Two photos taken by Kevin Childress, ICNY’s Social Media Manager, were chosen as finalists in The Pluralism Project at Harvard University’s photo contest, documenting the changing religious landscape of the United States.
One photo was taken at the NY Ganesh Temple (also known as the Hindu Temple Society of New York), at their annual celebration of Ganesha’s birthday (called “Ganesh Chaturthi) in Flushing Queens. Kevin also produced a short video about this annual celebration, that the public (including non-Hindus!) is always encouraged to attend.
A second photo selected as finalist is of a Haitian Vodou veve ritual being performed for a group of school teachers at Union Theological Seminary. This was part of ICNY’s National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for K-12 teachers called “Religious Worlds of New York: Teaching the Everyday Life of American Religious Diversity.”
While all of the photos selected by The Pluralism Project demonstrate the evolving religious landscape in America, these photos in particular underscore the tremendous cultural and religious diversity of New York City, and of people’s general willingness to share something of their faiths while learning about the faiths of their neighbors.
See all of the chosen photographs here: http://www.pluralism.org/
