Charleston SC Religion and Spirituality

Diversity Of Faith Embraced For Buyers Of Charleston Real Estate

Towering church steeples dot the unique Charleston landscape, earning the city the moniker of “The Holy City.” The more than 60 historic churches on the Charleston peninsula stand as a testament to the attitude of locals and owners of Charleston real estate for religious freedom and tolerance that dates back to the Colonial period. Today the centuries-long tradition continues with people of many faiths calling the Charleston area home.

Like so many of Charleston's historic landmarks, the historic churches and temples seem to connect people with the past. Rev. A. Coile Estes of First (Scots) Presbyterian Church may have said it best in his address to “A Legacy of Faith: Conference on the Preservation of Sacred Places” held in Augusta, Ga. in 1991: “To worship in a historic building puts us physically in touch with the past, not only because we hear the stories of our ancestors in the faith but also because we touch the work of their hands. These tangible signs of a rich heritage give us a sense that we are part of something greater than ourselves. The historic building becomes part of the foundation of our identity as a community. What a gift this historic sense of community has to offer, not only to our congregations, but to those visitors and newcomers who are searching for community in this modern world.”

Charleston SC is home to a number of the nation’s oldest congregations, four dating back to the 1680s. St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, established in 1680, is the mother church of the Episcopal Dioceses of Charleston and South Carolina. Its present structure at 146 Church Street was built in 1838. During the Civil War, the church’s 200-foot spire was used as a sighting range for Federal artillery.

The Circular Congregation Church, originally the Independent Church of Charles Towne, was established in 1681 by some of the first of Charleston's settlers as the first “dissenting” church in South Carolina. Dissenters arose from the model of free practice of faith established by Lord Ashley Cooper, the Proprietor of Carolina. This model paved the way for the concept of separation of Church and State.

Another dissenting Charleston church established in 1681 was the French Huguenot Church. Constructed in 1845, the present building was the first Charleston church in the Gothic revival style, a decided departure from the city’s earlier architecture. The Charleston church’s famous Tracker organ, restored in 1967, is one of Charleston’s musical treasurers. It was made by Henry Erben, a New York organ maker, and is one of the last of its kind in America.

The First Baptist Church was organized in 1686. The oldest Baptist church in the South, it serves as the mother church of Southern Baptists. The present building was erected in 1822 in the Greek revival style designed by Robert Mills, the first American-born professional architect.

Of special interest is Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, the acknowledged birthplace of Reform Judaism in the United States. Beth Elohim, a registered National Historic Landmark, is regarded as an important example of the Greek revival style in American. It is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the United States and the oldest surviving Reform synagogue in the world.  //