World Religions in Greater Boston: Home

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Introduction

Civic life includes all the places in the “public square” where people encounter one another as citizens. The basis of American civic life is the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the range of ways in which citizens cooperate in civil society. In Greater Boston, immigrants now account for more than a quarter of the population; cultural and religious diversity is increasingly reflected in our public square. Religious communities, including the new minority communities, are active participants in civic life. All of these factors are continually changing civic life in Greater Boston, challenging us to reconsider who “we” are as a city.

A report prepared by the Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians, “New Bostonians 2005,” offers a remarkable snapshot of the rapidly changing face of the Boston population. The report notes that, as of 2000, Boston’s minority groups madke up the majority of Boston residents: African Americans (23.8%), Latinos (14.4%), Asians (7.5%), together with other minorities make up 50.5 % of the city’s total population. Moreover, since 1990, the Latino population has increased by 37.3% and the Asian population by 46.7%. Among Boston’s minority groups, foreign-born residents totaled 151,836 accounting for 26% of the city’s total population. Major countries of origin for Boston’s foreign-born population include Haiti (making up the largest share of Boston’s immigrants), the Dominican Republic, China, Vietnam, El Salvador, Jamaica, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ireland, and Brazil.

These significant and relatively rapid changes in Boston have prompted action on the part of various civic institutions. Many programs, initiatives, and offices are working to support the emerging needs of these newly forming communities as well as to address the growing pains of Boston as it learns to embrace its new identity. Others are tracking these changes with the aim of enhancing civic life, dialogue, and governance.

Much of this work is undertaken without particular regard for the religious affiliations or needs of Boston’s diverse population. While it is appropriate to maintain the separation between church and state, particularly in the provision of social services, information and understanding about our city’s new religious diversity could actually augment those projects that seek to improve civic life in Greater Boston. Creating support and means for engagement among diverse religious communities enhances the process of cultural integration by opening new horizons of identify formation, mutual understanding, shared commitment, and trust. In Boston, as in other cities around the world today, new spaces are emerging where people of different faiths are coming together in a multitude of interfaith initiatives. Those spaces, which value and uphold diversity, serve to strengthen civic life, increasing the overall health of our cities.

What follows is a brief overview of some of the institutions and initiatives in Greater Boston.

The Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians

Responding to the needs of a changing Boston, Mayor Menino stated, “It is not enough to just welcome immigrants to the City of Boston. We must make a collective effort to ensure that immigrants feel welcomed, and include their voices in the city government.” It is in this spirit of inclusion that The Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians (ONB) was established in 1998 to meet the needs of the growing and changing immigrant communities. To this end, ONB offers many support services to new Bostonians such as English classes, consulting and counseling services, facilitating access to city resources, fostering City-Community Partnerships, responding to community issues, and voter awareness campaigns.

The Boston Indicators Project

Founded in 1997, The Boston Indicators Project “aims to democratize access to information, foster civic discourse, and track measures of progress and shared goals in ten sectors”: civic health, cultural life and the arts, economy, education, environment, housing, public health, public safety, technology, and transportation. The Project's purpose is to foster informed civic dialogue and to track progress on shared goals. To that end, it sponsors training sessions, seminars to engage and connect leaders of all ages, and a curriculum for media professionals.

Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston

The Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston strives to improve the governance of Greater Boston by strengthening connections among the region’s scholars, students, and civic leaders. Housed at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, the Institute pursues this mission in three ways. First, it encourages public service among graduate students in Greater Boston through an internship program. Secondly, it produces and disseminates new ideas to advance governance by encouraging faculty and students to conduct policy-relevant research for Greater Boston. Third, it stimulates informed discussion by sponsoring public events, organizing training programs for local officials, and producing publications that summarize new scholarly research in timely and accessible ways.

Conclusion

In her third lecture for the Gifford Lectures Series at the University of Edinburgh, entitled “The New Cosmopolis: Cities and the Realities of Religious Pluralism,” Dr. Diana Eck asserted that “the health of a city is measured by the strength of its bridges and the commitment of its bridge builders.” Political Scientist Robert Putnam refers to this as “bridging social capital,” which enables communication and contact among the different groups that make up a city be they racial, ethnic, or religious. This, then, leads to heightened understanding, appreciation, and greater unity.

Psychologist Robert Emmons explores how the “faith factor” is both central to many people’s lives and significantly contributes “to quality-of-life indicators such as life satisfaction, happiness, self-esteem, hope and optimism, and meaning in life” (p. 5). His review of research on spirituality and religion shows the “generally beneficial impact that these concerns have on psychological, physical, and interpersonal functioning” (p. 5).

Indeed people’s faith is a major factor to consider when building bridges between newly interacting cultures. Establishing a truly pluralistic community in Boston requires great effort and commitment from its bridge builders. It is hoped that World Religions in Greater Boston’s Civic Initiative will inspire organizations and individuals to take on the important work of bridge building for a pluralistic Boston.

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