Timothy Sato
Communications Director
213.740.8562 or 213.740.0962
timothys@usc.edu
Brie Loskota
Managing Director
213.740.8562
bloskota@usc.edu
The Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California has experts who are able to speak on numerous topics. In addition to its own faculty and staff, CRCC can also assist journalists as they develop their stories and refer them to both academic and faith community leaders to offer their informed opinions
We have experts who can address topics such as:
Huffington Post Religion published an article by David Briggs on religion in the Global South. The article quoted Donald Miller and cited Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement. Briggs, writer for the Association of Religion Data Archives,...
Reverend Cecil 'Chip' Murray has been featured in a KTLA broadcast that profiles his work in the Southern California community since the 1992 L.A riots. An excerpt from the piece: "Reverend Cecil Murray is nationally known for picking up the...
CRCC Senior Writer Nick Street has written an article for Huffington Post Religion where he discusses the convergence of religion and tolerance in the face of Nigeria's political, economical and social turmoil. An excerpt from the article: "On a brilliantly...
CRCC Senior Research Fellow Bruce Phillips has been been featured in a USC article detailing his research and efforts to catalog the demography of the Jewish population in Southern California. An excerpt from the article: "How many Jews are there...
The Orange County Register has published an article by Reverend Mark Whitlock, executive director of the Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, discussing African-American identity in relation to black history month. An excerpt from the article: "Black is consciousness and...
George Villanueva, Ph.D. candidate at USC Annenberg and a 2012 IRG fellow, has been been featured on KCET discussing the many ways the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina inspired acts of civic engagement among the residents of...
The Wall Street Journal published an article written by CRCC senior writer Nick Street. The piece discusses the rise of Pentecostalism in early 20th century Los Angeles and Hollywood actress Megan Fox's recent revelations about her Pentecostal upbringing, her experiences...
Nadia Roumani, director of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute (AMCLI), took place in a panel that that focused on the Muslim Millenial's experience. One important point in the panel discussed how technology differentiates the Muslim millennials’ generation and identity...
CRCC Senior Fellow Bruce Phillips has authored an article appearing in JewishJournal.com that discusses current Jewish demographics in Southern California. An excerpt from the article: "As I wrote upon my return from from the annual meeting of the Association for...
USC postdoctoral fellow Brad Bouley presented a lecture titled "The Holy Body: Between Science and the Supernatural" on Tuesday, Nov. 13 as part of the Haunted Religion seminar series sponsored by the Interdiscplinary Research Group (IRG).Bouley's lecture has been featured...
Nadia Roumani, Co-Founder and Director of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute (AMCLI) , has appeared in an article on eJewish Philanthropy discussing the emergence of faith-based organizations and companies in social innovation and entrepreneurship. An excerpt from the article:...
KPCC interviewed Brie Loskota about a new report from the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, "Faithful Action Working with Religious Groups in Disaster Planning, Response and Recovery." This report details the need for increased involvement of the faith...
CRCC freelance journalist Rhonda Rhoumani has written an article appearing in the Financial Times where she discusses the international shockwaves created by the Syrian political conflict and it's ensuing consequences. An excerpt from the article: "When Libya’s Muammer Gaddafi threatened...
USC President C. L. Max Nikias hosted an event on Oct. 2 at Doheny Memorial Library celebrating the legacy of the Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray and the publication of his memoir, Twice Tested by Fire. “For us at USC, he...
CRCC Research Associate Martin Krieger has been featured in a KCET article regarding his photographic work on the Orthodox Jewish enclave in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles. Krieger is currently the Professor of Planning in the Price School of...
The Los Angeles County Citizens' Commission on Jail Violence released a report on Friday detailing patterns of abuse and 'unreasonable force' in the Sheriff Department's jails. The report places blame on Sheriff Lee Baca's leadership for failing to stop the...
This September marks the ninth annual National Preparedness Month, one of the many efforts our government has undertaken to engage whole communities in building disaster resiliency, including faith communities, citizen corps councils, VOADs (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) and a...
Diane Winston, Knight Chair in Media and Religion at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, authored a Los Angeles Times opinion piece on the role of religion in the 2012 presidential elections. An excerpt from the article follows below:...
Executive Director of the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement Mark Whitlock was featured in an OC Register article that discusses his efforts to decrease racial tensions between Latinos and African-Americans in Southern California. Working with pastor Santos Chavez,...
