Religious Freedom in Early Philadelphia

Walking Tour: 2.5 hours, private tour prices starting at $289 for up to two people, $25 per person for each additional person up to a recommended maximum of 20.

Virtual Tour: 90 minutes (60 minutes presentation and 30 minutes conversation), starting at $180 for up to 5 people, $25 per person for each additional person up to 20. 

Description: This tour of historic Philadelphia highlights the religious and cultural diversity of the city where the nation’s founding documents were written. This tour covers sites in Old City Philadelphia and will include visits to several houses of worship (Protestant, Catholic, Jewish) and entrance inside two of them (depending upon availability). The tour also includes sites where religion was practiced and proclaimed in public spaces such as Washington Square and Carpenter’s Hall by a wide array of the city’s residents, including enslaved and free people of African descent, white colonial elites, and itinerant preachers. We will uncover the interfaith roots of Philadelphia’s most cherished institutions, such as America’s first university and public hospital. The tour will explore the influence of William Penn’s religiously diverse colony on constitutional debates about religious freedom that continue to this day.

Location: The walking tour typically begins near the William Penn statue in Welcome Park at 129 Sansom Walk, Philadelphia PA 19106, but alternative starting points can be arranged.