American Rapture: Manic Spirituality in the Waning Days of an Empire

A Call for Financial Backers

Summary Statement

American Rapture: Manic Spirituality in the Waning Days of an Empire is a documentary photography and videography project exploring the contemporary American Christian zeitgeist in response to societal instability. Rooted in historical patterns of religious revivalism during times of crisis, this project will investigate diverse faith communities, from charismatic megachurches and Old Order Amish to street preachers and fundamentalist sects. Through live-streaming, short-form documentary videos, and a curated photo book with accompanying prose, the project seeks to capture the visual and cultural manifestations of faith in an era of political and economic uncertainty.

With a background growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, a city under the influence of the LDS Church, and a wealth of professional experiences documenting faith-based communities, I bring a uniquely objective and discerning perspective to documenting and interpreting spiritual iconography in the United States. By immersing myself in these communities and using photography as a means of cultural engagement, American Rapture will provide a compelling visual narrative of faith, fervor, and the search for meaning in contemporary America.

This is my first photobook project.

Background

In her paper “In Crisis, We Pray: Religiosity and the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Jeanet Bentzen argues that the human condition tends to turn toward the comforts of religious faith in times when the truth feels too uncomfortable. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she explains, when lockdowns disrupted society’s typical routines, worldwide internet searches for “prayer” suggested nearly half of Earth’s population sought clarity in this way.

History suggests this correlation runs much deeper. The Second Great Awakening (1795-1835), a time of widespread Christian revivalism in the United States, coincided with an era in which the peoples of a burgeoning nation experienced hardships in the form of environmental disasters and famines (the “Little Ice Age” that threatened crop yields and food security), westward expansion into rugged and dangerous frontiers, and the upending of livelihoods and lifestyles through rapid industrialization. The instability, both real and perceived, compelled Americans to embrace religion. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), the first “American” religion, was founded in this era.

Why now:

The Second Great Awakening implies iterations. Since the Second, historians and social scientists argue there may have been two more, with the last ending in the 1970s. Some would go so far as to say Americans are on the cusp of a Fifth Great Awakening, with a revival manifesting as the prevalence of evangelical Christianity in cultural realms; Trumpism allows for a flagrant entanglement of Christianity and conservative politics, perhaps a response to widespread fears of economic instability, global and domestic conflicts, and migration.

Project Overview

In American Rapture: Manic Spirituality in the Waning Days of an Empire, I will document the American Christian zeitgeist in the heartlands of a country in crisis. Communities to be documented include:

1. Charismatic megachurches

2. Old Order Amish

3. Faith healers

4. Snake-handling ministries

5. Priest visits to prisons

6. Missionaries in underserved/undeveloped regions

7. Trumpist demonstrations

8. Fundamentalist compounds

9. Christian militias

10. Street preachers 

11. River baptisms

The project is three-fold. First and most immediate is live-streaming via Twitch the process of exploring, investigating, and interacting with the communities listed above. The raw video will be utilized in the creation of short-form documentary pieces for release on YouTube. The finished pieces, similar to those existing on my channel (https://www.youtube.com/@christopherscottcarpenter), will showcase the art and practice of documentary photography as a means to engage with human culture and spirituality in real-time. These documentary pieces will be part of the series American Rapture.

Second, the photographs made throughout the process will be curated, edited, and assembled into a photo book sharing the same project name. The photos will present a cross-country examination of the American Christian zeitgeist in some of its most extreme forms. Bound by the second Trump administration and the predicted decline of the United States as a hegemonic power, the photo book interprets American society’s embracement of faith in the face of crisis. 

Sample photographs from past projects:

Third, the photo book will contain accompanying prose to give context, interpretation, and reflection. A sample of my documentary writing can be found here: https://www.christopherscottcarpenter.com/kinaalda

Expenditures and Budget

The anticipated expenditures will primarily cover travel, lodging, and production costs, and is estimated to be around $15,500 for roughly three months of fieldwork. I am not seeking additional compensation, and will use all financial backing to produce the project. Car rentals and gas will be essential for cross-country travel to reach diverse religious communities, while hostels, motels, and occasional short-term rentals will provide necessary accommodations. Food expenses will account for daily sustenance during fieldwork. Additional costs include equipment maintenance, data storage, and software subscriptions for editing and streaming. Miscellaneous expenses, such as entry fees, permits, and unforeseen logistical needs, will also be factored in to ensure a smooth and adaptable workflow throughout the project.

1. Car Rental & Gas: $5,000 (based on a multi-month cross-country journey)

2. Lodging (Hotels/Airbnbs/Campsites): $4,000 (budgeting ~$50/night for 80 nights)

3. Food: $4,000 ($50/day for 3 months)

4. Equipment (Repairs, Storage, Software, Misc.): $1,000 (including camera repair and miscellaneous equipment)

5. Permits & Entry Fees: $500 (for restricted sites or events requiring permission)

6. Miscellaneous (Emergencies, Health, Unexpected Costs): $1,000

Several grants exist to help first-time creators of photobook projects, but the projects need to be completed prior to application. This call for financial backers focuses on the production of the project, and later grants will be secured to move the project into the printing phase.

Why I am uniquely qualified to produce this work:

I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, the headquarters of the LDS Church, where, at least at the level of state governance, the religion has always influenced political discourse and policy. From unique laws for how and where alcoholic beverages can be made to constitutional language specifically banning polygamy, Utah’s entire history is an intertwinement of church doctrine and terrestrial legislation. Not being LDS myself - or affiliated with any organized belief structure - I maintained an objective critical awareness of the tangible and intangible structures around me. 

I do, however, have polygamous ancestry. My great-grandmother Jean Earl (center of group) fled a polygamous LDS household as a teenager and married into a monogamous relationship that would eventually produce my grandfather Kay. My own existence is part of the legacy of American Christianity.

Additionally, I have produced documentary work on a wide variety of faith-based communities, including Vodou practitioners in Brooklyn, New York; Druids in the United Kingdom; and Shinto Buddhists in Kyoto, Japan. My work displays the vibrancy of the human experience while maintaining standards of respect and dignity for those portrayed.