Exploring 250 Years of Interfaith Engagement and Understanding in Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s Legacy of Religious Liberty

As our city marks America’s 250th anniversary, Interfaith Philadelphia invites you to reflect on one of our nation’s most enduring ideals — religious liberty. From William Penn’s vision of tolerance to today’s vibrant interfaith landscape, Philadelphia has long been a place where people of many faiths live, worship, and work side by side.

Our city’s historic setting offers an extraordinary backdrop for exploring how religious freedom continues to evolve — and how it challenges us to build a just and compassionate society within our diverse democracy.

During the Semiquincentennial, join us in celebrating Philadelphia’s national role as a model for interfaith understanding through self-guided walking tours, dialogues, and community events that honor this living legacy.

Events & Programs

We invite you to join us for a year-long series of programs (in-person and live streamed) on the theme of religious liberty taking place at participating historic congregation sites each month during 2026.

All upcoming events & programs:

Religious Freedom Walk: Passport to Understanding

Get your FREE copy of our Passport to Understanding: Religious Freedom Walk edition! Thought-provoking prompts and practices will guide you on your interfaith journey. Scan the QR code for a self-guided tour and map of Philadelphia's earliest houses of worship.

Pick up the Passport to Understanding at the Philadelphia Visitors Center (1 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA)

Participating Sites

  • Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church
  • Arch Street Friends Meeting
  • Christ Church
  • St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
  • St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church
  • Old St. Joseph’s Church
  • Old Zion Lutheran Church
  • Historic St. George’s Methodist Church
  • Old Pine Street (Third) Presbyterian Church
  • Mother Bethel AME Church
  • Congregation Mikveh Israel
  • National Constitution Center
 

Take a Self-Guided Tour

Take a tour of 12 sites that connect the origin stories of many of Philadelphia's earliest houses of worship. Created in collaboration with Dialogue Institute