CRCC Senior Fellow Cecil Murray has appeared in an article in News in Black regarding the death of the late Rodney King. King, whose 1991 beating by LAPD sparked the Los Angeles riots, was found dead on Jun. 17 at...
CRCC Director of Research Richard Flory and Executive Director of the Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement Mark Whitlock have appeared in an article in Christianity Today discussing the effect of demographic changes on black churches in South Los Angeles....
Rev. Dr. Cecil "Chip" Murray has appeared in national and local news stories regarding the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles civil unrest. Twenty years ago this month, over a thousand fires burned in the heart of Los Angeles. The...
Capricious selected CRCC research associate Matt Gainer as their photographer of the week on April 18. They posted a portion of images from his series Imperial Pictures on the website. Gainer received funding for the project from IRG and CRCC...
USC Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni interviewed Rev. Dr. Cecil "Chip" Murray for the Huffington Post about the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots. During the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles, Murray became a household name as...
The Financial Times published an op-ed on the unrest in Syria by CRCC Research Associate Rhonda Roumani. The piece, published on March 13th, talks about the complex reaction to Syria’s revolution, even among its expatriates. An excerpt: When I worked...
Why go to church when a recent Barna Group survey found that most churchgoers barely remember any insight from the previous week’s service? CRCC Director of Research Richard Flory talked about that topic and more to the Research on Religion...
USC News recently featured the USC Small Business Diversity Office and its relationship to small businesses around the University Park, Health Sciences, Marina del Rey and Alhambra campuses. The article also highlighted the small business office's partnership with the Cecil...
Last week, Justin Bieber debuted his second tattoo - the face of Jesus Christ on the back of his leg. Bieber also has a tattoo of Jesus' name in Hebrew on his ribcage. But Christian tattoos are a trend that...
Muneer Awad, current American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute fellow, is making news for leading a local Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) group against an Oklahoma voter-approved measure barring state judges from considering Islamic and international law in their decisions. CNN...
Zócalo Public Square is featuring CRCC Director of Research Richard Flory's op-ed on the Crystal Cathedral on its front page today. In the piece, Flory examines what the fall of Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral in Orange County means for other...
The Ventura County Star quoted CRCC Managing Director Brie Loskota in an article about how the lives of American Muslims changes after 9/11 and the Iraq War. The turning point for American Muslim life was the 9/11 attacks, which had...
The Muslim Observer featured AMCLI alums Naim Shah, Jr. and Umar Hakim in an article about the ILM Foundation. Shah, who serves as director, and Hakim, who is currently associate director, spoke with the publication about their participation in Community...
Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, was quoted in a report by NPR on the recent sale of the infamous Crystal Cathedral to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County. The Crystal Cathedral, an temple of glass in Garden Grove,...
Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, was quoted in an article by the Los Angeles Times on the recent sale of the infamous Crystal Cathedral to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County. The Crystal Cathedral, an temple of glass...
Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, was quoted in an article by the Associated Press on the recent sale of the infamous Crystal Cathedral to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County. The Crystal Cathedral, an temple of glass in...
Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, was quoted in articles by the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, and NPR on the recent sale of the infamous Crystal Cathedral to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County. The Crystal Cathedral,...
The L.A. Sentinel wrote an article about USC's Cecil L. Murray Center for Community Engagement. The Murray Center, located a few blocks off-campus at 509 West 29th Street, had a soft launch this fall and currently has programming underway. The...
Voice of America wrote a profile on USC's Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni, who is the first Hindu to be the chief religious or spiritual leader of a university and the only non-Christian currently serving in this capacity. He...
The Huffington Post has featured the religion honors thesis, a short film called Awe, by recent USC graduate Jake Bloch, who graduated in May 2011 with a double major religion and music. The ambitious thesis is a 15-minute film that...
Our Weekly featured CRCC's report "The Black Church Next: Challenges and Opportunities Facing African American Congregations in 21st Century Los Angeles," by Daniel Walker, CRCC research associate. The report details the struggle of the Black Church to stay vital, which...
Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, was quoted in an OC Weekly article on Dave Gibbons, the head of the Newsong church based in Irvine. Gibbons believes that small churches are the new megachurch, and has focused Newsong on the...
The Religion News Service quoted American Muslim Leadership Institute director and co-founder Nadia Roumani in a story about the perception of Muslims approaching the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Americans say they now know more about Islam than they did 10...
