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Medill Belief and Public Life

The Sacred Public Space

By Matthew Streib, August 21, 2007

Since its carving, Mount Rushmore has been viewed as a sacred monument, a testament to the mixing of faith and state. While no religion in particular is named, faith-based language pervades the site and often the visitors who pilgrimage to it.

Image: Rush man
A visitor to Mt. Rushmore, waiting for a B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber to fly overhead.

Since its carving, Mount Rushmore has been viewed as a sacred monument, a testament to the mixing of faith and state. While no religion in particular is named, faith-based language pervades the site and often the visitors who pilgrimage to it.

Click here to hear an audio feature about religiosity and Mount Rushmore
Image: Rush view
Visitors to Mount Rushmore eagerly move further into the park.

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Students from Medill School at Northwestern University spent eight months examining the connection between belief and public life in the United States, a pursuit that carried them everywhere from tattoo parlors to much more traditional venues and yielded an abundance of revealing stories.

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