North Carolina Murugan Temple to Feature a 155-Foot Statue of Lord Murugan

NORTH CAROLINA, 26 November 2025: A new temple complex for the Hindu diaspora, the Carolina Murugan Temple, is under development in Moncure, Chatham County, North Carolina. The centrepiece of the project will be a towering 155-foot statue of Lord Murugan, making it, by the project’s claim, the tallest Murugan statue in the world.

The temple campus will span around 130 acres and aims to serve as a cultural, spiritual, and community hub. Alongside the statue, the plan includes temple buildings, gopurams (temple towers), and facilities such as a library, museum, community spaces, and grounds for social and cultural activities.

The Murugan statue will stand on a 35-foot pedestal. The combined height, statue plus base, reportedly reaches 190 feet, which would surpass the height of the Statue of Liberty from base to torch (151 feet).

If completed according to these plans, this monument would become one of the tallest religious statues in North America, and a symbol of the growing presence of Hindu cultural heritage outside India.

From Vision to Reality — Project Details & Community Significance

• The Carolina Murugan Temple is being developed privately, largely supported by donations from Tamil and South-Asian communities in the US and abroad.
• This temple is not just about religious worship, its planners envisage a broader role: a centre for Tamil culture, language, heritage, and community gatherings.
• Construction appears to be underway, though full completion, including installation of the statue and other campus components, depends on continued fundraising and project phases.

The project has drawn attention across communities. Some view it as a strong expression of cultural identity and spiritual heritage for the diaspora. Others, especially some critics, question the scale and visibility of the project, given its location in rural North Carolina and the symbolic weight of building a massive religious statue in what remains a predominantly non-Hindu region.

According to supporters, the temple is meant to be open to the public, not just Hindus, underlining the intention to foster inter-cultural understanding and provide a landmark for broader religious and community engagement.