DEVELOPING A PICTURE OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY

With a single textbook and a hint of curiosity, a class at Southeast Missouri State University began to look at a snapshot of American religious diversity.

How that picture developed surprised some of the students, particularly when it came to Cape Girardeau's diversity. About 30 students are enrolled in the Religion in America course taught by Dr. Andy Pratt. The class studies American religious diversity, its beginnings and how the nation has adapted.

Pratt incorporates site visits to area churches during the course so that students can learn more about religions and the different groups in the community.

Ben Rondot was surprised to see such diversity in the religious community of Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri.

"I came to Cape thinking it would be a lot of churches and they would be mainly Baptists," he said. "But it's very diverse here and there are all aspects."

The class, which completed a basic survey of the religious community for the Southeast Missourian, says the region is more diverse than what was expected. And site visits really helped them see that diversity.

Jon Lanman said he was glad to see that no church tried to push its theology as the "right" theology during the visits. "I think when you see it with a personal visit, then you see how it begins to relate to the much larger whole."

During the first part of the semester, the students surveyed all the religious groups in Cape Girardeau to learn some basic information, like:

* Address of where the group worships.

* If the group uses the Internet for e-mail or has a Web site.

* To what denominational affiliation the group subscribes.

* How long the pastor or church leader has been on staff.

* What are the times for worship or group meetings.

* What programs are offered outside of the weekly worship schedules.

Using lists from the newspaper, city directories, telephone directories and Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, the students set out on a journey.

They were also asked to conduct interviews with a person of another faith or religious background. Those two assignments, coupled with the visits showed that "everybody wants to talk about their faith and what they believe," said Lyn Casteel.

The students agreed that all people are shaped in some way by a religious faith. All people have a set of beliefs regarding religion and how those beliefs influence their life.

Pratt said the more he teaches the course and has religious discussions, the more he realizes religion isn't so much an outward experience as an inward one.

The reason he added the site visits to the course syllabus were to give students a real-world experience. Pratt said, "A university can become an unreal environment and people tend to forget that life exists off campus." With all the intellectual conversations and diversity on college campuses, a person could think the religion was unnecessary or disappearing.

"But religion is not going away," Pratt said.

Some students said they liked the site visits because it gave them a new perspective on a denomination other than their own, and one they wouldn't have been exposed to otherwise.

Kristi Siler felt a curiosity about what other churches were doing on Sundays but didn't feel comfortable visiting a new church alone. The site visits offered a "less critical" view of the churches and helped her gain a better understanding.

Lincoln Scherer liked the opportunity to talk with a person of another religious belief in a non-confrontational way. He had already developed a relationship with the person and had talked about religion before.

"I had had conversations and wanted more information without the bias," he said.

The class makes people more tolerant, the students said. Most of the conversations Megan Wagoner had with other students were about religions much different from her own -- Hinduism or Taoism, but never about Christianity.

The class gave her a chance to talk about the differences in Christian denominations and beliefs.

"It was unbiased, you were learning about the church without somebody persuading you," said Alissa Blechle. The course was an opportunity to learn about the history and the developments in the religious community.

A picture of Cape Girardeau's religious community

As part of a class project with students in the "Religion in America" course at Southeast Missouri State University, the Southeast Missourian began to look at how many religious groups there are in the city.

What they used:

* Maps

* Telephone directories

* City directories

* Lists from the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce

What they asked:

* Name, address and phone number of church or group.

* Web site address or e-mail address.

* Denomination affiliation.

* When the church was established.

* How large is the congregation or membership.

* How long has leader or pastor been on staff.

* What are worship and service times.

* What other programs does the group support.

What they found

* 61 churches and campus groups responded to the surveys.

* Of those 61 groups:

11 were nondenominational.

50 were affiliated with denominational groups of some sort.

Among denominational affiliations,

* 2 are Assembly of God.

* 12 are Baptist, a category that included General, Independent, Missionary, National, and Southern Baptist affiliations.

* 3 are Roman Catholic.

* 5 are Lutheran. Four of them affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; the other with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

* 5 are United Methodist.

* 3 are Presbyterian.

* 11 are nondenominational.

Among those 61 churches, which are the oldest?

1. First Baptist Church, 1834

2. Old St. Vincent de Paul Church, 1836

3. Hanover Lutheran Church, 1850

4. Trinity Lutheran Church, 1854

5. Centenary United Methodist Church, 1867

Which are the newest?

1. Cape Family Church, 1998

2. Gospel of Christ, 1995

3. Fellowship Baptist Church, 1994

4. Church of God Fellowship, 1992

5. Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 1991

Average church membership

Based on calcluations from survey information, nearly 22,000 people attend worship or are members of a church in Cape Girardeau. The

Average membership is 360 people per church. Yet worship sizes range from 20 people to 5,000 members, according to survey results.

Churches with the largest membership rolls:

St. Vincent de Paul: 5,000

St. Mary's Cathedral: 2,200

Trinity Lutheran Church: 1,500

Lynwood Baptist Church: 1,275

First Assembly of God Church: 1,000

St. Andrew Lutheran Church: 1,000

Centenary United Methodist Church: 953

Other groups supported by churches:

* Drama teams

* Music ensembles

* Youth and college ministry groups

* Awanas

* Scouting troops

* Meals on Wheels

* Food pantries and FISH

* Habitat for Humanity