Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

has been integral to the growth and development of the city since its founding in 1854. In addition to providing Christian religious and social leadership, individually and collectively the city's churches have also led a variety of political campaigns throughout the city's history.

History

The first sermon in Omaha was preached in 1854 by Peter Cooper, an English

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

who operated a quarry in the city. Almost all of the sixteen attendees lived in neighboring

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

. Within six months the city had a regular Methodist circuit rider who conducted services at the territorial capitol. The

Omaha Claim Club The Omaha Claim Club, also called the Omaha Township Claim Association(1954 ''Omaha's First Century''. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 7/14/07. and the Omaha Land Company, was organized in 1854 for the purpose of "encouraging the building of a city"Mo ...

donated two lots for the congregation to build a church, and soon after

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

s, Congregationalists,

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

s and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s followed. Catholics dedicated St. Philomena's Cathedral in 1856, and the entire Creighton family, including

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, his wife

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, and his brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

greatly supported the Catholic Church. Pioneer banker Augustus Kountze called for and financially supported the founding of the first Lutheran church west of the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

, which was then called Immanuel Lutheran Church and was located downtown. It was renamed after Kountze's father in the 1880s. Episcopalians counted a great deal of political leaders in their ranks through the 1900s. St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church, organized in 1867, was the first church for

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

in Nebraska. Edward and Lizzie Robinson founded the first

Church of God in Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Christian perfection#Holiness Pentecostalism, Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and a large Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi ...

congregation in Nebraska in

North Omaha North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ...

in 1916. The distinguished

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

John Louis Nuelsen was assigned to the Omaha Episcopal Area from 1908 through 1912. The Notre Dame Academy and Convent located in the

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

neighborhood was closely affiliated with the Czech community of Omaha from its founding in the 1920s through its closure in the 1970s. In 1936 a federally funded survey on religion found that

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s were the largest religious body in the city, with

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

s the largest denomination. Roman Catholics from throughout Europe had formed churches throughout South Omaha, including

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n, Polish,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Czech congregations. In 1953, Hanscom Park United Methodist Church gained national attention when the pastor formed a psychiatric support group for Methodist ministers. St. Cecilia Cathedral, the cathedral church of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Omaha () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern Nebraska in the United States. Archbishop Michael George McGovern was installed on May 7, 2025. As of 2017, th ...

, is notable for the Spanish Renaissance Revival style design employed during the 54 years it took to build it in the city's Gold Coast Historic District. A 1966 documentary about a church in Omaha called '' A Time for Burning'' was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

. The film was an inductee of the 2005

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

list.

Architecture

Several churches in Omaha feature notable architecture. Eleven of the city's churches have been designed as

Omaha Landmarks This article covers Omaha landmarks designated by the City of Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. In addition, it includes structures or buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and those few designated as Natio ...

or listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church has been noted as, "architecturally significant to Omaha as a fine example of the Neo-Classical Revival Style of architecture." Holy Family Catholic Church is the oldest existing Catholic Church in Omaha. Zion Baptist Church, an early

Black church The Black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are led by, African Americans, ...

in the city's Near North Side neighborhood, is housed in a building that was designed by noted master architect Clarence W. Wigington.

Present

Churches in Omaha have continued to influence the city in a variety of ways. In the 1960s and 70s Holy Family Catholic Church was regarded as a center of progressive

activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

. David Rice, of the notorious Rice/Poindexter Case, was a guitar player at the church in the early 1970s. Former United Methodist minister and district superintendent Lowen Kruse as a Nebraska state senator since 2001. In 2007 a group of socially conservative churches protested a proposed speech by author Anne Lamott at the Jesuit Catholic

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

. This political pressure caused the university to cancel the popular Presbyterian author's appearance. A coalition of progressive Protestant churches re-invited Lamott to the city and she delivered her talk at the Holland Performing Arts Center instead of Creighton. Lamott was so impressed with this action that she waived all speaking fees. Other churches in the city have been active in Nebraskans for Peace and

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

. Rev. Kenneth Vavrina, the priest of St. Richard's Catholic Church, has been an outspoken advocate to calm racial tension in Omaha.McCord, Julia. (2003) "Parish offers Rucker kids free schooling," ''Omaha World Herald.'' October 2, 2003. As with every notable city, there are many former churches in Omaha. They include Pearl Memorial United Methodist Church and Lowe Avenue Presbyterian Church. A 2020 report by the Association of Religion Data Archives found that there were over 195,000 adherents of Protestant denominations and over 192,000 adherents of Catholicism in Omaha.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christianity In Omaha, Nebraska

History

Architecture

Present

See also

References