Broadway, Manhattan's longest street, traverses the entire length of Manhattan and its varied religious sites reflect the character, culture and history of the diverse people and neighborhoods all smushed together inside the world's greatest city.

From Inwood at Spuyten Duyvil Creek and the Bronx, the famous street heads south through Washington Heights and Harlem before pivoting east at the tip of Central Park, cutting through Times Square (briefly becoming the Great White Way) and terminating near Wall Street and the Staten Island Ferry.

I recently walked South along Broadway to document the religious sites as a way to represent neighborhood change and demographics. Some sites, like the imposing Downtown churches, reflect the city's colonial history, while others, like the storefront iglesias and botanicas, represent the city's Spanish-speaking residents. The African Burial Ground National Monument honors the men, women and children subjugated and oppressed even as they built this new society. Even the Atheist stencial in SoHo captures some smart-ass New York rebellious.

There are several religious sites – including mosques, temples and churches – on side streets right off Broadway. I chose to focus on the 28 sites accessible from Broadway.

Check out photos of all 28 Broadway religious sites below