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ANTH 3346

A Survey of Non-Western Religious Organizations

in the Dallas, Texas, Region

Robert V. Kemper

(December 1996)

Introduction

Characterized by many observers as the "buckle of the Bible Belt," Dallas is certainly blessed with a great many religious organizations -- ranging from assemblies and churches to mosques and shrines to synagogues and temples. In the two counties (Dallas and Tarrant) composing most of the D/FW metropolitan area, more than 5,000 religious organization are available for practitioners of diverse faiths. Within this panoply of predominantly Western religious expression -- represented in the Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages by 128 different denominational and sub-denominational categories under the rubrics "Church Organizations," "Churches," "Mosques, " "Synagogues," and "Religious Organizations," a number of non-Western religious groups also may be found (e.g., Baha’i Faith, Buddhist, Hindu, Islam, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and Sikh).

The presence of diverse non-Western religious organizations is a relatively recent feature of the metroplex and reflects the substantial in-migration of ethnic and foreign populations into the Dallas area since the 1970s. As these populations have settled permanently in the area, their need for places in which to practice their religious traditions has been manifest. Although some migrant groups participate in mainstream US-based denominations (e.g., Korean Presbyterians, Hispanic Catholics, Chinese Baptists, and Native American Methodists), many of the in-migrants to the Dallas area prefer to follow the religions of their homelands. Thus, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism have accompanied in-migrants from Asia, while Islam has come from the Middle East and Africa into the Dallas area.

The opportunity for inter-denominational dialogue is alive and well in the Dallas area as we move into the 21st century. The diversity of peoples and cultures enriches us all and this is as true in theological matters as in educational affairs. The "decline" of mainline Protestant denominations in recent years is, to a significant degree, being offset by the growth of non-Western religious congregations in the Dallas area. On special Holy Days, the faithful may attend in the thousands to honor a Hindu god or the prophet Mohammed’s ascension to heaven. Or, a handful of followers of Zoroastrianism may assemble to recognize the birthday of Zarathustra, this religion’s founder.

Just as Jews went through a major transformation in the 19th century in the United States -- i.e., from being a "nation" to being a "religious community" -- so other, more recent arrivals to this country currently face similar pressures to integrate themselves into mainline American culture. It is likely that their traditional religious beliefs will be the least changeable element of their cultural baggage from their diverse homelands. Non-Western mosques, temples, shrines, etc. are now a permanent feature of the American urban landscape. The Dallas area is not exempt from this religious reconfiguration, even though the presence of these non-Western organizations is less visible in the variegated tide of Euro-American churches in the metroplex.

Survey Procedures

The present survey is intended as a brief introduction to the non-Western religious organizations in the Dallas area. Research was carried out in December 1996 through three principal procedures: (1) examining the current edition of the Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages (December 1996 edition), with special attention to the categories for "Church" and "Religious Organizations"; (2) searching the Select Phone CD-ROM (published by ProCD; 1997, edition 1) according to the SIC Code for "Religious Organizations;" and (3) browsing the weekly six-page "Religion" section of the Dallas Morning News for the 104 issues from its inception in December 3, 1994 to the most recent issue in November 30, 1996. Special thanks goes to Mr. Marcus Stewart and to Mr. Paul Buckley of the staff of the DMN for sharing with me their time, space, and expert knowledge during my two days at their office.

I also made contacts with the Dallas Independent School District (which will soon issue a calendar of non-western religious holidays celebrated by the diverse ethnic groups enrolled in the public schools; the person in charge is Ms. Rosemary Morice, Community Relations Dept., phone 214-989-8328), the Greater Dallas Community of Churches (contact: Rev. Holsey Hickman, in charge of the Christian-Muslim dialogue committee; phone 214-824-8680), and the Thanksgiving Square Foundation (phone 214-969-1977; which has a multi-faith committee to help with its fund-raising and celebratory activities).

The Thanksgiving Square Foundation has a Chapel Committee with 32 members, of whom six are from non-Western religious traditions -- i.e., Ms. D’Andrea Abdullah (Muslim), Mr. Yudithir Das (ISKCON Dallas), Mr. Aboobaker Ebrahim (Muslim), Dr. Harbans Lal (Sikh), Mr. Kambriz Rafraf (Baha’i), and Mr. Mohammed Sulaman( Muslim). In addition, the Foundation sent me another list with 26 additional names (some of whom overlap with the Chapel Committee), of whom the following are affiliated with non-Western religious organizations: Ms. Marilyn Herrick, Hazel Pavic, and Patricia Pekari (Baha’i), Ms. Shandra Kinnison (Brahma Kumari), Mr. Giani Iqbal Singh (Sikh), Mr. Phillip Ramsroop (Hindu Temple of Irving), Mr. Dilip Sukhu (Hindu Temple of Garland), Ms. Radha Siva (ISKCON Dallas), and Mrs. Charlotte Kharas (Zoroastrian). Taken together, the two lists cover seven different religious traditions and involve a total of 15 representatives.

In addition, I have spoken with an organization known as "American Church List" (based in Arlington; phone, 817-261-6233), a for-profit company which provides basic information on more than 330,000 churches nationwide. Their representative agreed to run a small search (without charge) in their large database to give me a "count" of the "Miscellaneous" religious groups in the Dallas area (750XX-753XX and 760XX-763XX ZIP codes). The results give the following distribution: Baha’i Faith (4), Buddhist Temples, Zen (3), Hindu Temples (1), Muslim/Mohammed/Islam (2), Nichiren Shoshu Temple (1), and Sikh Society (2) -- for a total of six different non-Western religious traditions with 13 congregations. This list is certainly not complete, based on my surveys of other data sources such as the Yellow Pages and the Religion section of the Dallas Morning News..

Non-Western Religious Organizations in the Dallas Area

A survey of the available sources yields information (ranging from extensive to very limited) on eleven different religious traditions, which included a total of 39 specific congregations or groups. The Buddhists are the best represented (12), followed by Islam (10), the Baha’i Faith (5), and Hindus and Sikhs (both with 3). The other religious traditions -- Baba, ISKCON, Jain, Native Americans, Paganism (Wicca), and Zoroastrians -- are represented by a single group. In addition, I identified a total of four multi-denominational groups involved in dialogue across religious traditions.

The following list, arranged by religious tradition, represents a reasonably complete coverage of the non-Western religious groups in the Dallas area as of December 1996 (see end of list for UPDATE):

Baba

Sri Sathya Sai Bab Center of Dallas

affiliated with Community Christian Church

1300 Holly Drive

Richardson, TX

972-245-9017 or 972-713-6772

[a group that follows teachings of the Indian swami, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba]

[followers believe in the unity of all religions and encourage people to practice the religion with which they are most comfortable. Center members are service oriented.]

Baha’i Faith

The Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Dallas, Inc.

Dallas Baha’i Faith Center

4235 West Northwest Highway

Dallas, TX

214-352-0318

[chairman: Mr. Kambriz "Kevin" Rafraf]

[approx. 300 members]

Baha’i Community of Plano

P.O. Box 260031

Plano, TX

972-867-2076

Baha’i Faith

3224 Highway 67

972-681-7773

Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Mesquite

Baha’i Center of Mesquite

3224 E. Interstate 30

Seville Plaza Suite 200

Garland Baha’i Center

Bahai’s of Garland

2714 W. Kingsley, Suite G3

[contact Donna Balfour, 972-494-1224]

Buddhist

Buddhist Center of Dallas

8484 Stults Road

Dallas, TX 75243

214-340-6187

[profile in "Place of Worship" in DMN, 5/13/95, p. 2G]

Dallas Buddhist Association

515 Arapaho Road

Richardson, TX

972-234-8342

Karma Thegsum Choling Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center

312 S. Winnetka Avenue

Dallas, TX 75208

214-948-3348

[director: Mr. Bruce Roe]

[profile in "Place to Worship" in DMN, 11/16/96, p. 2G]

Vajradakini Buddhist Center

4915 Junius Street

Dallas, TX

214-823-6385

Vajradakini Buddhist Center

2509 Little Creek

Richardson, TX 75080

972-235-4654

[profile in "Place of Worship", DMN, 3/11/95, p. 2G]

International Buddhist Progress Society

Buddha’s Light Temple

Richardson, TX

Director: Venerable Man-Ya Singh

[a branch of Fo Kuang Shan Buddhism] -- see article in DMN, 1/14/95, pp. 1G and 6G

Soka Gakkai International -- USA

2733 Oak Lawn Avenue

Dallas, TX

214-559-4115

Wat Lao Siribuddhavas, Inc.

