THE WORLD RELIGIONS IN RICHMOND PROJECT

The World Religions in Richmond Project has as its objective chronicling the diverse array of religious traditions located in the Richmond and their impact on the Richmond community. The project began as student research internships sponsored by the VCU Honors Program during the summers of 2005 and 2006. Beginning in the Fall, 2006 the project has been organized as an academic course. Students enroll to become project members and spend the semester gathering information that is reviewed and then posted on this website. The ongoing nature of the project means that the website is very much a work in progress, with additional information being posted on a regular basis.

There are two primary components of the project website. The Religious Profiles component lists the various congregational units in Richmond by religious tradition. Historical information on when and how each tradition reached the United States, Virginia, and Richmond is provided as context for understanding the establishment of the congregational units in the Richmond community. As information is gathered on individual congregational units, profiles of those units are prepared. The Religious Culture component identifies the numerous ways in which the rich variety of religious traditions in Richmond. In addition to their congregational units, many religious traditions have established administrative organizations, bookstores, camps and clubs for children, charitable foundations, hospitals, public celebrations and festivals, religious orders, retirement communities, radio and television broadcasting stations and programs, religious and spiritual counseling services, retreats, schools and colleges.

During the initial phases of the project the website will be comprised of traditions, congregational units, and cultural groups and activities that are most accessible and visible. Since the objective of the website is to catalog the entire range of religious traditions and activities found in Richmond, a primary objective of the project is to locate and describe minority traditions

The work of Perry Threllfall in creating the design and structure of the World Religions in Richmond website is gratefully acknowledged.