South Asian immigrants transformed scattered religious communities into enduring American institutions by establishing houses of worship across the United States. The first purpose-built Hindu temple opened in San Francisco in 1905, followed by the Gurdwara Sahib of Stockton in 1912, the first Sikh gurdwara in the Western Hemisphere. After 1965, rapid immigration spurred the founding of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, the Jain Center of America, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, and the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York. Together, these institutions rooted South Asia’s diverse faith traditions permanently within the American religious landscape.
