NEW YORK, USA, June 4, 2008: Rather than making long distance pilgrimages to bow at the feet of Ganesh or Vishnu, many of the Staten Island’s Hindu residents are practicing their faith a bit closer to home. About 100 families worship at the Prem Prakash Temple on Burgher Avenue, while several hundred more attend the Staten Island Hindu Temple on Victory Boulevard. It was formally consecrated over the Memorial Day weekend.
“It fills you with pride to have a temple in your own neighborhood,” said Krishne Urs, an orthopedic surgeon who is the chairman of the Staten Island Hindu Temple. “It’s convenient and easy not to have to travel so far to worship God,” he said. But it is not only about convenience. For many new immigrants, the building of a neighborhood place of worship is a sign of a group’s arrival — taking something from home and transplanting it here.
“Religious institutions in the immigrant experience in America have been a way for immigrants to not only have a particular religious experience, but to get social support,” said Nazli Kibria, a professor of sociology at Boston University. “As communities become more established it is a way to maintain themselves over time and to affirm their ties.”
“A temple’s construction is the final activity of a whole evolution that we see in the worship and activities of new immigrants,” said Madhulika S. Khandelwal, a professor of urban studies and director of the Asian-American Center at Queens College. “The fact that different temples are coming up is because people want their own places,” said Dr. Khandelwal. “One temple is not enough.”