Religion
The birthplace of Billy Graham, Charlotte was and still is locally known as the "The City of Churches." Of those who practice a religion, most Charlotteans are Christians of various Protestant denominations. Throughout much of its history Presbyterian churches were the most prominent in Charlotte (Charlotte is the historic seat of Southern Presbyterianism), but the changing demographics of the city's rapidly increasing population have brought scores of new denominations and faiths to the city. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Wycliffe Bible Translators' JAARS Center, and SIM Missions Organization also make their homes in Charlotte. In total, Charlotte proper lays claim to more than 700 places of worship.
The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America is headquartered in Charlotte, and both Reformed Theological Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary have campuses there; more recently, the Religious Studies academic departments of Charlotte's local colleges and universities have also grown considerably.
Charlotte is the seat of the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. The largest Christian congregation within Charlotte is that of St. Matthew Catholic Church. The Traditional Latin Mass is offered by the Society of St. Pius X at St. Anthony Catholic Church in nearby Mount Holly.
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AME Zion) is headquartered in Charlotte.
Jewish synagogues (Temple Beth El: Reform Judaism, Temple Israel: Conservative Judaism, Ohr HaTorah: Lubavitch, Havurat Tikvah: Reconstructionist Judaism, and a Charlotte Torah Center congregation) are located in or adjacent to Shalom Park on Providence Road. In recent decades, Judaism has thrived in Charlotte and the Carolinas, with local Jews such as Leon Levine and Herman Blumenthal making huge charitable and philanthropic contributions to the city and surrounding regions.
The Charlotte area has five mosques: The Islamic Society of Greater Charlotte, Islamic Center of Charlotte, Masjid Ash-Shaheed, South Musallah, and the Islamic Society of Gastonia.
Hindus meet at the Hindu Center or the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple.
There are also several other religious institutions in the Charlotte area, including two Unitarian Universalist Churches and the Eidolon Foundation.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
