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| Anthony B. Bradley is professor of theology at the King's College in New York City. He is also a research fellow for The Acton Institute. |
"Large cities in the northeast like Boston, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and so on, are often caricatured as wastelands of non-religious, unchurched, overtly secular theaters. Caricatures of this type seem odd given the fact that many of America’s oldest religious institutions are actively operating in those regions. One of my friends is quick to point out that every week people sit on church pews in northeastern churches that older than many states out west. For example, by looking at the Christian presence in the New York City area alone, research shows that the northeast might not be as religiously barren as many believe.
I recently contacted Tony Carnes, editor and publisher of A Journey through NYC Religions, to set the record straight on the New York City area. Since 2010, Carnes and his team have visited thousands of religious houses of worship, from all religious traditions cataloging the religious activity in New York City. In light of what he and his team have seen on the ground, Carnes has come to the conclusion that the best description of New York City is that it is a “post secular” city—a condition somewhere between a secular and sacred.
Within the Christian tradition alone Carnes reports, in the past two years there has, at times, beenone new evangelical church founded every Sunday in Manhattan. “By September 2009,” writes Carnes, “there were 197 evangelical churches in Manhattan Center City, the part of the city below 125th Street on the West Side and 96th Street on the East Side. A majority were founded since 1988, 40% since 2000. The number of congregates in Manhattan Center City has tripled in ten years."
