Now on view on the USC Upstate Library terrace is Sounds of Religion, a Smithsonian poster exhibit that explores the diversity of American religious life through image and sound.
Choirs singing. Monks chanting. The reading of religious texts. These are religious sounds. But so are the creaking of church pews and the clanking of pots during the preparation of a communal meal. Sounds of Religion explores how rituals and gatherings of religious communities create a complex and varied soundtrack of religion in the United States.
Many of the posters in the exhibit features QR codes, which, through the use of a smart phone, allow exhibit viewers to listen to contemporary recordings representative of America's varied and distinct religious life. Americans practice many different systems of belief--Christianity; Judaism; Islam; Hinduism; Buddhism; Sikhism; Wicca; and Native American, African, African American, and New Age traditions. Every tradition creates its own unique blend of music, prayer, voices, and silence, which together help define the beliefs and practices shared by the members of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other places of spiritual devotion.
Sounds of Religion is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES) in cooperation with the American Religious Sounds Project of The Ohio State University and Michigan State University. The exhibit is made possible through the generous support of The Henry Luce Foundation.
The exhibit will remain on view at USC Upstate through Ramadan, Easter, and Passover 2025.
