Sounds of Religion

Sounds of Religion is a Smithsonian poster exhibition developed in collaboration with the American Religious Sounds Project, a collaborative research initiative co-directed by Dr. Amy DeRogatis and Dr. Isaac Weiner. The exhibit draws from the digital sonic archive collected by the American Religious Sounds. Visitors will hear formal sounds of religious institutions, but also hear non-formal sounds in religious spaces as well as religious sounds in unexpected spaces. Each poster challenges the listener to examine their preconceptions of what religions sound like and asks what can be learned by tuning into the sounds of religion? Hymn singing, cooking communal meals, protesting in the streets, silent meditation all are part of the religious sonic landscape. Listening for religion in and outside of traditional religious times and spaces amplifies how religion is audible in everyday life and allows us to hear the diversity and complexity of how and where religion is practiced in the U.S.