Religion in Atlanta involves many faiths due to the city's international heritage. Protestant Christianity maintains a strong presence in the city, with Catholicism gaining a recent foothold due to migration patterns. Large non-Christian faiths are present in the form of Judaism and Hinduism. Overall, there are over 1,000 places of worship within Atlanta.[1]
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Protestant Christian faiths are well represented in Atlanta,[2] the city historically being a major center for traditional Southern denominations such as the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church (USA). There are a large number of megachurches in the area, including North Point Community Church, the second largest church in the United States.[3]
In contrast to other Southern cities, Atlanta contains a large, and rapidly growing, Roman Catholic population. The number of Catholics grew from 292,300 members in 1998 to 900,000 members in 2010, an increase of 207 percent. The population is expected to top 1 million by 2011.[4][5] The increase is fueled by Catholics moving to Atlanta from other parts of the U.S. and the world, and from newcomers to the church.[6] About 16 percent of all metropolitan Atlanta residents are Catholic.[7] As the see of the 84 parish Archdiocese of Atlanta, Atlanta serves as the metropolitan see for the Province of Atlanta. The archdiocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Christ the King and the current archbishop is the Most Rev. Wilton D. Gregory.[8][9] Also located in the metropolitan area are several Eastern Catholic parishes which fall in the jurisdiction of Eastern Catholic eparchies for the Melkite, Maronite, and Byzantine Catholics.[10]
Atlanta is also the see of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, which includes all of northern Georgia, much of middle Georgia and the Chattahoochee River valley of western Georgia. This Diocese is headquartered at the Cathedral of St Philip in Buckhead and is led by the Right Reverend J. Neil Alexander.[11]
Atlanta serves as headquarters for several regional church bodies also. The Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America maintains offices in downtown Atlanta; ELCA parishes are numerous throughout the metro area. There are eight United Church of Christ congregations in the Atlanta metro area, one of which, First Congregational in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, is noted for being the church with which former mayor Andrew Young is affiliated.
Traditional African-American denominations such as the National Baptist Convention and the African Methodist Episcopal Church are strongly represented in the area. These churches have several seminaries that form the Interdenominational Theological Center complex in the Atlanta University Center.
The headquarters for The Salvation Army's United States Southern Territory is located in Atlanta.[12] The denomination has eight churches, numerous social service centers, and youth clubs located throughout the Atlanta area.
The city has a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in the suburb of Sandy Springs, Georgia.
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta in adjacent Lilburn, Georgia is currently the largest Hindu temple in the world outside of India.[13] It is one of approximately 15 Hindu temples in the metro Atlanta area, along with 7 other Hindu temples in Georgia serving nearly 100,000 Hindus in Atlanta, Augusta, Macon, Perry, Savannah, Columbus, Rome/Cartersville and other remote centers.
Metropolitan Atlanta is also home to a vibrant Jewish community estimated to include 120,000 individuals in 61,300 households.[14] This study places Atlanta's Jewish population as the 11th largest in the United States, up from 17th largest in 1996.[14] There also are an estimated 75,000 Muslims in the area and approximately 35 mosques. The largest mosque, Al Farooq Masjid of Atlanta, is located on 14th Street.[15]
Jamillah Karim, Negotiating Gender Lines: Women’s Movement across Atlanta Mosques, Southern Spaces, 31 May 2010.