In the past twenty-five years the religious landscape of the United Stares has changed radically. There are Islamic centers and mosques, Hindu and Buddhist temples and meditation centers in virturally every major American city. The encounter between people of very different religious traditions takes place in the proximity of our own cities and neighborhoods. The 1990 census reveals the tremendous scope of ethnic change in our society, but tells ug little about its religious dimensions or its religious significance.

Pluralism has long been a generative strand of American ideology. Mere diversity or plurality alone, however, does not constitute pluralism. There is a lively debate in civic, religious, and educational institutions over the implications of our multicultural and multireligious society. How we appropriate plurality to shape a positive pluralism is one of the most important questions American society faces in the years ahead. It will require all of us to know much more about the new religious landscape of America than we presently know.

The Pluralism Project is a three year research project, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., which will engage students in studying the new religious diversity of the United States. We will explore particularly the communities and religious traditions of Asia and the Middle East that have become woven into the religious fabric of the United States in the past twenty-five years. The overall aims of the Pluralism Project are:

1. To document and better understand the changing contours of American religious demography, focusing especially on those citiesand towns where the new plurality has been most evident and discerning the ways in which this plurality is both visible and invisible in American public life.

2. To study the religious communities themselves, their temples, mosques, gurudwaras and retreat centers, their informal networks and emerging institutions, their forms of adaptation and religious education in the American context, their encounter with the other religious traditions of our common society, and their encounter with civic institutions.

3. To explore the ramifications and implications of Amenca's new plurality through case studies of particular cities and towns, looking at the response of Christian and Jewish communiries to their new neighbors; the development of interfaith councils and networks; the new theological and pastoral questions that emerge from the pluralistic context; and the recasting of traditional church-state issues in a wider context.

4. To discern, in light of this work, the emerging meanings of religious "pluralism," both for religious communities and for public institutions, and to consider the real challenges and opportunites of a public commitment to pluralism in light of the new religious contours of America.

I. THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT

In the past twenty-five years the religious Landscape of the United States has changed radically. There are Islamic centers and mosques, Hindu and Buddhist temples and medittation centers in virtually every major American city. The encounter between people of very different religious traditions takes place in the proximity of our own cities and neighborhoods. The 1990 census reveals the tremendous scope of ethnic change in our society, but tells us little about its religious dimensions or its religious significance. A 1991 survey released by the City University of New York begins to tells us something of. the nature of the changing religious landscape of America.

Pluralism has long been a generative strand of American ideology. Mere diversity or plurality alone, however, does not constitute pluralism. There is lively debate over implications of our multicultural and multireligious society in civic, religious, and educational institutions. How we appropriate plurality to shape a positive pluralism is one of the most important questions American society faces in the years ahead. It will require all of us to know much more about the new religious landscape of America than we presently know. The Pluralism Project is a step toward learning more about our new diversity by focussing on particular cities where we can begin to see the new configuration of American religious life.

The Pluralism Project World Religions in America is a three year research project, funded by the Lilly Endowment, which will engage students in studying the new religious diversity in the United States. We will explore particularly the religious traditions of Asiia and the Middle East that have become woven into the religious fabric of the United States in the past twenty-five years. The overall aims of the Pluralism Project are:

1. To document and better understand the changing contours of American religious demography, focussing especially on those cities and towns where the new plurality has been most evident and discerning the ways in which this plurality is both visible and invisible in American public life.

2. To study the religious communities themselves - their temples, mosques, gurudwaras and retreat centers, their informal networks and emerging institutions, their forms of adaption and religious education in the American context, their encounters with the other religious traditions of our common society, and their encounter with civic institutions.

3. To explore the ramifications and implications of America's new plurality through case studies of particular cities and towns, looking at the response of Christian and Jewish communities to their new neighbors; the development of interfaith th councils and networks; the rew theological and pastoral questions that emerge from the pluralistic context; and the recasting of traditional church-state issues in a wider context.

