Filmmaker Robert Knight attends screening at Elizabethtown College

Changing face of sacred spaces explored in film Feb. 22

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In God's House film

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (02/16/2016)(readMedia)-- The past four decades have seen a steady and dramatic weakening of people's ties to religion in the United States. Robert Knight, curious about this shift, filmed a documentary exploring how America's religious spaces are adapting and what the implications of this change might mean for our communities.

"In God's House – The Religious Landscape of Utica," will be shown at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, in the Gibble Auditorium at Elizabethtown College.

The director joins the event for a Q&A.

To tell his story, Knight chose the sacred spaces of the rustbelt city of Utica, New York. Once a thriving port on the Erie Canal it is now a key refugee relocation center. He documents how holy sites tell the ongoing story of America, from the pre-colonial era to today, while the city undergoes changing demographics and the buildings of bygone eras are being adapted by the current users.

He also examines how religious groups have -- and have not – changed, and he reveals a resiliency across religious communities and a surprising flexibility with regard to the nature of each group's notion of "sacred" space.

This ability to adapt in the face of significant adversity ties together these diverse groups and seems to stand as a hallmark essential for their survival.

Admission to the documentary is free. Contact: Dr. Richard Newton at 717-361-1277 or newtonr@etown.edu.

Read about additional events at Elizabethtown College.

Elizabethtown College, located in historic Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a private coed institution offering more than four dozen liberal arts, fine and performing arts, science and engineering, business, communications and education degrees. Learn more: http://www.etown.edu/about/

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Harvey

Communications Manager

Marketing and Communications

Elizabethtown College

harveye@etown.edu

717-361-6412 (o)

717-371-2631 (c)

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