Zoroastrianism in the United States

This article focuses on Zoroastrianism in the United States.

History

Historical records indicate that the Zoroastrian presence in America dates back to the 1860s, during California's Gold Rush, one of the prospectors was a Zoroastrian named Cawasji Zaveri; in 1865, New York’s Evening Post published a letter protesting slavery from a Zoroastrian named Dosabhai Faramji Cama. Other early Zoroastrians include Pestonji Framji Daver, a Parsi who came to San Francisco in 1892, and the first recorded Irani Zoroastrian,Rostam Kermani, who settled in the United States in 1926. It is believed that the first North American Zoroastrian Association was formed in 1929, when a group of seven Zoroastrians in the New York area gathered in one Phiroze Saklatwala’s living room on November 10, 1929.

Overview

The oldest fire temple in the United States was one purchased by Arbab Rustam Guiv in New Rochelle. The most notable fire temple in the United States is the Dar-e-Mehr temple located in Pomona, New York. It was purchased in 2001 and subsequently purpose-built with Zoroastrian tenets and then inaugurated in April 2016.[1]

Demographics

In 2006, The United States had the world's third-largest Zoroastrian population at six thousand adherents.[2] Based on mailing addresses rather than congregations, there are two U.S. counties where Zoroastrians constitute the second-largest religion after Christianity. According to a 2010 census by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, there are also two U.S. counties where Zoroastrians constitute the joint-second-largest religion along with Baha'i Faith, by number of adherents.[3] The Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) is based in the United States and also quarterly publishes the Fezana Journal.[4] It claimed that the American Zoroastrian community grew by 33.5% between 2004 and 2012 to 15,000 adherents,[5] while the overall North American community grew by 24.4% to 20,847 adherents.[6]

References

1. "Zoroastrian temple erected in New York". USAToday.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
2. Eduljee, K. E. "Zoroastrian Demographics & Group Names". www.HeritageInstitute.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
3. Wilson, Reid (June 4, 2014). "The second-largest religion in each state". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
4. Hinnells, John R. "The modern Zoroastrian diaspora." Migration: the Asian experience. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1994. 56-82
5. (NIAC)., Washington insights for the Iranian-American community from the National Iranian American Council. "An Old Faith in the New World - Zoroastrianism in the United States - NIAC inSight". www.NIACInsight.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
6. Wecker, Menachem (March 27, 2016). "What It's Like to Have to Date Someone of Your Religion to Save It From Extinction". TheAtlantic.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.