Theology in all of its incarnations has fascinated me since I was very young. Everything about religion, the art, music, literature, ritual, and philosophy fixated me to no end. One of my favorite things about NYC is its many ethnic enclaves throughout the boroughs, and their corresponding places of worship. Ethiopian churches in the Bronx, Greek Orthodox churches in Astoria, Catholic churches in the Lower East Side, and Coptic churches in Queens.
According to the Pew Research Center, the religious diversity of NYC is staggering; fifty-seven percent of New Yorkers identify as Christian. While this does seem overly broad and not exactly supportive of a religious diversity argument, we must keep in mind that most, if not religious censuses will have checkboxes for “Coptic” and “Ethiopian Christian”. Many people within these denominations will usually select the “Orthodox Christian” or “Other Christian” boxes, which make up two percent of the fifty-seven.
The locations of these churches depend heavily on the immigration sites for different ethnicities and their respective Christian denominations. Many of these places share ethnic and religious overlap. For example, the second highest concentration of Egyptians is in Astoria, which is also the home to the highest concentration of Greeks in the entire city. This leads to Astoria not only being dotted with Greek Orthodox places of worship but also many Coptic churches as well. Methodist “storefront” churches can be commonly found all throughout the Chinatown area, due to the large influx of Chinese Methodists immigrating to Manhattan in the late 1800s. There are large Ethiopian communities in both Queens and the Bronx, specifically many Ethiopian churches in the more far out areas of the Bronx.
My neighborhood specifically is very interesting in its religious makeup. The upper part of the heights is home to a large Russian and German Hasidic Jewish community built from those fleeing Nazi Prosecution. If you walk down the hill and past the synagogue, you will be met with an overwhelming number of Puerto Rican (and Hispanic in general) Evangelical storefront churches, sometimes up to three will all share the same block. If you follow these lines of churches into the Bronx, you will begin to see Botanicas (often right next door to these churches) selling items associated with Mexican Folk Catholicism and Santeria. Between these synagogues and Evangelical churches, there is a massive Greek Orthodox church located right in the middle. This is such a beautiful example of New York City’s “thesis” of sorts. Being able to interact with so many different religious traditions in the span of a few blocks is something every New Yorker should be very grateful to have the opportunity to do.
While this article will focus on different Christian denominations, there are so many other beautiful places of worship for many other religions throughout the city. Buddhist temples in the Lower East Side, Mosques in Flatbush, and Hindu mandirs in Jackson Heights and Flushing. NYC, specifically Queens, is also home to the second largest population of Bukharian (Turkmen, Uzbek, and Tajik) Jews in the world.
This photo essay will chronicle the beauty of the different Christian Denomations in NYC. I will visit an Eastern Orthodox church in Brighton Beach, a Coptic church in Manhattan, a Greek Orthodox church in Manhattan, and a Catholic church in Manhattan. With my Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS, I will capture the iconography, architecture, and ritual. Hopefully, my pictures will offer a closer look into the similarities and differences of the diverse web of Christianity throughout New York City.
