Center for Religion & Civic Culture

When we opened the doors of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, John Orr and I could not have foreseen the exponential growth that the center would experience. What began in 1996 as a small enterprise with two faculty members and one administrator has become a hub for numerous research projects here in Los Angeles and around the globe.

In Los Angeles, CRCC researchers conducted field research and interviews for projects on the Dream Center and the legacy of the faith-based coalitions that evolved after the Los Angeles riots of 1992.

Simultaneously, CRCC launched the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative, a program funded by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation to spur innovative research on one the world’s fastest growing religious movements. PCRI will provide grants to scholars to study Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

Over the summer, the Center for Religion and Civic Culture continued in its role as a catalyst for partnerships between the community and the academy. CRCC held two training programs, the Institute for Violence Prevention and the Passing the Mantle Clergy and Lay Leadership Institute for African American church leaders. In addition, we launched the second year of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, which empowers young leaders to help their constituencies become more civically engaged. These programs focus the resources of the academy in ways to empower community leaders to become more effective leaders in their communities.

The study of religion, which was once limited to one or two departments on the USC campus, is now an interdisciplinary enterprise. Scholars reside in departments across the university in departments such as sociology, history, political science, American studies and ethnicity, East Asian languages and cultures, the Annenberg School for Communication, and the School of Policy, Planning, and Development. Many of these scholars will participate in a seminar on transnational religion that is co-sponsored by CRCC and the College Commons.

We hope that you will visit our new website regularly as we attempt to share what we are learning and provide information on the impact of religion in Los Angeles and beyond.

Donald E. Miller
Executive Director