Boise Hare Krishna Temple

The temple is made up of a diverse community. A little over half are Indian but there are also Caucasian and a small number of other ethnic groups. Over the years, the population of refugees attending has gone down while the percentage of local members has increased. Currently, about 40 percent of the members are converts. The temple welcomes all ages, from newborns to the elderly, but the majority are aged 30 to 40. In total, there are about 100 members, although during festivals may attract anywhere from 200 to 500 people. Membership has decreased slightly, a shift likely due to layoffs at Micron and Hewlett Packard.

The temple has faced some discrimination from Idaho’s principle newspaper, the Idaho Statesman. The Hare Krishna community recently became the only religious group in Boise not allowed to write for the weekly religious column, despite the popularity of their pieces in the past. Aside from this, the Hare Krishna community feels largely accepted by the people in Boise. The city’s mayor even declared a day in August to be the annual Hare Krishna Temple Day.