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.
This year-long initiative is made possible by
Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
15
January
2026
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:
Get the Passport to Understanding: Religious Freedom Walk Edition!
Get your FREE copy of the Passport to Understanding: Religious Freedom Walk edition! Thought-provoking prompts and practices will guide you on your interfaith journey. Scan the QR code for updates on programs and events, as well as a self-guided history tour 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)
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.
Participating Sites
- African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas
- Arch Street Friends Meeting
- Christ Church
- Congregation Mikveh Israel
- Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Church
- Historic St. George’s Methodist Church
- Mother Bethel AME Church
- National Constitution Center
- Old Pine Street (Third) Presbyterian Church
- Old St. Joseph’s Church
- St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church
- St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church
- St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
