About American Pilgrimage
Everyone always leaves America to find spirituality. From Delhi and Jerusalem to Guadeloupe and Lourdes, there are guides and travelogues of voyagers who have found themselves, found their ancestors, or found God.
But what about our country? Founded as a haven for the free practice of religion, the United States is the birthplace of the Church of Latter Day Saints, the Pentecostal movement, and the Nation of Islam.
There has yet to be an extensive exploration of the distinctive spiritual sites in America, and that is why I have set out on this journey. From the middle of June to the middle of March, I will traverse the country, north to south and east to west, exploring the great variety of faiths that have fostered our country’s four Great Awakenings.
I am Matthew Streib, a 26-year-old who studied the history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as an undergraduate at Cornell University. I then went on to earn a master’s degree in religion and journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. I have traveled through more than 30 countries, and my articles on religion have appeared in newspapers such as USA Today, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, and The Chicago Tribune.
I chose to undertake this journey by bicycle, because there’s so much you can miss speeding along the interstate. This is an exploration of average, everyday belief, the backbone that drives our nation. The destinations are only part of the trip. Along the way, I will be visiting churches, temples, synagogues and mosques, randomly sampling the tapestry of the American religious experience.
On my blog, you can read about my travels, discover the religious sites that I pass along the way, and watch videos where the people I meet describe the role of faith in their lives. And, if you subscribe to my podcast, you will receive more detailed, emotive descriptions of sites and experiences from the mouths of the people involved.
You can drop me a line at: matthew AT americanpilgrimage DOT com
