Organized religion has does a poor job of understanding, cultivating and appreciating the arts as a connection to faith.  At best, churches tend to use art to illustrate the points made in a sermon or Bible story.  At its core, good art has the ability to raise questions and help people to think about things in new ways.  Those are not typically qualities embraced by the modern church where proof-texting and dogma have supplanted mystery, questioning and conversation.  Anything that moves into the world of interpretation, and strays from simple illustration is viewed with skepticism at best.

This is Why I Art, dives into understanding why religious artists do what they do and how they understand their art to be part of their faith and/or ministry.  Our own experiences and the data from The Dechurched Project confirm that for many people, especially emerging generations, art plays a central role in helping to make sense of the divine, experience the unknowable and connect people to others around them.

If you’re an artist, artistic community, church or religious group that seriously engages with the art world at the intersection of religion, we would love to hear from you and maybe set up an interview.  Even if you’re not an artist, but want to express the importance of art to your own journey, please drop us a line.

Image credit: Kate Russell at http://bit.ly/2kOSSbL