Boston takes on new religious profile

Boston's religious profile is no longer reflected solely in the words of the Bible, beloved by the city's Puritan founders, or "The Last Hurrah," the novel inspired by its Catholic-tinted politics. The local lexicon of faith has been augmented by the Koran, the scriptures of Hinduism, and by the texts of other traditions imported since the loosening of American immigration law in the 1960s.

Harvard's Pluralism Project, which researches religious diversity, has compiled an online "World Religions in Boston: A Guide to Communities and Resources," sketching almost two-dozen traditions with congregations or centers in the metropolitan area. First published in 1994 and updated this summer by student interns, the list is by no means an encyclopedia. But it is a revealing Rolodex for the area's array of religious groups.

A presentation of some of the interns' findings last week offered a snapshot of the old and new.

The setting, a Harvard lounge, whispered Ivy League in its decor, from the towering grandfather clock and massive fireplace to the chocolate wood paneling and plush armchairs and couches. But the audience included people in turbans and monks' robes, visual testimony to the new Boston.

For a few hours, that audience heard about "Thank Buddha It's Friday" dinners at the Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center. They discovered that evangelical Christianity has more than an American, white-bread appeal, given the decade-old presence in West Roxbury of the Arabic Evangelical Baptist Church.

They listened to the interns describe the burgeoning presence of Sikh communities, which follow an Indian religion dating to the 16th century. Sikhs even have an ashram in the small town of Millis, 30 miles outside Boston.

"There was a time when most of the Sikhs I knew in Boston were involved in running a shoe store" in Cambridge, noted Diana Eck, director of the Pluralism Project.

The audience heard of diverse philosophical interests among Muslims at the Nimatullahi Sufi Center in Boston, where, according to intern Katie Merriman, "there were books by Kant right next to the Book of Mormon."

They also heard about the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, whose Sharon mosque has a link to the movement's worldwide satellite television network.

The Ahmadiyya Movement highlights the enduring issue of fissures in religion. Many Muslims don't consider the movement to be authentically Islamic, as it was founded in the 19th century by a man who considered himself a prophet, an assertion mainstream Muslims dispute.

While one scholar in the audience said such exclusionary attitudes are often rooted in statements made by political leaders in Muslim countries, a Sharon resident said relations between the movement and other Muslims in her community were strained."

Many Muslims view interfaith communications within Islam as a pressing priority, commented Merriman.

The interns also studied the controversial Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, which earlier this summer completed the first stage of construction on its mosque after a flurry of lawsuits about the purchase of the land and charges that a society founder had ties to terrorism. Quizzed by an audience member about the terrorism allegations, intern Alexis Gewertz said it was unclear that the member who had made statements supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, had been affiliated with the group recently. (The society says he was not been for at least 15 years.)

"We don't just have them do research on the easy" topics, Eck said.

Some of the religious groups profiled by the interns say they have just a handful of adherents.

"I wouldn't overstate the pluralism or diversity," Eck cautioned in an interview. "But as we've often said, pluralism really isn't about numbers. . . . Pluralism is about the majority community, no matter how large, in a sense recognizing the fact that there is [a minority]. Some of our researchers have visited communities that have never been visited by anyone who wants to know who they are."

The presentation had few evangelical Christian groups, Eck said, partly because the Pluralism Project focuses on immigrant communities. Also, "most of what is studied in the American scholarly community is Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and, increasingly, evangelical" denominations.

The project's website, pluralism.org, acknowledges that the guide is a selective portrait and a work-in-progress. Kathryn Lohre, assistant director of the Pluralism Project, asked that groups overlooked by the researchers contact the Pluralism Project. If someone has a suggestion for a group for the list, "we would be thrilled to hear about that," she said.

Questions, comments, or story ideas can be sent to spiritual@globe.com.