The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Lisa Bellan-Boyer

New York University
The Storefront Project, Jersey City, NJ

Directly across the river from lower Manhattan, "as the crow flies" closer to the World Trade Center site than much of New York City, Jersey City is one of the most multi-cultural cities in the United States. Jersey City has a great variety of houses of worship, including an unusual variety of storefront worship spaces. This project will create narrative descriptions of a sampling of Jersey City's storefront sacred spaces, selected for interest, variety, and willingness to participate.

Storefront sacred spaces may manifest certain characteristics in common, across religious difference. I will consider the demographics and economics of the social location of these religious communities, and questions such as: How does the community adapt visual traditions, worship music, and liturgical practices to the strictures and demands of the storefront space? Does the storefront framing encourage community involvement and interfaith/intercultural dialogue? How does the storefront's physical openness and accessibility inform the way that theological issues and pastoral concerns are raised and addressed in the community?

The project will include community profiles of at least eight storefront sacred spaces, along with a narrative essay to embed the profiles in local religious history. My hypothesis is that the very physical placement of the storefront, on the margin of the city street affects the permeability of the community. If so, then how do these communities negotiate this permeability, and how does this permiability contribute to "visible and invisible" plurality?

Coming soon!