: Background and literature review 14 1.1 Global migration and increased urban diversity 14 1.2 Changing religious landscape in the city 18 1.3 Urban planning for a multicultural public 25 Chapter 2: Theoretical framework 29 2.1 Religious anthropology of movement 29 2.2 Religion, secularism, and the public sphere 33 2.3 Built environment and social ordering 38 2.4 Mobility, capital, and capacity 44 Chapter 3: Research design 48 3.1 Research objective 48 3.2 Research design 50 3.3 Variables and dimensions 51 3.4 Population, sampling, and field site 52 3.5 Methodology 54 3.6 Data collection 58 3.6.1 Participant observation 58 3.6.2 Free listing 62 3.6.3 Rank ordered survey 63 3.7 Ethics and collaboration 64 Chapter 4: Field site 68 4.1 Aurora, CO 68 4.2 Village Exchange Center’s genealogy 73 4.3 A snapshot of Village Exchange Center 76 Chapter 5: Findings and analysis 82 5.1 Results of the cultural domain analysis 83 5.2 Education and togetherness, empowerment and belonging 95 5.3 Celebrating cultural diversity vs. valuing cultural diversity 100 5.4 Religious diversity and peacefulness 110 5.5 Perceptions of the built environment 115 5.6 Place in larger landscapes of Aurora, CO 119 iv Chapter 6: Discussion and conclusions 124 6.1 Challenges 124 6.2 Benefits 134 6.3 Strategies for accommodating diversity 138 6.4 Suggestions for VEC 141 6.5 Suggestions for further research 146 6.6 Concluding remarks 149 Bibliography 152 Appendices 158 Appendix A 158 Appendix B 160 Appendix C 162 v List of Figures Figure 1 - VEC Sanctuary in between congregations on Sunday in April 2018 .............. 78 Figure 2 - Stained-glass 1 ................................................................................................. 79 Figure 3 - Stained-glass 2 ................................................................................................. 79 Figure 4 - Mudhif (Wikipedia) ....................................................................................... 116 Figure 5 - VEC Sanctuary facing front during a Sunday Sermon .................................. 117 Figure 6 - VEC Sanctuary facing rear of building .......................................................... 117 Figure 7 - Map of VEC intersection ............................................................................... 120 vi Introduction Our planet is experiencing unprecedented levels of human migration. Large numbers of people are emigrating from countries in the Global South to those in the Global North in pursuit of safety and security, better opportunities such as jobs and education, and access to public amenities and civil rights available in democratic urban centers, although these are far from guaranteed in the urban center. These global patterns of human displacement and migration are changing the social fabric of destination cities. Closely examining the demographic changes in cities, and the cultural ecosystems within them, allows for the study of cross-cultural interaction and the construction of new and adaptation of existing social spaces. One visible effect that global and local migration patterns have had on our cities today is the increasingly diverse religious public. Study purpose Many urban churches are experiencing an increase in diversity within their user base, while mosques, temples, and store-front churches are becoming more populous in the urban fabric. Migration patterns of city inhabitants coalesce with declining religious affiliation among Americans resulting in diminishing congregations and, in some cases, abandonment of the church building and land. Amid this dynamic and potentially volatile urban landscape, many predominantly White congregations turn to marginalized communities to stave off the approaching termination of their church. Particularly in areas with large foreign-born populations, local churches have become nodes of diversity 1 such that groups hailing from a variety of faiths, cultures, ethnic groups, and nationalities walk through the doors on a weekly basis. This phenomenon is two-fold. On one hand, church congregation members are leaving the community for a myriad of reasons; reasons which are specific to locality and circumstance but always tied to the brokering of power in the city. Often, the congregations in question are not able to gain new members in the quantity, or time frame, needed to sustain their institution and physical property. On the other hand, waves of immigration from Africa, Asia, and Central and South America have brought many foreign-born residents into US cities. These new arrivals come with faiths and practices, pain and pride, family and food, but one thing they cannot bring are houses of worship. Many churches, having fallen victim to patterns of urbanization that drain their membership, have found (some) financial relief in renting worship space to religious immigrant enclaves, creating a synergetic partnership. This reciprocity engenders the birth of a naturally occurring multi-ethnic and multi-faith space. These organically diverse spaces present the opportunity to learn how
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