The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Tracy Wells

Furman University
Mapping Religious Diversity in South Carolina

 

Project Description

Tracy will be mapping religious diversity in South Carolina during the summer of 2003, updating previous research done in 2000 and 1998 by the project at Furman University. While most previous research has been conducted in the upstate, where Furman University is located, Tracy will concentrate on the midlands, specifically the capital of Columbia, which appears to be the most religiously diverse area in the state. Previous researchers Benjamin Coleman and Melissa Peterson in 2000 and Alison Mills and Andrea Prevost in 1998 gathered some information on the Baha'i community, Buddhist centers, Hindu temple, Islamic centers/mosques and the state's only Sikh gurdwara in Columbia. Tracy will update this research and create additional profiles, interviewing spokespeople and attending religious services as a participant/observer.

Slide Show

Center Profiles

Columbia Metro Baha'i Communities, Columbia, SC (Baha'i)

Charleston Tibetan Society, Inc., Charleston, SC (Buddhist)

Columbia Zen Buddhist Priory, Columbia, SC (Buddhist)

Ganden Mahayana Buddhist Center, Columbia, SC (Buddhist)

SC SGI-USA Community Center, Columbia, SC (Buddhist)

Shambala Center and Dharmadhatu Buddhist Meditation Center of Columbia, Columbia, SC (Buddhist)

South Carolina Dharma Group, Columbia, SC (Buddhist)

Hindu Temple & Cultural Center of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (Hindu)

Masjid Al-Muslimiin
(Islamic Center of Columbia), Columbia, SC (Muslim)

Masjid as-Salaam, Columbia, SC (Muslim)

Sikh Religious Society of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (Sikh)

Research Report

The following paper was written for a class entitled "Religion in Multicultural America," taught by Dr. Diana Eck at Harvard Divinity School in the fall of 2003, and incorporates information from Tracy's summer 2003 Pluralism Project research.

Best Practices--Sharon Interfaith Youth Leadership Program (2004), Sharon, MA (Interfaith)

Growing Religious Diversity in South Carolina: Implications for the Palmetto State (2003), SC (Interfaith)