Explore Milwaukee: Religious Diversity

When European immigrants originally settled in Milwaukee, they built churches with soaring towers that you can still see throughout the city. But today, our community has more than 1,000 houses of worship of all denominations. You can find the ornate Basilica of St. Josaphat, the first African-American church in Wisconsin: St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, the oldest synagogue in Milwaukee: Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun, and the Islamic Society of Milwaukee all no more than a 20 minute drive from downtown. Whether you’re at a cultural festival or driving through our residential neighborhoods, you’ll start to notice that deeply rooted religious traditions remain a part of who we are as a city today.