The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Scott Buquor

Harvard Divinity School
The Religious Diversity of the Northern Plains: North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming

The Northern Plains were initially settled in the early 19th century in wave of immigration largely from Northern Europe. The first immigrants were predominantly Christian with the exception of small groups of Muslims from Ottoman Syria and Lebanon. The majority of these Muslims either left or married into Christian families. Until recently, the religious diversity in the region has consisted primarily of various sects of Christianity. In the past 20 years however, the communities of the Northern Plains have experienced a new wave of immigration that includes populations from North and Eastern Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia. Small cities like, Sioux Falls, Fargo and Laramie are learning to integrate a new kind of religious difference into the lives of their communities. This project will begin to map this growing religious diversity of the Northern Plains States: South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming.

Dr. Diana Eck is the faculty sponsor for this research.

Baha'i Center Fargo (2004)

Islamic Center of Cheyenne (2004)

Islamic Center of Fargo-Moorehead (2004)

Islamic Center of Laramie (2006)

Lakota Studies Program (2006)

Lotus Meditation Center (2004)

One Dharma Meditation Group (2006)

South Dakota Muslim Women's Network (2004)