Documenting Fifteen Years of Change on One Philadelphia Street by Katie Day, PhD, Research Coordinator, and Marquisha Scott, PhD, University of Denver
Documenting Fifteen Years of Change on One Philadelphia Street by Katie Day, PhD, Research Coordinator, and Marquisha Scott, PhD, University of Denver
The exterior of Al-Aqsa Islamic Society on Germantown Ave in Philadelphia. Daniel Kontz
The Avenue later sheltered many who were escaping slavery on the Underground Railroad and is the burial site of prominent abolitionists.
But we were curious to find out what is different since Katie’ s study— how it has changed still more over the last decade. Marquisha brought a fresh pair of eyes, new questions, and the advantageous insights of a researcher new to this context. A new team embarked on a new exploration of the Avenue.
There is no simple narrative on the transition in congregational life, nationally or locally. While the number of congregations has decreased, sacred life has not disappeared. It has, however, been reconfigured and re-formed across sacred places, the built environment and the communities. The Avenue reflects a complex and dynamic religious ecology, where continuity is disrupted as communities change. Yet there is a persistence in how institutions adapt and evolve.
A Corridor in Transition At the national level, larger religious trends have been documented by research organizations such as Faith Communities Today, Exploring the Pandemic’ s Impact
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