4. To discern, in light of this work, the emerging meanings of religious "pluralism," both for religious communities and for public institutions, and to consider the real challenges and opportunites of a public commitment to pluralism in the light of the new religious contours of America.

Keep in mind all of these goals as you pursue your summer research. If you are studying a particular city, you will be doing basic documentation of a particular piece of the American religious landscape. Even if your major work will be on a particular religious traditon in a particular urban context, keep in mind the broader goals of the project and spend at least part of your time documenting the wider religious context of the city and the interlations of the religious traditions in that context. Which religious communities are present in this city? How many Buddhist temples? Hindu temples? Sikh gurudwaras? Muslim mosques? For comparison's sake, how many Jewish synagogues and temples are there? In brief, who is present here and what is the nature of these diverse religious communities?

Keep in mind also that as we begin to develop some "case-studies" which engage the problems and challenges of America's emerging pluralism, we will need the rich fabric of stories that will, I hope, surface in the course of your work. Please keep careful account of these stories, remembering. that a "case-study" enables us to see several perspectives on a particular issue. For example, when the Buddhist temple applied for a building permit and a controversy ensued, what did the temple members think? what did the neighbors have to say? what did the council of churches do? what did the members of the nearby synagogue think?

II. GUIDELINES FOR YOUR WORK

A. Do some background reading.

If you do not have it, get a copy of John R. Hinnells, A Handbook of Living Religions (Penguin), which provides a good chapter of background on each religious tradition, including helpful things such as time lines, ground plans of mosques and temples, discussions of major holidays, etc. We will make available to you some copies of E. Alan Richardson, Strangers in This Land: Pluralism and the Response to Diversity in the United States, which each of you should read before you begin your work. It will get you into our project and give a sense of "big picture" that will be enhanced and enriched by the city and community portraits you are researching.

Other additional reading might include the following:

• Raymond Williams, Religions of Immigrants from India and Pakistan (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988). A study of Asian-Indian and Pakistani irnmigrant communities and their religious traditions in America, with profiles especially of the Nizari Muslims and the Swarinarayan Hindus, including city-portraits of these communities in Chicago and Houston.

• E. Allen Richardson, East Comes West (New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1985). A general introduction to the religious traditions of the East in the American context.

• Rick Fields, How the Swans Came to the Lake (Boston: Shambala Press, 1981). A lively and readable history of Buddhism in America. See also the books by Emma Layton and by Charles Prebish on this topic, both of which contain very useful introductions to the various strands of Asian Buddhist communities in America.

• Helen Tworkov, Zen in America (San Francisco: North Point Press, 1989). A study of several Zen lineages in America and the American dharma heirs of Japanese Zen masters.

• Don Morreale, Buddhist America (Santa Fe: John Muir, 1988). An annotated guide to the many Buddhist centers in the U.S. organized by Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana and listed region by region. Be sure to take this along or xerox the appropriate pages for your work.

• Will Herberg, Protestant, Catholic, Jew (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983, first published, 1955) A classic of the fifties which discusses the 2nd and 3rd generation phenomena among immigrant groups who distance themselves from and then reclaim the traditions of the first generation immigrants.

• Yvonne Haddad, Islamic Values in the United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987) A study of the appropriation of Islamic values among American Muslims. Also The Muslims of America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), an edited collection of essays on Islam in America today.

• E. Waugh, Abu-Laban, and Quereshi, The Muslim community in North America (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1983). A collection of essays on Islam in the U.S. and Canada, including a directory of mosques and Islamic centers (included in your xeroxed materials).

• Issues of Hinduism Today. The Muslim Journal, Islamic Horizons, World Sikh News, India Abroad, and Tricyle: The Buddhist Review. Current and back issues of these are available in the Study of Religion student lounge.

