Spaces of Faith: an Affective Geographical Exploration of Houses of Worship Caitlin Cihak Finlayson
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 Spaces of Faith: An Affective Geographical Exploration of Houses of Worship Caitlin Cihak Finlayson Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES SPACES OF FAITH: AN AFFECTIVE GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATION OF HOUSES OF WORSHIP By CAITLIN CIHAK FINLAYSON A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2012 Caitlin Finlayson defended this dissertation on January 27, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Victor Mesev Professor Directing Dissertation Robert Deyle University Representative Philip E. Steinberg Committee Member Joseph Pierce Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii To Ian and Ryan iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have been completed without the continued support of so many of my colleagues, friends, and others I‟ve met along this journey. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Victor Mesev, who generously agreed to step in as my advisor and helped me feel a renewed sense of confidence and excitement about this research. I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Phil Steinberg, Dr. Joseph Pierce, and Dr. Robert Deyle, whose ideas and assistance have been instrumental to the completion of this project. Special thanks also to former FSU faculty member Dr. Tony Stallins for your unwavering support of my research and your kindness throughout the entire doctoral degree process, and Dr. Lisa Jordan for your encouragement in pursuing this project. Many thanks go out to everyone at my case study locations, especially to Reverend Clarke Campbell-Evans of Saint Paul‟s United Methodist Church, Dr. Karen Laughlin of the Taoist Tai Chi Society, and Bishop Gary Knudsen of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Tallahassee, 5th Ward. My profound thanks to all of the wonderful people who were interviewed as a part of this project, who opened their hearts – and even their homes – to me. I quite literally could not have done this project without you. Thank you also to all of the members of my Wednesday night beginner‟s Tai Chi class, and to our tremendous instructor and set leader. I am so appreciative of the support of my fellow geograds at Florida State, especially Rich, Nick, Adam, John, Mike, Amanda, Brad, Dana – my original office-mate, and of course Jill. Finally, thank you to my parents, Wayne and Laura, my wonderful husband Ian, and our son Ryan. Your love and support has meant so much to me. Thank you all. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ............................................................................................................................................x 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................5 2.1 Sacred Space ..................................................................................................................5 2.2 Emotional Geographies ..................................................................................................9 2.2.1 Early Explorations of Emotion within Geography ............................................9 2.2.2 Emotions and Health ........................................................................................10 2.2.3 Emotional Geographies of Domestic Spaces ...................................................11 2.2.4 Geographies of Marginalized Communities ....................................................13 2.2.5 Current Trends in Emotional Geographic Research ........................................14 2.3 Affect in Geography ....................................................................................................16 2.3.1 Conceptualizing Affect ....................................................................................16 2.3.2 Exploring Affect in Geography .......................................................................20 2.3.3 New Perspectives on Affective Experiences ...................................................29 3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................34 3.1 Methodological Approach ...........................................................................................34 3.2 Study Area ...................................................................................................................38 3.3 Interview Criteria .........................................................................................................41 3.4 Interpreting and Evaluating Interview Responses .......................................................44 3.5 Participant Observation ................................................................................................47 3.6 Reflexivity....................................................................................................................49 4. CASE STUDY 1: SAINT PAUL‟S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH .............................51 4.1 The Space of Worship ..................................................................................................54 4.2 Affective Encounters in Saint Paul‟s Sanctuary ..........................................................60 4.3 Feelings of Peace .........................................................................................................70 4.4 A Sense of Community ................................................................................................71 5. CASE STUDY 2: TAOIST TAI CHI SOCIETY, TALLAHASSEE BRANCH ..................75 5.1 Neighborhood Dispute .................................................................................................77 5.2 Delimiting the Boundaries of Sacred Space ................................................................80 5.3 Sacred Materialities at the Tai Chi Center ...................................................................85 5.4 Performance of Tai Chi ................................................................................................94 5.5 Spiritual Connections ...................................................................................................96 5.6 A Sense of Being “Home” ...........................................................................................97 6. CASE STUDY 3: CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, TALLAHASSEE 5TH WARD ...........................................................................................101 6.1 Tallahassee Florida Stake Meetinghouse Design ......................................................105 v 6.2 Simplicity and Reverence in the Latter-day Saint Chapel .........................................112 6.3 Communal Experiences at the Latter-day Saint Meetinghouse .................................117 6.4 Latter-day Saint Temples ...........................................................................................119 6.5 Atlanta Georgia Temple .............................................................................................125 7. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION .................................................................................133 7.1 Understanding the Affective Capacity of Sacred Materialities .................................133 7.2 Future Directions .......................................................................................................138 APPENDICIES ............................................................................................................................142 A Interview Subject Affiliations ....................................................................................142 B Letter of Consent........................................................................................................144 C Letter of Cooperation – Saint Paul‟s United Methodist Church ................................146 D Letter of Cooperation – Taoist Tai Chi Society .........................................................147 E Letter of Cooperation – Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ........................148 F Human Subjects Approval .........................................................................................149 G Human Subjects Renewal Request Approval ............................................................150 H Interview Schedule – Saint Paul‟s United Methodist Church ...................................151 I Interview Schedule – Taoist Tai Chi Society, Tallahassee Branch ...........................153 J Interview Schedule – Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Tallahassee 5th Ward.....................................................................................................................155 K Interview Coding Guide .............................................................................................157 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................167