Pluralism Project offers information on how faith groups interact
By Wendy Whiteside, New York Chapter
Kathryn Lohre explains the Pluralism Project March 28 during the 2009 Religion Communicators Council National Convention in Cambridge, Mass.
Harvard University’s Pluralism Project offers information to religion communicators on how U.S. faith groups interact.
Kathryn Lohre, project assistant director, told Religion Communicators Council members March 28 about resources they could tap. Lohre was a speaker during the March 26-28 RCC National Convention in Cambridge, Mass.
The Pluralism Project began as a 1991 course, World Religions in New England, at Harvard University. The class was taught by Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, and Frederick Wertham, professor of law and psychiatry in society. Students initially gathered data on the religion landscape around Boston.
Following the class, Eck encouraged students to gather similar data in their hometowns. That began nearly two decades of research on the changing face of religion in America.
Lohre said the project’s Web site offers answers to such questions as:
- What is pluralism?
- How has religion changed in the last 10 years in my state?
- How many Hindus/Buddhists/Muslims are in my state and the U.S. as a whole?
The Web site includes case studies on religious diversity from around the country, statistics, descriptions of religions and religious movements, multimedia presentations, reports, and publications.
