By Ashley Kauschinger
How do people experience religion?
I spent last weekend in Savannah with two beautiful people, Gracie and Hannah, who described to me what their religious experiences are like. Both described something intensely intimate, full of love and omnipresent. “Jesus loves you wherever you are, Ashley,” Gracie said to me as we drove to the beach.
It was a warm experience that was strange because I had begun an exploration of the iconography of crosses the week beforehand. Reflecting on the images, I considered how each of these churches felt about their symbol, and by extension, their way of experiencing religion.
Do they feel god everyday? Do they welcome all? What does the cross mean to them? What does the church mean to them? Do they experience god intimately like Gracie and Hannah, or through a community? These are all answers that exist on the other side of the cross, when you enter the doors of the church.
