USC Dornsife College Of Letters Arts and Sciences

University of Southern California

Putting Faith First: Traditions and Innovations in Organizing within Religious Communities

Putting Faith First: Traditions and Innovations in Organizing within Religious Communities

The Center for Religion and Civic Culture and the Program on Environmental and Regional Equity announce the publication of “Putting Faith First: Traditions and Innovations in Organizing within Religious Communities.”

While some may think of religion as yet another element of division and difference, faith-rooted organizing offers an alternative route, one that uses core values to achieve the sort of connectedness that can pull us together.

This report provides a brief overview of several organizing groups that are grappling with the challenges and opportunities of organizing efforts rooted in faith traditions and committed to deepening the relationship of transformational work at the intersection of religion and organizing.

“Putting Faith First: Traditions and Innovations in Organizing within Religious Communities” was adapted from a November 2011 video conference between academics, organizers, and funders interested in exploring faith-rooted organizing. Alexia Salvatierra, founding director of FaithRooted.org, the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity organized the conversation, which was sponsored by Alta Starr of the Ford Foundation, Kathy Partridge of Interfaith Funders Network, and Ned Wight of The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock.

Click here to download a PDF of the report.