In observance of national Interfaith Awareness Week Dec. 7–13, USC will host a public forum Dec. 9, on the changing religious landscape of South Carolina.

The forum, which is free, will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Gambrell Hall auditorium. It is organized by USC's Department of Religious Studies.

Carl Evans, department chair, says the timing is ripe for hosting the forum, which is titled, "The Changing Religious Landscape in South Carolina: New Realities and Challenges."

"The highly publicized issues surrounding the anticipated arrival of the Somali Bantus in Columbia is only the tip of the iceberg," said Evans. "There are many other groups who have arrived in South Carolina in recent years, dramatically changing the religious and cultural landscape of the state."

Evans, who has conducted recent research on the Palmetto State's growing religious diversity, said the following are among the new realities:

• The Sikh Gurdwara near Columbia serves 100 Sikh families, mostly immigrants from the Punjab region of
  India.
  
• Five different groups practice different varieties of Buddhism in Columbia.
  
• The Islamic Center of Charleston has members who come from 22 different countries.
  
• A Khmer Buddhist temple in rural Spartanburg County had a celebration on a recent Sunday with 300 Upstate Buddhists in attendance;
  
• And, a street in lower Greenville county—Kurdistan Way—is home to nine Kurd families who are refugees from Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
  
• Also, record numbers of Hispanics/Latinos have moved into many South Carolina communities. Walhalla's population is more than 50 percent Hispanic, and up to 90 percent of the newcomers are "undocumented."
  

"These are only some of the new realities. The challenges are enormous," said Evans, who directs Partners in Dialogue, an interfaith outreach project by USC's department of religious studies and a sponsor of the forum.

Recognizing the importance of this South Carolina trend, both Gov. Mark Sanford and Columbia Mayor Bob Coble will issue proclamations declaring the week of Dec. 7-13 Interfaith Awareness Week, which is similarly observed in cities and states across the country.

For more information on the public forum and USC's observance of Interfaith Awareness Week, call Evans or Hal French, religious studies, at 7-4100.

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