The Pluralism Project, a three-year student investigation of religious diversity in the United States, kicked off its fall conference yesterday with a series of speeches.

The conference, which takes place this weekend, commemorates the second year of the project. It allows participants to share research which they completed over the summer.

This year's conference focuses on the "new religious diversity of the United States." At yesterday's session, Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies Diana L. Eck, director of the Pluralism Project, defined the venture as an exploration of "who we are as Americans."

Participants conduct research about religious communities across the United States, Eck said. The project attempts "to discern the ways in which plurality is both conspicuous and invisible in American public life."

Eck defined pluralism as "an active engagement in diversity, an active seeking of understanding, a respect of values and commitments."

The 24 researchers, both undergraduate and graduate students, will present their findings today and tomorrow. Students will give presentations on topics ranging from "Islam in Boston" and "Women Buddhists in California" to "African-American Islam in New York City."

Yesterday Eck, Chair of the Committee on the Study of Religion, spoke to a small but eager audience about religious pluralism and the influx of immigrants who practice Asian and Mid-Eastern faiths.

After Eck's speech, Wabash College Professor Raymond Williams, author of the definitive book on Asian religious diversity, gave a keynote address entitled "Charting New Religious Landscapes."

The Pluralism Project is sponsored by the Committee on the Study of Religion and funded by the Lily Endowment, Inc.