Freedom of religion or belief has been central to the American experience since the inception of the United States. Whatever the faith, communities form around churches, synagogues, mosques and temples.
Congregations meet for weekly services. Families and friends meet for marriages, funerals, holidays and other special events within the community. Even people with no particular religious affiliation gather for spiritually oriented activities.
On the occasion of International Religious Freedom Day (October 27), here’s a glimpse of a few of those communities from the richly illustrated book Faith + Freedom: Religion in the USA (PDF, 20MB).
A version of this article was previously published October 22, 2019.
To learn more about religious freedom in the United States, click on this ShareAmerica page.
