Date of Defense

12-9-2024

Date of Graduation

12-2024

Department

Comparative Religion

First Advisor

Kevin Wanner

Second Advisor

Brian Wilson

Third Advisor

Lynn Houghton

Abstract

The Midwest is a region with fuzzy borders and an equally confusing place in the American imagination. Is it the last refuge of a more wholesome, innocent America filled with white picket fences or a drab, suffocating post-industrial landscape? Despite largely dominating how the region is depicted in popular culture, neither of these representations is entirely accurate. One possible step towards developing a more accurate understanding of the Midwest is examining the churches that dot its towns and cities. Many of these churches belong to mainline Protestant Christian denominations such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A), United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, and American Baptist Churches USA, among others. This thesis is centered around conducting one such examination, in this case looking at six mainline Protestant Christian churches in Kalamazoo County and asking whether their architecture reflects a distinctive Midwestern understanding and interpretation of Protestant Christianity. Ultimately, while unable to provide a definitive answer without further comparative analysis, I found that there may well be a distinctive Midwestern understanding and interpretation of Protestant Christianity. This conclusion is largely based on the presence of two common characteristics reflected in the architecture of the churches examined. Attention to local community outreach is the first of these characteristics, and it is seen in both the repurposing of existing space within these churches and the construction of new additions to provide more room for community outreach programs. Since this outreach is almost certainly connected to widespread and fundamental Christian doctrines around helping others, I argue that its prominence in the churches examined subtly reflects the insistence on not having a regional identity seen in the Midwest. The second characteristic is the importance placed on being welcoming and open, seen in the significant amount of glass used in one of the churches I examined, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, and the two glass towers added to First Presbyterian Church as part of a 2007 renovation. With this characteristic, I argue that it is shaped in part by the religious landscape of the Midwest lacking a single overwhelmingly dominant religious or national group. Finally, in the last few pages of the conclusion, I discuss an unexpected theme that came up during the project and deserves further scholarly attention, the tension between mainline and conservative, often nondenominational, churches.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Open Access

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