3 minute read
Resources: Houses of Worship
HOUSES OF WORSHIP
The Columbus Region is religiously diverse, and houses of worship dedicated to virtually every faith are well-represented throughout the area.
The three religions most represented in the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area and the 11-county Columbus Region as a whole are Christian: the Catholic Church, nondenominational and the United Methodist Church.* Among non-Christian religions, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism all have local congregations, as do newer religions with universal messages—including the Bahá’í Faith and Unitarian Universalism.
Equality Ohio, an advocacy and education group focusing on LGBTQ+ equality, runs the Ohio Faith Coalition, a nonpartisan collection of individuals and religious organizations committed to supporting nondiscrimination.
*Data from the 2020 “U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study,” which is collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies and distributed by the Association of Religion Data Archives. The ASARB census collects data for the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Union counties, as well as two other counties (Hocking and Perry) not in the Columbus Region; Knox County, part of the Columbus Region, is not included in the Columbus MSA. Visit thearda.com for more information.
Learn More
You can find more statistical information on area religious representation at thearda.com
Learn more about Equality Ohio at equalityohio.com.
KUMI WALKER | Co-Founder, Embedded
I’m originally from the East Coast and relocated to Columbus from San Francisco in 2018, when I joined Root Insurance. I was fortunate that when I first moved here, I could get involved in the community to an extent not possible when we were in San Francisco. I joined the Bexley Minority Parent Alliance, the boards of COTA and Olive, and my wife and I joined Move to Prosper. All of them have been very impactful and helped us to feel more a part of the community.
We were pleasantly surprised by the racial and socio-economic diversity here—we felt it was a more interesting place to raise our children. We love living in Bexley, because it has a smalltown feel. Our kids can go for bike rides on their own in our neighborhood, and they’re massive Buckeyes and Columbus Crew fans. The Alum Creek Trail is my favorite bike trail, and where I ride to train for Pelotonia.
I’ve enjoyed getting back to the four seasons and getting together around a fire as a family. Hocking Hills is such a beautiful area, and close to home. There are a lot of things to love about Columbus. It’s a breath of fresh air.