Editing Spokane, Washington (section)

=== Religion ===
According to the [[Association of Religion Data Archives]]' 2010 Metro Area Membership Report, the denominational affiliations of the Spokane MSA are 64,277 [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Protestant]], 682 [[Black church|Black Protestant]], 24,826 [[Mainline Protestant]], 754 [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]], 66,202 [[Catholicism|Catholic]], 31,674 Other, and 339,338 Unclaimed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA |work=Metro-Area Membership Report |publisher=The [[Association of Religion Data Archives]], Pennsylvania State University |year=2010 |url=http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/m/44060/rcms2010_44060_metro_name_2010.asp |access-date=January 2, 2014 |archive-date=June 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630013129/http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/m/44060/rcms2010_44060_metro_name_2010.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of 2016, there are also at least three Jewish congregations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Temple Beth Shalom |publisher=Temple Beth Shalom |url=http://spokanetbs.org/| access-date = December 21, 2016}}("almost 200 member families")</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Congregation Emanu-El |publisher=Congregation Emanu-El |url=http://www.spokaneemanu-el.org/| access-date = December 21, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chabad of Spokane County |publisher=Chabad of Spokane County |url=http://jewishspokane.com| access-date = December 21, 2016}}</ref>

The Emanu-El congregation erected the first synagogue in Spokane and the state of Washington on September 14, 1892.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kershner |first=Jim |title=Jewish Community of Spokane |work=Essay 8640 |publisher=HistoryLink |date=July 4, 2008 |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8640| access-date = December 2, 2014}}</ref> The city's first mosque opened in 2009 as the Spokane Islamic Center.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stamp |first=Mary |title=Muslim mosque invites dialogue |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |date=February 14, 2009 |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/feb/14/muslim-mosque-invites-dialogue| access-date = December 2, 2014}}</ref> Spokane, like Washington and the Pacific Northwest region as a whole, is part of the [[Unchurched Belt]], a region characterized by low church membership rates and religious participation.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://rra.hartsem.edu/finkescheitlearticle.htm |title=Accounting for the Uncounted: Computing Correctives for the 2000 RCMS Data |first1=Roger |last1=Finke |first2=Christopher |last2=Scheitle |journal=Review of Religious Research |volume=47 |number=1 |year=2005 |page=5 |doi=10.2307/4148278 |jstor=4148278 |access-date=December 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204185852/http://rra.hartsem.edu/finkescheitlearticle.htm |archive-date=February 4, 2012|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The city serves as the [[Cathedra|seat]] of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane]], which was established in 1913,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dioceseofspokane.org/about_us.php |title=A Short History of the Diocese |publisher=Diocese of Spokane|access-date=November 19, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121103518/http://www.dioceseofspokane.org/about_us.php|archive-date=November 21, 2014}}</ref> and the [[Episcopal Diocese of Spokane]], established in 1929.<ref name="episcopal">{{cite web |url=http://library.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/spokane-diocese |title=Spokane, Diocese of |publisher=Episcopal Church|access-date=March 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305040650/http://library.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/spokane-diocese|archive-date=March 5, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Spokane Washington Temple]], established in 1999, serves [[Latter-day Saints]] from the east of the county.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/spokane-washington-temple/ |title=Spokane Washington Temple |publisher=LDSChurchTemples.com|access-date=November 19, 2014}}</ref>

Spokane has hosted an annual multicultural celebration, Unity in the Community, since 1995.<ref>{{cite news |last=Scott |first=Chey |title=A Day for Diversity |publisher=INLANDER |date=August 14, 2012 |url=http://www.inlander.com/spokane/a-day-for-diversity/Content?oid=2138982 |access-date = October 7, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Unity in the Community reflects commitment to diversity in the Inland Northwest |publisher=The Fig Tree |url=http://www.thefigtree.org/sept12/090512unitycommunity.html#| access-date = October 5, 2014}}</ref> The city has become more diverse in recent decades. People from countries in the former [[Soviet Union]] (especially Russians and Ukrainians) form a comparatively large demographic in Spokane and Spokane County, the result of a large influx of immigrants and their families after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.<ref name="TheTimes">{{cite news |last=Ashton |first=Linda |title=Spokane Is New Refugee Magnet For Ex-Soviets – Washington State Among The Country's Most Popular Destinations For Newcomers |newspaper=The Seattle Times |date=January 30, 1994 |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940130/1892502/spokane-is-new-refugee-magnet-for-ex-soviets----washington-state-among-the-countrys-most-popular-destinations-for-newcomers|access-date = May 30, 2014}}</ref><ref name="KyivPost">{{cite news |title=City in eastern Washington state has become home to many Russians and Ukrainians |newspaper=Kyiv Post |date=May 23, 2002 |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/city-in-eastern-washington-state-has-become-home-t-11151.html| access-date = October 4, 2014}}</ref> According to the 2000 Census, the number of people of Russian or Ukrainian ancestry in Spokane County was reported to be 7,700 (4,900 residing in the city of Spokane), amounting to two percent of the county.<ref name="KyivPost" /> Among the fastest-growing demographics in Spokane is the [[Pacific Islander]] ethnic group, which is estimated to be the third-largest minority group in the county, after the Russian and Ukrainian community and Latinos.<ref name="TheSpokesman">{{cite news |last=Sowa |first=Tom |title=Marshallese making a new life in Spokane |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |date=March 4, 2012 |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/mar/04/marshallese-making-a-new-life-in-spokane| access-date = October 4, 2014}}</ref> Spokane was once home to a sizable Asian community, mostly Japanese, centered in a district called [[Chinatown, Spokane|Chinatown]] from the early days of the city until 1974.<ref name="Chinatown">{{cite web |last=Kershner |first=Jim |title=Spokane Neighborhoods: Old Chinatown – Trent Alley – Thumbnail History |work=Essay 8120 |publisher=HistoryLink |date=March 30, 2007 |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=8120| access-date = October 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kershner |first=Jim |title=Spokane's Japanese Community |work=Essay 8048 |publisher=HistoryLink |date=January 8, 2007 |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8048| access-date = September 13, 2014}}</ref> As in many western [[railway town]]s, the Asian community started off as an encampment for migrant laborers working on the railroads. The Chinatown Asian community thrived until the 1940s and experienced a population boom during WWII as Japanese families fled the exclusion zones along the coast, after which its population decreased and became integrated and dispersed, losing its Asian character; urban blight and the preparations leading up to Expo '74 led to Chinatown's eventual demolition.<ref name="Chinatown" />

[[File:Race and ethnicity 2010- Spokane (5560431618).png|thumb|Demographic map of the Spokane metro area. Each dot is 25 people. {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#ff0000|White}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#0000ff|Black}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#00ffaa|Asian}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#ffa600|Hispanic}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#ffff07|Other}}]]