MORE ABOUT THE EXHIBITION:
This exhibition was created as a final project for a Northwestern class in the Religious Studies department (Religion 379: Exhibiting Religion). It was created with the support of Northwestern's Center for Student Advocacy and Wellness, particularly the staff and students of the Holistic Wellness and Contemplative Practice community. Special thanks to Professor James Bielo, Associate Professor of Religious Studies. Also thanks to Eric Budzynski, Associate Director of Holistic Wellness & Contemplative Practice. Thank you to the many Northwestern students who generously and vulnerably shared their objects and stories as a part of this exhibition.
ABOUT THE CURATOR:
Maggie Munday Odom is a writer, emerging museum professional, and community builder who has called many places home, notably North Carolina and, currently, Chicagoland. She is a Northwestern University undergraduate majoring in Theatre, English Creative Writing, and Environmental Policy & Culture, and minoring in Religious Studies. Maggie Munday seeks to create connections and build bridges, across generations, across perspectives on religion and spirituality, and between humans and the more-than-human world. She currently works as the Student Supervisor of Programs & Engagement at Northwestern's student-operated Dittmar Gallery and as the Student Coordinator for Mindfulness & Spiritual Wellness Initiatives at Northwestern’s Center for Student Advocacy and Wellness. Maggie Munday loves long walks, public libraries, and doing all things with great love.
CONTRIBUTE TO FUTURE EXHIBITON ITERATIONS:
If you also identify somewhere on this spectrum of spiritual curiosity outside of formal religious traditions, you are invited to contribute an object of your own to a future iteration of this exhibition.
FURTHER READING:
Ammerman, Nancy T. “Spiritual But Not Religious? Beyond Binary Choices in the Study of Religion.” Journal for the scientific study of religion 52.2 (2013): 258–278. Web.
Bidwell, Duane R. When One Religion Isn't Enough: The Lives of Spiritually Fluid People. Beacon Press, 2018.
Drescher, Elizabeth. Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America's Nones. Oxford University Press, 2016
"Religious Landscape Study." Pew Research Center, 2023-2024, https://www.pewresearch.org/collections/religious-landscape-study/.
Smith, Gregory A., et al. “Religious ‘nones’ in America: Who They Are and What They Believe.” Pew Research Center, Jan 2024.
Stedman, Chris. Nothing in Particular (forthcoming). Broadleaf Books.
University of Kent. Understanding Unbelief, https://research.kent.ac.uk/understandingunbelief/