“Thriving” is the word one scholar used to describe the religious diversity of Cleveland. Recent decades have brought immigrants willing to invest “their money in temples, churches, cathedrals, synagogues,” challenging any notion of Northeastern Ohio as “beige and rusting.” Although Cleveland’s population has decreased—the city is half the size it was in 1920 when it ranked it fifth largest in the nation—the religious diversity of the Rock and Roll Capital of the World has increased significantly.
New immigration has caused exponential growth among the city’s Muslim population...
Dr. David Odell-Scott and Dr. Surinder Bhardwaj became Pluralism Project affiliates in 1999. Together, Drs. Odell-Scott and Bhardwaj engaged their students in a study of immigrant religious communities in northern Ohio. Dr. David Odell-Scott is an associate dean at Kent State University and directs the College of Arts and Science's Center for Comparative and Integrated Programs. Dr. Surinder Bhardwaj is professor emeritus in the geography department at Kent State University. Upon Dr. Bhardwaj's retirement, Dr. Odell-Scott was joined in 2013 by Rev. Lauren M. Odell-Scott in the continuation of this project.