Does the bankruptcy of Orange County's Crystal Cathedral signal that megachurches are on their way out? KPCC Southern California Public Radio talked to Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, in their quest to find out. Rev. Robert Schuller's ministry -...
The Daily Herald in Illinois featured American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute alum Junaid Afeef's efforts to raise funds for to help orphans in India by running while fasting for Ramadan. Afeef, 41, a member of AMCLI's first cohort, started running...
Christianity Today referenced CRCC Executive Director Donald E. Miller's book Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement in an article about how Pentecostals are engaging in compassionate ministries and social change in numerous ways. In the book Global...
CRCC senior fellow Reuven Firestone teamed up with his wife Ruth Sohn for an article in Jewish Journal on Cairo's Tahrir Square and what it has come to mean in Egypt post-Hosni Mubarak. Firestone and Sohn write: Tahrir Square has...
Richard Flory, CRCC's director of Research, spoke to KPCC radio about the latest developments with the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA. The Crystal Cathedral’s board of directors have rejected serious bids from Orange County’s Catholic diocese, a real estate...
Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, was quoted in an LA Weekly article about Blake Mycoskie of TOMS shoes and his suspected involvement with Focus on the Family and other controversial groups. Mycoskie, who has come underfire since he spoke...
The Templeton Report, the newsletter of the John Templeton Foundation, reported on the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative's meetings in Quito, Ecuador, in May. PCRI is funded by a grant from the Templeton Foundation and is headed by CRCC Executive...
NY1, New York City's 24-hour-news channel, featured American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute alumna Linda Sarsour and her recent acheivement: Winning a Brooklyn Do-Gooder Award. She is the director of the Arab American Association of New York and a fellow at...
The Religion News Service quoted Diane Winston, CRCC senior fellow and Knight Chair in Media and Religion at USC's Annenberg School for Journalism in a story about politicians' aversion to religious labels during their campaigns. Winston commented on Michele Bachmann's...
The CDD News, Los Angeles Community Development Department newsletter, featured the Religious Pluralism Public Forum, which CRCC Managing Director Brie Loskota moderated in June and was sponsored by the City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission. The panel, held in...
USC Dornsife News wrote about the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative's conference in Quito, Ecuador, in May. The article quotes CRCC Executive Director Don Miller, coordinator of PCRI, along with featuring the projects of grantees Karrie Koesel (Where Faith Thrives:...
Diane Winston, CRCC senior fellow and Knight Chair in Media and Religion at USC's Annenberg School for Journalism, reviewed the controversial book "Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion" by Janet Reitman for The Washington Post. An excerpt:...
Voice of America featured the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative in an article and video about Pentecostalism being the fastest-growing form of Christianity. PCRI is coordinated by CRCC Executive Director Don Miller and funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Miller...
The Denver Post quoted Diane Winston in an article about the rise of religion and religious characters on primetime television. "Our collective anxieties are being dealt with on TV," Winston told The Denver Post. Winston comments on several TV series...
On the 30th anniversary of the discovery of AIDS, Diane Winston, CRCC senior fellow and Knight Chair in Media and Religion at USC's Annenberg School for Journalism, wrote about the "entangled relationship" between religion and AIDS, today and 30 years...
NPR quoted Richard Flory, CRCC director of research and research associate professor, in a report about the ongoing financial woes of the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County. The Crystal Cathedral, a megachurch founded by Robert H. Schuller, Sr., is currently...
A new article by Nick Street, journalist in residence, examines the work of CRCC's Interdisciplinary Research Group, which has provided over $70,000 in grant funding since 2009. The article features research by Christian Hammons, Jane Iwamura, Mohamed Saleh, and Bradly...
A USC Dornsife article featured the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, a CRCC initiative designed to equip young leaders with enhanced civic engagement skills. “There’s a fundamental idea that faith communities have a mandate to address social ills,” said Brie...
The Oregonian featured Fatemeh Fakhraie, a member of the 2009-2010 American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute cohort, in an article about her essay "Roots," in I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim, a collection of writing by 40 American...
The Voice of America featured the International Mission Photography Archive, a joint initiative of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture and the USC Digital Library. "Online Archive Preserves Images from Christian Missions in Africa, Asia" Michael O'Sullivan. "An ambitious...
