Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center

Religious Diversity in Greater Boston

Gustavo Carrera, US History & Social Sciences Department Head and Teacher

As part of the class’ work on exploring modern society and the tensions between modernity and tradition, the class is visiting religious institutions in the greater Boston area. In the winter we visited the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) in Roxbury. 

In their reflections the students remarked:

I enjoyed hearing Barbara’s perspective on the subject of religion and modernity….People assume that religion is stuck in the past, but she repeatedly emphasized that the conflict between religion and modernity is in reality non-existent.

I thought the visit to the mosque was a really interesting …The architecture there was very complex, but also simple at the same time, and I like how they used features from both the Islamic world and Boston within the mosque. Going to the mosque provided a small glimpse of the Islamic world …

I thought it was interesting how we talked about the degrees to which one could practice a certain religion. You could be a devout Muslim and pray five times daily, you could be Muslim "in name only", or you could fall somewhere in between. I would guess that the "degrees" of religiousness would start to become more apparent as modernization occurs and people adopt new ideas. I enjoyed watching the prayer and learning about the Quran.

Overall, I thought the field trip was very interesting. I always thought that Christianity and Islam were completely different, but they are actually quite similar in some aspects…It was nice to see something that opened my mind to other religions and different cultures.

I thought that our trip to the mosque was very interesting … I wasn’t expecting to be able to watch the prayer so I was excited to see that. I am glad that our class when to this mosque because I would have never gone on my own, and I am always looking to try and learn new things. I learned a lot on this trip and I can’t wait to go to the other synagogue and church.