2852 Blackland Road

972-771-3350

Wat Buddharatanaram Meditation Center of Keller

Keller Haslet Road and Denton Highway

817-430-1365

Maria Kannon Zen Center of Grace United Methodist Church

4105 Junius Street

Dallas, TX

214-361-1066 or

214-824-2533

[Director: Ruben Habito] -- see article in DMN, 12/17/94, pp. 1G and 5G

Lien Hoa Buddhist Monastery and Temple

2014 Rose St.

Irving, TX

972-445-1646

[Venerable Dr. Khantidhammo Maha Thero;

Sucarita Metta, temple chaplain]

[Mr. Jon Maslow, volunteer chaplain for English-speaking members]

The Dzogchen Path of Dallas

[Tibetan Dzogchen meditation]

contact Dr. Allan D. Vreeland, 265-7930

Hindu

Dallas/Fort Worth Hindu Temple Society

1605 N. Britain Road

Irving, TX

972-445-3111

BSS Satsang Bhawan

11321 Webb Chapel Road

Dallas, TX 75229

972-243-8669

D/FW Gujarati Samaj, Inc.

972-841-6532 or 972-279-6486

[director: Dr. Nalini Naik, 375-1351]

[established in 1991 as a non-profit organization to celebrate the culture of the Gujarat district of India]

ISKCON

International Society for Krishna Consciousness

5430 Gurley

Dallas, TX 75223

214-827-6330 (office) and 214-821-1048 (restaurant)

Dallas Hare Krishna Temple; 827-6333

[profile in "Place of Worship" in DMN, 4/29/95, p. 2G]

Islam

Islamic Association of North Texas

Dallas Central Mosque

840 Abrams Rd.

Dallas, TX 75081

972-231-5698

[profile as a "Place of Worship" in DMN, 12/17/94, p. 2G]

Islamic Society of Denton

1105 Greenlee St.

Denton, TX 76201

817-484-1871

[profile in "Place of Worship" in DMN, 11/30/96, p. 2G]

Allah’s House of Islam

4752 Nome Street

Dallas, TX

214-372-3741

Dallas Masjid of al-Islam

2604 S. Harwood St.

Dallas, TX

214-421-3839

[leader: Iman Yahya Abdullah] -- see article in DMN, 1/21/95, p. 4G

M. T. O. Shahmghsoudi

4203 Beltway Dr.

Addison, TX

972-490-0255

Muslim Organization of Mothers

602 N. Beckley Road

Dallas, TX

972-223-4666

Brighter Horizons Private School

Richardson, TX

[private Muslim school; about 150 students, ages 6 months to 5th grade]

Asian Women Association of North Texas

Islamic Directions and Enhancement Association

IDEA Center

13440 Floyd Road

Richardson, TX

972-241-8484

Metroplex Organization of Muslims in North Texas

Islamic Center

1019 N. Perry Road

Irving, TX

Jain

North Texas Jain Society

Richardson, TX

[President, Mr. Pradeep Shah; 972-997-6477 work; 972-867-6255 home]

[at least 200 members of this Temple]

Native American Religions

contact: Dallas Inter-Tribal Center, Inc.

209 E. Jefferson Blvd.

Dallas, TX 75203-2690

214-941-1050 or 214-263-0313

Paganism (Wicca)

[see article on "Pagan’s Progress: revival of nature religions attracts diverse following," in DMN, 5/11/96 about Dallas area practitioners]

Sikh

Gurdwara Singh Sabha of North Texas

11501 Old Elam Road

Balch Springs, TX

972-557-1723

Sikh Temple of North Texas

506 Gatewood Road

Garland, TX

972-240-5348

[groundbreaking for new building on 11/24/96]

Sikh Study Circle

834 N. Nursery Road

Irving, Texas 75061

(972) 579-9646

[profile in "Place to Worship" in DMN, 2/24/96, p. 2G]

Zoroastrians

Zoroastrian Association of North Texas

[president, Anahita Sidwha; 462-1553 home; 860-4750 work or -4653 direct at work]

Multi-Denominational Groups

Thanksgiving Square Foundation

Multifaith Exploration and Exchange Program/Committee

214-969-1977

[includes some 70 participants from 10 major religious traditions in Dallas area] -- see article DMN, 7/22/95, p. 4G]

International Cultures United, Inc.

[non-profit that promotes cooperation and understanding among the international communities in the D/FW metroplex]

[Mr. Behrooz Afkhami; 519-4101 or 539-8226]

Dallas Independent School District

Religious Community Task Force

contact: Ms. Rosemary Morice

Community Relations Dept., phone 214-989-8328

The Greater Dallas Community of Churches

Christian-Muslim dialogue committee

contact: Rev. Holsey Hickman,

phone 214-824-8680

UPDATE (November 2002)

For information on the diversity of international and immigrant/ethnic groups in the Dallas region, see the following comprehensive Website:

http://www.dallasinternational.com