In Voice of America News, Donald Miller, director of the USC Center for Religion & Civic Culture, discussed his interviews with Armenian and Rwandan survivors of genocide. “One thing is that forgiveness is extremely difficult. And in our experience of...
CRCC Managing Director Brie Loskota wrote an op-ed for the Huffington Post reflecting on the 20th anniversary of the Rodney King beating. In the ashes of that event, the city examined its racial divisions, its class lines and the major...
Voice of America News reported on the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute and its efforts to train a new generation of civic leaders. Brie Loskota is the managing director for the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, which created...
Daily Variety quoted Richard Flory's blog in an article about Super Bowl commercials. Richard Flory, a professor of sociology at USC, recently wrote about "The New Politics of Fear," which have "begun to dominate legislative bodies from the local to...
News.Az (Azerbaijan) reported that Reuven Firestone, a senior fellow at the USC College’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, held a workshop at Bet Amda synagogue on the strategic role of Azerbaijan. Firestone said there is a tolerance in the...
The Los Angeles Times quoted Brie Loskota, CRCC managing director, in an article about CRCC's American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute partnership with the Jewish Funds for Justice program, the Community Organizing Residency. A key co-sponsor is the American Muslim Civic...
Diane Winston, USC Knight Chair and CRCC senior fellow, spoke about the most wonderful/angry time of the year on KPCC 89.3 FM's The Patt Morrison Show. Show description: According to many in the media and across the country, Santa had...
CRCC partnership, the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement, is mentioned in the Huffington Post in a piece by Joshua Stanton, co-Founder of Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue and Religious Freedom USA. Since 2008, for example, the Hebrew Union College and University of...
The Daily News of Egypt mentions the Center for Muslim Jewish Engagement, a partnership between CRCC, Hebrew Union College, and the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Foundation. Read the article....
The LA Times quoted Richard Flory, CRCC research director, in this article about the bankrupt Crystal Cathedral. "They are totally outdated," Flory said. "They are so committed to a plot of land and a building, and they've got a problem."...
USC's Daily Trojan quoted Brie Loskota, managing director of CRCC, in an article on “Encountering the Other: Muslim-Jewish Day of Service,” an event that was part of the third annual Weekend of Twinning of Mosques and Synagogues. “This event was...
The LA Times quoted Chip Murray, CRCC senior fellow, in this article on housing development in Los Angeles by the AME church. "Ward AME is to be commended because it has been true to that legacy," said the Rev. Cecil...
Lisa Bitel, professor of religion and member of the Interdisciplinary Research Group, appeared on this History Channel TV special, talking about the Celtic roots of the holiday. Description from History Channel: Halloween began centuries ago as a pagan holiday that...
Lori Meeks, associate professor of religion and East Asian languages and cultures and member of the Interdisciplinary Research Group, talked about organizing the USC Summer Kambun Workshop in an article by Mallory Carra, CRCC communications assistant in USC Dornsife News....
Zócalo quoted Richard Flory, a senior research associate at the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, about how faith builds stronger communities in a section called "Answering the ultimate questions." Specifically, I think religion contributes to strong communities in...
CNN featured Rev. Mark Whitlock, director of community initiatives and senior pastor of Christ Our Redeemer AME Church, regarding the segregation of churches. "We're fully integrated in the workplace, schools, public restaurants everywhere, except the church," Whitlock told CNN. "It's...
The Los Angeles Times quoted Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, about the effectiveness of the idea of the rapture as a tool for religious conversion. Richard Flory, a USC sociologist who studies religion in America, said the idea of...
USC News reported on the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Archive, which will be the world’s first large database of materials on the subject. When complete, it will be publicly accessible through the USC Digital Library. Funded through the Pentecostal and...
In this obituary of Islamic scholar Fathi Osman, The New York Times mentioned that USC’s Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement was founded under the sponsorship of CRCC and other institutions and quoted Reuven Firestone, CRCC senior fellow. “He had two major...
The Orange County Register mentioned that USC’s Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement was founded under the sponsorship of CRCC and other institutions. In 2008, the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement was launched under the sponsorship of USC's Center for Religious and Civic...
The Christian Science Monitor quoted Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, about the political implications of conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s assertion that President Obama doesn’t conform to true Christian beliefs. Expect more of these calculations, says Richard Flory, senior research...
