Diana Eck

Primary work in the Comparative Study of Religion with a specialty in India. My India work deals with popular religion and pilgrimage. The religious diversity of India also provides a site for thinking about multi-religious societies. In 1965 with the Immigration and Nationalities Act, the door for immigration from Asia was open for the first time and many  of the communities I had come to know in decades of work in India now came to the US.  In 1992, I launched The Pluralism Project to study and interpret the changing religious landscape of the U.S.  As Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, and Zoroastrian communities settled in various parts of the U.S. there were many local challenges as they put down roots and eventually began to participate in local, regional, and national affairs. This "America" part of my work has gradually become dominant as the question of how it is "we the people" handle diversity becomes ever more challenging. Most recently, our "case study" initiative has pioneered in developing case-studies for teaching in religious studies and American studies classrooms.