7 most interesting holy sites in Indiana

Indiana isn’t always synonymous with religious diversity, but look carefully around the state and it’s not hard to see some significant shrines and holy places from an array of faith groups and traditions.

They range from the earthwork mounds at Mounds State Park — believed to have been used for religious gatherings as far back as 160 B.C. — to a Hindu Temple in Indianapolis completed within the past year. There are shrines to Catholic saints and Buddhist lamas. And there’s a utopian village built early in the 19th century.

All of them are open to visitors. With that in mind, here’s a look at some of Indiana’s most interesting holy sites.

Mosque at the Islamic Society of North America, Plainfield

American mosques, by design, are purposely free of ornamentation and decoration that could distract the faithful from focus on their prayers or consideration of the message being delivered by the imams.

And that is certainly true of the Islamic Society’s mosque in Plainfield, where the walls are white, the hall is an open carpet and most of the windows are small slits. The closest it gets to ornate is the chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

But there are interesting aspects to the mosque, designed by Ghulam Haider, that make for a good marriage of an Islamic holy site with its surrounding Indiana corn country.

From the outside, the brick structure isn’t that distinctive from other schools or institutions around Central Indiana, said Habibe Ali, the society's chief operations officer. But under that roof are two large interior domes and a circular window with geometric designs seemingly inspired by Islamic art.

The Islamic Society mosque is one of the largest mosques in Indiana, drawing several hundred Muslims for Friday prayers and even larger crowds on religious holidays.

For information, call (317) 839-8157 or visit www.isna.net.

Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

Born in France, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin (also known as Saint Theodora) was an Indiana pioneer, settling in the wilderness, founding a motherhouse for her Sisters of Providence and establishing many of the first schools in Indiana.

Her life story — from her treacherous sea voyage to her arrival in the wilderness in 1840 to the miracles that led to her canonization in 2006 — is told at her shrine, with tours available seven days a week.

In addition to the shrine, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, on the motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of Providence grounds, is a beautiful example of an Italian Renaissance Revival church. The 1,220 acres of grounds also includes an alpaca farm and the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice.

For information, call (812) 535-2945 or visit www.spsmw.org.

Mounds State Park, Anderson

The oldest religious site in Indiana, and among the oldest in North America, is a series of 10 earthwork mounds that were used for religious ceremonies sometime around 160 B.C.

The mounds were built by a group of prehistoric Indians known as the Adena-Hopewell people. The mounds were used as viewpoints for astronomical alignments, according to the park website.

The mounds, which vary in shape from circles and rectangles to peanuts, share characteristics, including a high outer embankment surrounding a shallow ditch. The ditch has a flat central platform that appears to have been the setting for rituals.

For information, call (765) 642-6627 or visit www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2977.htm.

New Harmony Settlement, New Harmony

For a decade early in the 19th century, something approaching a utopian society existed in a communal settlement along the Wabash River in southwestern Indiana.

The Harmonie Society, founded in 1814 by 800 German Pietists, was a group that combined Christian fundamentalism with communal living. The basic idea was that everyone was equal and everyone had a right to an education, said MeLissa Williams, who coordinates visits to the site.

They platted the town of New Harmony and over the course of a decade built more than 180 structures, including schools, shops and dormitories, several of which still stand and are used today. It was a place that became known for its self-sufficiency and the quality of its goods.

The utopia wouldn’t last. New Harmony founder George Rapp sold the community to a Scottish entrepreneur. And within two years, the community began to disintegrate amid personal conflicts.

What lives on is a historic site where visitors can see the art, sculpture and architecture of New Harmony, through tours and re-enactors. You can walk re-creations of the Harmonist Labyrinth and even taste beer made from the same recipe used by the Harmonists.

For information, call (812) 270-2001 or visitnewharmony.com.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame

Notre Dame is known for its legendary football stadium, golden dome and Touchdown Jesus, but the spiritual heart of the nation’s most prominent Catholic university is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

The neo-Gothic church is breathtaking for the beauty of its architecture and artwork. It has more than 40 stained-glass windows. The artwork on its ceiling — most prominently featuring angels on a blue sky — and portraits of the Stations of the Cross were painted by Vatican artist Luigi Gregori, who came to head the university’s art department at the recommendation of a pope.

The church was built in the 1870s, and the Vatican deemed it a minor basilica, said university sacristan John Zack, in part because of its historic carillon bells, which are the oldest in the United States. The bells enchant the campus daily with music, including Zack’s favorite, “Notre Dame, Our Mother,” which is more commonly known as the Notre Dame alma mater.

The basilica hosts daily Masses and important religious events, and it's the spiritual home of the Holy Cross Brothers, who founded the university. The basilica will be closed for renovations through Jan. 16, but normal daily tours will resume afterward. They’re offered from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m.

For information, visit www.bsh.nd.edu.

Hindu Temple of Central Indiana, Indianapolis

As distinctive structures in Indianapolis go, few rival the Hindu Temple of Central Indiana that has arisen in the past decade on the city’s Far Eastside.

The temple features four Gopurams — Indian-style towers — and figures of deities and of children molded into the structure.

Although Hindu temples in India, where Hinduism originated, typically represent one architectural style and religious flavor from a particular region of India, this temple represents several.

That's because the Hindu community from Central Indiana has roots from across India, something that needed to be reflected in the temple's architecture and iconography, said Vasanthi Vasudevan, a spokeswoman for the temple. “The temple is very unique,” she said. “You won’t see a Hindu temple of this type anywhere else.”

The sculptures built into the outside of the temple were made by artisans from India who moved to Indianapolis for two years while creating them. Inside the temple, meanwhile, are 25 deities that were carved and chiseled in India. The temple now hosts a variety of Hindu religious and cultural events, many of which are open to the public.

For information, visit www.htci.org.

Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, Bloomington

Enter the front gate, follow the road that curves through a portion of the 108 acres of rolling countryside, and quickly you can wonder whether you’ve entered another country.

The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center is in some ways a cultural lifeboat and in others a meditative retreat. Founded in 1979 by Tibetan refugee Thubten Jigme Norbu, the center attempts to preserve the cultures that have come under intense pressure — and oppression — from China since the 1950s.

Norbu, who died in 2008, built two Tibetan stupas and began work on a temple that was finished in 2003. There’s also a cultural center that houses Tibetan butter sculptures and Buddhist paintings. Norbu was succeeded as director of the center by another Tibetan exile, Arjia Rinpoche.

The center is a peaceful place for a walk and for meditation, but its significance in preserving Tibetan culture is highlighted by the fact that five times it has received visits from the Dalai Lama.

For information, visit www.tmbcc.org.

Call Star reporter Robert King at (317) 444-6089. Follow him on Twitter: @RbtKing.