Nearly every culture in human history has built places to honor the divine, the mysterious, the supernatural, or the extraordinary. These sacred locations have been constructed as special places where the physical world seems to meet the spiritual. They might honor a god, a saint, a hero, or a place where a miracle occurred. They embody the history, art, politics, technology, and often the social structure of their time. In this course we will look at some of these sites and their fascinating history.

Format: Participants will be asked to “own an hour,” leading the group in learning about a specific sacred place. Participants can select one from a list provided by the coordinators or propose one with the approval of the coordinators. The leadership can take the form of arranging a talk by a guest speaker, showing illustrative videos, telling the story through slides and commentary, posing provocative questions and leading the group discussion, or some other format. Personal experiences and photos are encouraged. It’s always best to reserve the last 20-25 minutes of the hour for discussion (the most popular part of the class for many LLC members).

Resources/Expenses: Participants may share links to online materials that help us develop our understanding of sacred places. No expenses are anticipated.

Coordinators: Margaret Lawrence has led multiple LLC courses and travels as much as possible. Olin Thompson is an experienced world traveler who has visited many countries and sacred places.