Religious Resources in the Philadelphia Area
Welcome to the Religious Resources page. This page is designed to introduce you to some of the diverse religious organizations in Philadelphia, the “city of brotherly love.”
In 1681 William Penn, a Quaker, received land for a colony from a grant given by King Charles II of England. Penn's "Holy Experiment" in religious tolerance was the result. Pennsylvania was one of the few original colonies that would accept Jews, Catholics , Mennonites and Amish, and that spirit of religious diversity pervades Philadelphia’s culture today. Many of the world’s major religions find a welcoming home in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is proud to be the home of Congregation Rodeph Shalom, founded in 1795, the first Ashkenazic Jewish synagogue established in the Western Hemisphere. Philadelphia is also the home of the oldest Bible Society, the first Mennonite congregation, the first independent African-American Christian denomination, and the first Hindu temple to become a pilgrimage site in the United States.
A map of historic religious congregations in Philadelphia is available at http://www.holyexperiment.org/pages/diagram.html. For census data on religious affiliations in Philadelphia, visit http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/counties/42101_2000.asp. While we have tried to avoid listing specific houses of worship, the links below provide either regional information or links to national organizations that can then refer you to the regional group. Finally, to discover what is happening this week in Philadelphia’s diverse religious and spiritual communities, check the weekly religion section, including the weekly interfaith calendar, in the Philadelphia Inquirer http://www.philly.com/inquirer/.
Resources by Religion:
Afro-Caribbean Traditions http://www.pluralism.org/directory/results.php?sort=state%2Ccity%2Ctitle&tradition=Afro
Philadelphia Buddhist Association (P.B.A.)
http://www.philabuddhist.org/
Christian
USA Church – a directory which lists many Christian churches by affiliation and is searchable by zipcode.
http://www.usachurch.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/churches.htm
African Methodist Episcopal Church
http://www.1stdistrict-ame.com/
Amish (Anabaptist)
http://www.squidoo.com/amishreligion/
Philadelphia Baptist Association
http://www.philadelphiabaptist.org/
Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
http://archdiocese-phl.org/
Episcopal Diocese of Philadelphia
http://www.diopa.org/
Greek Orthodox
http://www.annunciation-elkinspark.org/
Lutheran Children and Family Service
http://www.lcfsinpa.org/
Messianic Jewish Alliance of America
http://www.mjaa.org/engine.cfm?i=2&sl=12
Methodist Children and Family Services
http://www.methodistservices.org/
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)
http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg
Nondenominational Churches in Philadelphia (lists 176 nondenominational churches)
http://www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Non-Denominational+Curches/S-PA/T-Philadelphhia
Presbyterian
http://www.presbyphl.org/
Hindu
http://www.pluralism.org/
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
http://www.iskconphiladelphia.com/index.html
Islamic Centers
http://www.bharatwaves.com/yellowpages//?view=ads&catid=19&subcatid=49&cityid=54&lang=en
Jain
http://www.pluralism.org/
Jewish
http://www.jewishphilly.org/index.html
Mennonite
http://www.insiderpages.com/s/PA/Philadelphia/MennoniteChurch
National African Religion Congress (NARC)
www.narcworld.com
Pagan
http://www.broomcloset.org/groups.html
Quaker
http://www.quakerinfo.org/
Scientology
http://www.scientologytoday.org/index.htm
Unitarian Universalist
http://www.philauu.org/index.php/uua_site_links
Interfaith Resources:
Religious pluralism
http://www.pluralism.org/pluralism/essays/from_diversity_to_pluralism.php
Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia
www.interfaithcenterpa.org/index.html
Interfaith Coalition to Promote the General Welfare
http://www.pluralism.org/research/profiles/display.php?profile=73660
Interfaith Working Group
www.iwgonline.org/
Non-theist Organizations:
Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia (educates on separation of church and state and promotes a nontheist lifestance.)
http://www.fsgp.org
Resources on National Religions:
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University – “On Common Ground: World Religions in America”
Includes a CD-Rom and other materials about religion in the United States.
http://www.pluralism.org/ocg/index.php
This page is intended only to function as a clearinghouse of publicly-available information. Drexel has not itself investigated any of these resources and is not endorsing or encouraging you to visit or affiliate with any of them. The information has been obtained from the web only through a preliminary search; as a result, we do not guarantee the accuracy of the information that is provided. You should be sure to conduct your own investigation to ensure the quality and bona fides of each resource.
We recognize that, despite our best efforts, this resource is not comprehensive. We welcome your comments and suggestions for additional listings. Please send them to diverse@drexel.edu.
