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Class visit to Abyssinian Baptist Church.



At the Hunter Street Baptist Church it's okay if you don't know all the words. Two large T.V. screens hanging on either side of the stage display the lyrics to the songs and hymns the choir sings. An outline of the scripture passages used in the pastor's sermon are likewise handed out so all can follow along.
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Birmingham is a tough former steel town that looms over visitors. Every building seems self-conscious about the past, with a tribute to Justice carved over its front door and too many potted palms in the lobby. The Southern sun is bright, a merry little trolley circles downtown every few minutes to whisk tourists into the city's shopping districts, but the streets feel empty on this warm spring weekend.
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As director of the Rosa Parks Library and Museum in Montgomery, Georgette Norman is immersed in the history of desegregation. Pictures of Parks, a woman whose quiet determination and demand for justice changed the lives of blacks, stare at her. For Norman, who was born and raised in Montgomery, the pictures and museum displays also reflect her own journey through the civil rights movement.
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Thursday was a day of religious diversity in Alabama. We encountered Civil Rights history, Muslim political action, Hindu faith, and a conservative Christian agenda.
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Recognized as the second poorest county in the state and within the top 100 in the nation, Perry County's 11,861 people have become aware of Sowing Seeds of Hope, an ecumenical non-profit faith-based organization making inroads in the area. Seeds of Hope repairs homes, restores churches and provides healthcare and education for many through a full-time staff of two and more than 600 local and statewide volunteers.
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Dr. King never intended to become leader of a nationwide movement, never intended to incur the titles of prophet, hero or martyr that were given him after his death on April 4, 1968. The legacy of his work -- and his words -- speak otherwise here.
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Greg Fowler looks like just another guy cleaning a pool. The pool he cleans, though, gets hundreds of visitors a day and none of them come to swim.
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To get to the Penn Center on St. Helena Island from Charleston, take route 17 south towards the ocean. It's an easy trip, about one hour and 45 minutes on smooth highways through small towns, made easier since the 1960s by low bridges that now span the marshes and waterways separating the mainland from the island.
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For the first time since Friday morning at 8:00 a.m., the Covering Religion class came together as a whole. Dinner at Magnolia's restaurant in the French Quarter of Charleston united 16 members and religion writers and historians from Charleston.
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The service started at 9:00 a.m., but men and women filed in as late as 9:45 a.m., shaking hands with other members and talking during the chanting of prayers. For some members of the Covering Religion class, this freedom of movement and conversation within the context of a religious service was surprising.
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Columbia journalism students in the Covering Religion class were scheduled to make their first stop at the Islamic Center of Charleston for Friday afternoon prayers. But no Columbia students were present. Thanks to a cancelled flight, students were forced to take four separate planes to Charleston. Five were stuck in Atlanta overnight and did not arrive in "The Holy City" until Saturday.
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AUDIO
Step inside and listen to the revival that took place in a small church in Perry County, Ala. Reported by Chris Karmiol.

VIDEO
Cross St. Helena and enter Gullah/Geechee territory, the land occupied by descendents of the West African slaves who live on the Sea Islands from North Carolina to Florida. Reported by Gloria Rodríguez.



The exterior of a praise house still in use on St. Helena Island. Praise houses were centers of meeting and worship for plantation slaves. Read more about it and the Gullah culture.
Photo: Chris Karmiol



2003: Religion Revisited

Ten Days in Moscow and Kazan in 2003.

2002: Finding Faith

Covering religion in Russia and Ukraine in 2002.

2001: Covering the Religions of Israel

Exploring the religions of Israel in abroad and in New York.




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Made possible in part by a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation