More research this week, studying jeruslem, and how it is sacred to at least three different religions. Also reading about Celtic sacred places... absolutely fascinating stuff for me.

Also, I had written drafts of an introductory letter and an Artist's Statement to help me when I contact prospective subjects.

photo execution idea

film sprockets along the edges...
polaroid style
slices of multiple pics
360 panorama
darkened edges
soft focus

Another sacred space... arenas

Something new I have not thought of before... sports:

Finally, baseball reminds us that there is an element of ritual in all games, and that a ritual is in itself a kind of game, played by a team within a sacred space, with special garb and implements.

This could also apply to earlier times as well, such as the Roman Coliseum.

[source: http://southerncrossreview.org/53/diamond2.htm]

Identifying groups to approach

Potential groups that I could focus on photographing

• Religious leaders
  
• Local Musicians (can't believe I didn't think of this one sooner)
  
• Olympic Athletes (from the training center in Chula Vista)
  
• Politicians
  
• Educators
  
• Surfers
  
• Dog Owners
  
• Nudists (from Black's Beach in San Diego)
  
• Public Safety Officials (Police, Fire Fighters, EMTs, etc)
  
• Strippers / Strip Club Owners
• Gang Leaders (could be hard to find)
• Illegal Immigrants (could be hard to find)
• Skydivers

I'm looking for people that have been here long enough to have local places that mean something to them

New thoughts

What about other alternative religions, or religions/societies that no longer exist?

Being Scottish, I am thinking of something like Celtic places, or 'fringe' religions, like Rastafari, Zoroastrianism or even Voodoo. 

Religions to research for my thesis

Religions that interest me (in no particular order):

1. Christianity (the elephant in the room)
   
2. Hinduism (the one I know the least about)
   
3. Islam (The smaller, but more radical elephant)
   
4. Judaism (I'm shocked at how small their numbers are)
   
5. Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
   
6. Shinto (Japan has always intrigued me)
   
7. Taoism (1.32 billion Chinese can't be wrong. right?)
   
8. Sikhism (1.13 billion Indian can't be wrong, right?)
   
9. Unitarianism (one of the most tolerant of religions (plus we got married in a Unitarian temple))
10. Baha'i (one of the youngest of the religions)
    
11. Jehovah's Witnesses (because they might have a bad rap)
    
12. Atheism/Agnostics (I consider myself agnostic... do they have any sacred places??)
13. Confucianism (the originator of snarky come backs)
14. Buddhism (who doesn't love Buddha?)
    
15. Paganism (because Mother Nature might be the most powerful god of them all)
    

Religions of the world

• Christians 33.32% (2.1 billion)
  • Roman Catholics 16.99%,
  • Protestants 5.78%,
  • Orthodox 3.53%,
  • Anglicans 1.25%
• Muslims 21.01%, (1.5 billion)
• Hindus 13.26%, (900 million)
• Buddhists 5.84%, (376 million)
• Sikhs 0.35%, (23 million)
• Jews 0.23%, (14 million)
• Baha'is 0.12%, (7 million)
• other religions 11.78%, (see below)
• non-religious 11.77%, (combined with atheists, 1.1 billion)
• atheists 2.32% (combined with atheists, 1.1 billion)

[Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/xx.html]

OTHER religions broken down:

Jainism: 4.2 million
Shinto: 4 million
Cao Dai: 4 million
Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
Tenrikyo: 2 million
Neo-Paganism: 1 million
Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
Rastafarianism: 600 thousand
Scientology: 500 thousand

[Source: http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html]

Three visual presentation ideas