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Religions of Albany NY


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Like most cities of comparable age and size, Albany has well-established Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish communities. Albany is home to the oldest Christian congregation in Upstate New York and the Mother Churches of two Christian dioceses. As of June 2010, eight churches or religious buildings in the city were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of which�St. Peter's Episcopal Church on State Street�is a National Historic Landmark.

Established in 1642, the congregation of the First Church in Albany (Reformed), also known as the North Dutch Church (located on North Pearl Street), is the second-oldest Reformed Church in America. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Eagle Street and Madison Avenue, built 1852) is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic diocese, led by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, and the Cathedral of All Saints (South Swan Street and Elk Street, built 1888) is the cathedral of the Episcopal diocese, led by Bishop William Love. The city is home to eleven Catholic churches and six Episcopal churches.

A significant Jewish presence has existed in Albany since as early as 1658, and today includes many synagogues; there are two Conservative, a Chabad-Lubavitch, an Orthodox, and two Reform synagogues. Albany is also home to one of the few Karaite synagogues outside Israel. The city has a membership of between 12,000 and 13,000.

Exact numbers on religious denominations in Albany are not readily available. Demographic statistics in the United States depend heavily on the United States Census Bureau, which cannot ask about religious affiliation as part of its decennial census. It does compile some national and state-wide religious statistics, but these are not representative of a city the size of Albany. One report from 2000 offers religious affiliations for Albany County. According to the data, 59.2% of Albany County residents identified as Christian: 47% are Roman Catholic, 8.4% are mainline Protestants, 2.7% are
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