page_title: Albany, New York
section_title: Religious life
hierarchical_section_title: Albany, New York / Religious life
caption_attribution_description: English: First Church in Albany on North Pearl Street in Albany, New York United States. Built in the period of 1797-1799, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
context_page_description: Albany is the capital of the U.S. state of New York and the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is located on the west bank of the Hudson River approximately 10 miles south of its confluence with the Mohawk River and approximately 135 miles north of New York City.
  Albany is known for its rich history, commerce, culture, architecture, and institutions of higher education. Albany constitutes the economic and cultural core of the Capital District of New York State, which comprises the Albany–Schenectady–Troy, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, including the nearby cities and suburbs of Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs. With a 2013 Census-estimated population of 1.1 million the Capital District is the third-most populous metropolitan region in the state. As of the 2010 census, the population of Albany was 97,856.
  The area that later became Albany was settled by Dutch colonists who, in 1614, built Fort Nassau for fur trading and, in 1624, built Fort Orange. In 1664, the English took over the Dutch settlements, renaming the city as Albany, in honor of the then Duke of Albany, the future James II of England and James VII of Scotland.
context_section_description: Like most cities of comparable age and size, Albany has well-established Orthodox Christian, Roman 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 (lon 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 Edward Scharfenberger, 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 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 statewide 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 Evangelical Protestants, and 1.1% are Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Christians. Residents who practice Judaism make up 4.2% of the population and Muslims represent 0.2%. Note that these values are county-wide; city values could be significantly different.
caption: The First Church in Albany (Reformed) is the oldest congregation in Upstate New York.[267]
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