Our observations, which covered different routes from amongst each sector of Burlington, demonstrated a general lack in aural religious output in the Burlington public. However, this doesn’t necessarily indicate a lack of religious presence, rather it evidences the selectivity by which inhabitants of Burlington choose to express their belief. While a substantial amount of the city’s population may practice some form of religion, they do so only within the privacy of institutions or, better yet, their own homes. It seems that the outward expression of religion in the North American public sphere is discouraged, even stigmatized. This tendency seems especially connected with branches of Christianity. Additionally, statistics regarding usage of private vehicles in comparison to public transportation—49% vs. 2% in southeast Winooski and 63% vs. 11% along Pine Street—could support the trend on a larger sociocultural scale. In general, we saw a greater amount of public interaction in areas that exhibited low levels of private vehice usage, as well as a lower median income (city-data.com). Could this also possibly be a result of past judicial cases, as discussed in Religion Out Loud by Isaac Weiner, in addition to conflicts of belief unaddressed in the legal arena? Could the analysis be extended to include the privatization of aural output, in general?

Among one of the more prominent routes was number eighteen, which runs exclusively on Sunday and covers most of Burlington proper, north to south. The route stops at, at least, four religious institutions and passes by many more. Looking further into observations made by students on the Sunday service bus, in relation to demographic information of the area through which the route passes, we were able to make several conclusions. Firstly, while the service is assumedly dedicated towards providing transportation for churchgoers, there were no passengers who visibly visited the institutions. In a way, this reinforces the idea that the past systemic dominance of religion still impacts and lays the foundation for cultural norms and dynamics of power. Secondly, given the following, it shows a slight inequality in the representation of different schools of religion within the city of Burlington. The route runs through one of Burlington’s most diverse sectors, with seventeen percent of the regional population being of some Asian ethnicity (city-data.com). However, the bus doesn’t stop at any Buddhist or other eastern religious centers in this area, the reason being: there are none. While providing service to a handful of Christian religious institutions, the route, in its entirety, only passes by one Buddhist center. The route makes no stops at any of the three synagogues within its direct coverage. While reasoning for this may vary amongst the institutions, this fact speaks to the general observance of alternative religion here, and perhaps the economic inability of the devotees of these respective religions to establish public places of religious meeting, and effectively have a voice amongst the Burlington religious soundscape.

Considering the interesting interpretations made during the bus route recordings, such as the privacy of religion and the way religious traditions have come to define secular society, we can deduct certain things about the current holiday season. With the approach of Christmas and Hanukkah, people are more outstandingly vocal about religious belief. Yet still undocumented sonically, at this point, it has been clear in recent experiences that the holiday season invites more interaction between strangers, if only to wish a “Merry Christmas”. This kind-hearted sentiment, while referring to a religious event, can be construed as spiritual or secular. There is an undeniable unity and herd mentality achieved by the ubiquitousness of Christian practices, as well as its strong symbolism. Therefore, I think we can expect to encounter more religious sound waves during this time of year.