B. Look at Pluralism Project Files.

Student researchers have already generated a considerable amount of valuable information. There are four drawers of files, arranged by religious tradition and region, in the Study of Religion offices. Take time to browse through these files before you begin. Look at the pamphlet literature, the transcripts, the periodicals, and even the papers. There are already substantial files on Chicago, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Denver, Los Angeles, the Bay Aaea, Houston, and Boston.

B2. Get oriented.

1. Get oriented in your city. Get a detailed map. Find out who is there. How many temples, mosques, meditation centers, synagogues, churches, gurudwaras, etc. Start with the lists we already have from Buddhist America, Hinduism Today, or the list of mosques from The Muslim Community in North America. Be sure to check the data base for your area with Susan before you go. Check the yellow pages under churches, religion, etc. Make a note, by the way, of how these things are listed in the yellow pages. This differs from city to city. In I-A, we find "Churches -Buddhist" listed just after "Churches Baptist" We even find "Churches -Muslim Mosques." The yellow pages will not give you a complete listing. Usually they contain just a small fraction of the communities we are looking for, so you will have to develop a complete list by your own research. One contact leads to another.

2. Go to the major newspapers. Meet the religion editor or reporter if there is one. Find out what he or she knows and has written about the various religious communities. If the newspaper is indexed in the local library and on microfilm, do the basic work of xeroxing.

3. Call the religion departrnent in the major nearby university. Find out who on the religion faculty might be most knowledgeable about the religious communities of the area. Have there been research projects? Is anything written?

4. Call the local council of churches to find out if there is an interfaith organization or if the council of churches has listings of the mosques, temples, etc. in the area. Check the North American Interfaith Network ditectory before you go. (My office).

5. We do not need to "re-invent the wheel," so it is important to get a sense of what has already been done before starting off on your work.

C. Get the facts.

1. If you are doing a city-project, begin by visiting each religious center at least once. Twice or three times would be ideal, depending upon the scope of your city or metropolitan area. If you are doing a more focussed project on a particular tradition in a city, again visit each center at least once to begin with and then spend more time with several particular communities. The first visit you might attend an ordinary publically announced worship or meditation session. Call before you go, if possible. Meet people. Arrange to come back at some time convenient for those you meet so that you can interview them. Ask about upcoming events and celebrations. Visit again at one of these times, if possible.

2. Get basic information about each religious center.

• What is the history of the temple, mosque, etc.? When was it built or acquired? Who was involved? Was there a previous place of worship before the community acquired or built this one?
• What were the considerations in choosing this building or in deciding on this property on which to build?
• Did the community encounter any difficulties in acquiring or building this place for use as a religious center?
• What particular community of people is responsible for the temple, mosques? Were they Lebanese Muslims? Taiwanese Buddhists? Tamils? Vaishnavas? Pure Land Buddhist?
• Who worships here now? Is it a particular ethnic group, or is it ecumenical? What is the community's self-understanding? To bring people of a particular sectarian group together? To bring Hindus or Muslims, whatever their background, together? To bring people of a particular ethnic group together?
• What is the size of the community that gathers here?
• Who is in charge of the temple, mosque? What kind of leadership? clergy? priesthood? teachers?
• How are major decisions made? Is there a governing board, etc.?
• What happens here every day? every week? every month? once or twice a year? What are the major festivals and events celebrated or observed? What family rites and rituals take place here?
• What language is used most commonly here in prayer, worship, conversation?
• Is there a Newsletter? Get a few back copies as well as the current issue. Other publications.
• Are there particular programs for young people? education programs? language programs? summer camps? programs for women? for students? for men? Describe.

3. Find out about wider community contacts and networks.

• What is the relation of this temple to the wider Hindu community here in this city, in this state, nationally? Is there a network or organization of Hindu temples? A council of mosques? a regional Isiamic society? What activities or events are shared?
• What is the relation of this mosque or gurudwara to the other faith communities in this city or area? Is there an interfaith council? Are there dialogue meetings? Are there organizations in which Sikhs or Buddhists meet Jews, Christians. etc.? Have there been particular joint projects?