Welcome to the Religious Freedom Walk!There are multiple ways to experience this tour pathway. Some may wish to use it as an entirely digital experience. Others may want to travel to all or some of the sites physically. Walking to all fo the sites, starting at Glori Dei Old Swedes Church and ending at St. Augustine's Catholic Church is a distance of approximately 4 miles. Depending on walking speed and time taken at each site, it could take between two and three hours.To get an overview of the walk's geography, click on the map icon below. A full list of sites can be viewed by clicking on the bullet point list icon at the top right of your screen. To get started, click on the next button in the lower right-hand corner!
Gloria Dei Old Swedes'
Swedish Lutherans built Gloria Dei between 1698 and 1700. It is the oldest surviving brick building in Philadelphia and the oldest church in Pennsylvania. In 1845, its congregation joined the Episcopal Church. The church is one of the only sites that William Penn visited that still stands.
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
Opened in 1761 as an Anglican Church, St. Peter’s Church is now an Episcopal church. St. Peter’s was organized and built as a “chapel of ease” to accommodate the overcrowding and inconvenience caused by the distance to Christ Church for residents of the Society Hill neighborhood.
Old Pine Presbyterian
Old Pine Presbyterian Church, officially known as Third, Scots, and Mariners Presbyterian Church, was founded in 1768 and is the single pre-Revolutionary Presbyterian structure still standing in Philadelphia. Known as the “Church of the Patriots,” Old Pine and its parishioners played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War.
Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church
Mother Bethel Church was founded in 1794 by Reverend Richard Allen. The Church sits on the oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African Americans. It is also one of the nation’s first formal African American Christian congregations, as well as the mother church of the broader African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mikveh Israel Cemetery
Mikveh Israel Cemetery is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia, established in 1740, and is the oldest tangible evidence of Jewish communal life in the city.
Washington Square
Washington Square is a 6.4-acre park initially designated by the city’s founder, William Penn, as one of the five squares he envisioned designating green space in the city. The square served various purposes throughout its history, including a grazing pasture, a military training site, a burial ground for the poor and those of no religious affiliation, and a gathering space for varied religious expressions among the city’s free and enslaved persons of African descent.
St. Thomas African Episcopal
The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, originally known as the African Church, was organized in 1792 by Reverend Absalom Jones and other members of the Free African Society. The church joined the Protestant Episcopal Church and became the first African Episcopal Church in 1794.
Old St. Mary’s
Constructed in 1763, St. Mary’s is the second-oldest Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia. After its enlargement in 1810, it became the first Catholic Cathedral of the Diocese of Philadelphia. Key revolutionary figures, such as George Washington and John Adams, attended mass here to gain Catholic support for the revolutionary cause.
Old St. Joseph’s
Founded in 1733 by the Society of Jesus, Old St. Joseph’s is the oldest Catholic church in Philadelphia and the first urban Catholic church in the British colonies. The site was the only space where Catholics legally held public mass in the British colonies until 1763.
Tamanend Statue
Chief Tamanend was a Lenni-Lenape chief who led land negotiations with William Penn in the 1680s. His name means the “Affable One” in the native language. Tamanend was held in high regard by the Lenni-Lenape people, who bestowed his name upon others to preserve his memory, and by Quakers, who recognized his hospitality in welcoming them to Native lands. Before European colonization, the Lenni-Lenape had practiced their religion in what is now Pennsylvania for thousands of years.
Christ Church
Christ Church, often called “The Nation’s Church”, founded in 1695 as the first Anglican Church in Pennsylvania, played a significant role during the American Revolution, serving a congregation that included both patriots and loyalists. Its ministers, who had sworn loyalty to the British king, acted as chaplains to the Continental Congress, and after the war, William White helped establish the American Episcopal Church, becoming its first Presiding Bishop and ordaining the first Black priest, Absalom Jones.The church’s pews were occupied by prominent figures like Presidents Washington and Adams, and its burial ground holds more signers of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution than any other site.
Deism and Free Thought
Philadelphia’s religious diversity extended beyond traditional religious or denominational affiliations and categories. Deism was an Enlightenment theology based on reason that shaped the thinking of many late-eighteenth-century Americans, especially the founders. Freethought is a broader category that also emphasizes reason, but it places particular emphasis on independent thought and the questioning of religious dogma.
First Baptist Church Burial Ground
218 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA (original location of First Baptist Burial Ground)123 S 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA (current location of First Baptist Church of Philadelphia)The First Baptist Church Burial Ground was the burial site for one of the city’s oldest congregations, and those buried there represented a broad cross section of early city life. Excavation during a construction project in 2016 revealed that 500 human remains had been left behind when most had been transferred to Mt. Moriah cemetery in 1860. 218 Arch Street is now a residential condo building. If you are at the site, walk east and turn right down Little Boy's Court. The condo has a sunken courtyard, which is the location of the bulk of the human remains excavated at this site.
Arch Street Friends Meetinghouse
Built in 1804, the Arch Street Meeting House is the largest Quaker meeting house in the world. It has been central to Quaker efforts in peace, social justice, and equality, hosting figures who advanced abolition, women's rights, and social reform.Historically, the meeting house was a hub for abolitionists in the 19th century. It served as a site for anti-slavery meetings, lectures, and organizing. Lucretia Mott and other prominent abolitionists like Frederick Douglass spoke at the meeting house. It played a significant role in the Underground Railroad, assisting escaped slaves on their journey to freedom. The architectural design reflects Quaker principles of simplicity, equality, and practicality.
College of Philadelphia
The southeast corner of 4th and Arch was the location of a preaching house constructed in 1740 to accommodate revivalist speakers such as George Whitfield. Civic leaders led by Benjamin Franklin later established a new college in this building. While other colleges at the time primarily focused on training Protestant clergy, the College of Philadelphia was the first to train business and civic leaders. Its name was later changed to the University of Pennsylvania in 1791.
Congregation Mikveh Israel
Congregation Mikveh Israel, also known as the "Synagogue of the American Revolution," is the oldest Jewish congregation in Philadelphia and one of the oldest continuously operating synagogues in the United States. Its origin can be traced to Nathan Levy securing permission to establish a Jewish cemetery in 1740. Members of the congregation helped shape Jewish life in Philadelphia and made significant contributions advocating for minority religious rights during the founding of the U.S. and assisting immigrants to Philadelphia.
National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia brings together people of all ages and perspectives, across America and around the world, to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. A private, nonprofit organization, the Center serves as America’s leading platform for constitutional education and debate, fulfilling its congressional charter ‘to disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.
St. George’s United Methodist Church
St. George’s United Methodist Church is the oldest American Methodist Church still in continuous service. Opened in 1769, it is referred to as the “Cradle of American Methodism.”
St. Augustine’s Catholic Church
Founded by the Irish-born Father Mathew J. Carr in 1796, St. Augustine’s Catholic Church was the first permanent establishment of the Augustinian Order in the United States. The first building was burned to the ground during an upsurge of anti-Catholic violence in 1844, but was rebuilt three years later. Villanova University has its origins in an academy established here.
End: Religious Freedom Walk
This is the end of the Religious Freedom Walk. The Dialogue Institute welcomes donations for the expansion of this work: https://dialogueinstitute.org/donations. Donate directly on VENMO.