The Black Voice News reported that The Black Voice Foundation is working with CRCC on the Gospel Music History Project, the first large-scale, systematic effort to document, preserve, analyze and publicly present the full history of gospel music. The Black...
The Jewish Journal ran an op-ed by Reuven Firestone, CRCC senior fellow, on the factors that prevent Jews and Muslims from building intercultural bridges. We humans have the peculiar habit of demonizing what we fear but don't understand. When we...
The Egypt Daily News ran an op-ed by Reuven Firestone, CRCC senior fellow, about the late Muslim scholar Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd. Parts of the Muslim world are experiencing a period in which scholarship and creativity such as Abu Zayd’s...
The Jewish Journal ran an op-ed by Reuven Firestone, CRCC senior fellow, about Islam in Singapore. Firestone attended an international conference there which focused on the ways in which modern-day Muslims want to practice Islam. There is a lot bubbling...
The Straits Times (Singapore) cited the book “Global Pentecostalism” by Donald Miller of the USC College and colleague Tetsunao Yamamori, who spent four years visiting churches in 20 countries. (available via subscription only)...
The Star Tribune quoted Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, about the role of journalists throughout history. What happened? While a variety of factors contributed to religion's decline as a cultural authority -- a source of truth and a guide...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency featured research from the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement, a partnership among USC, Hebrew Union College and the Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation. The report found that Muslim-Jewish engagement is growing in the United States, with the greatest...
Sunstone Magazine's blog reported on "Mormon Engagement with the World Religions: Perspectives and Possibilities with the Abrahamic Religions" held at USC and co-sponsored by CRCC. This conference is designed to explore various perspectives and methods for thinking about Latter-day Saints...
The Bakersfield Californian quoted John Orr, professor emeritus of USC Dornsife, about religion in public schools. Orr is also is a senior fellow and co-founder of CRCC. Rules regarding religion in public schools have been well established for decades, said...
USC News and many other news outlets wrote about CRCC and the John Templeton Foundation awarding $3.5 million in grants to five centers, and another 16 individual scholars and their teams, to conduct research in Asia, Africa, Latin America, or...
The Middle East Times wrote about the graduation of AMCLI's second cohort. Launched in 2006, the AMCLI has been assisting Muslim nonprofit leaders and their organizations participate in civic engagement to improve the Muslim community's full participation in American public...
The Arab News wrote about the commencement of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute’s second cohort. This unique program includes lectures by scholars, experts and practitioners from across the US in the areas of civic participation, skill-building and team-building topics,...
La Opinion quoted Donald Miller, CRCC executive director, and Richard Flory, CRCC director of research, about immigrants being drawn to the Pentecostal faith. Miller was also quoted in two more La Opinion stories: "Fe pentecostal se refuerza en LA" and...
Neon Tommy, a web-based news source sponsored by the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, wrote about the 2009 cohort of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute. "All these people kept on being invited to places and would be asked...
Truthdig quoted Hebah Farrag on the role of the perpetrator’s nationality and religion in whether a violent act is deemed terrorism. Hebah Farrag of the University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture says the answer, in short,...
Richard Flory, CRCC senior research associate and research associate professor, was quoted in an Associated Press article by Gillian Flaccus. The Crystal Cathedral, a megachurch founded by Robert H. Schuller Sr. is being forced to sell property and curtail broadcasts...
Richard Flory, CRCC senior research associate, appeared on a CBS Evening News broadcast about American religious practice. The story, "Crossing Boundaries," focused on a recent study from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life which found that "large numbers...
CRCC’s Passing the Mantle Clergy and Lay Leadership Institute was featured on the PBS news program Religion and Ethics. Read the Transcript and watch the segment....
Read The S Factor: A conversation about Pentecostalism with Donald E. Miller, an interview with CRCC's executive director that was featured in the July/August issue of Books and Culture. How has your understanding of Pentecostalism changed over time as you...
The Los Angeles Times wrote about CRCC's Passing the Mantle program. But don't count the old lions out. They now shepherd a USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture summer program called Passing the Mantle. Now in its fourth year,...
USC Dornsife News wrote about the launching of the $6.9 million Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative. And now, Miller, executive director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture within USC College, has established the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative...
Charisma Online News wrote about the launching of the $6.9 million Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative. USC officials said the initiative would foster social science research in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the former Soviet Union, while continuing to study...