All social activity, including religious activity, is emplaced—it takes place in a particular geographic location that takes specific forms and is infused with meaning. CRCC strives to understand how religious groups interact with their geographic location, including its relationships with community organizations, individuals and families; the physical environment; and social and economic conditions.
Studying religion and place provides insight on how a congregation’s activities and presence are lived out on a daily basis. For example, religious groups in quiet suburban communities often operate very differently from congregations in poor inner-city neighborhoods. The differences in “place” characteristics, such as their relative wealth or poverty, the presence or absence of crime, the quality and type of physical spaces—including built and natural spaces—and how people attach meaning to these areas, constrain and encourage different kinds of religious activities.
- FeaturedSouthern CaliforniaTopics: Black Church, Branding and Marketing, Buddhists and Buddhism, Catholics and Catholicism, Christians and Christianity, Creativity and Innovation, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Interfaith/Multifaith Movements, Jews and Judaism, Latinos, Meditation and Prayer, Megachurches, Missionaries, Mormons and Mormonism, Multi-ethnic / Multi-racial Congregations, Muslims and Islam, Nuns and Women Religious, Pentecostals and Pentecostalism, Place and Religion, Religious "Nones", Religious Beliefs and Rituals, Religious Minorities, Storefront Churches, Transnational
- ArticleNica Aquino: Searching for HomeIronically, hope for the Kalinga way of life may be found far from Lubuagan and the Chico River, in the outposts of the Filipino diaspora. For example, one of Cirilo “Sapi” Bawer’s …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Engaged Spirituality, Place and Religion, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture
- ArticleSapi’s Struggle: Indigenous Resistance to Cultural Assimilation in the PhilippinesThis article was published with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. The buoyant chatter of children drifted down from a wooded ridge as we pulled up to the teaching …Topics: Asia, Community Dynamics, Engaged Spirituality, Environment, Place and Religion, Political Attitudes and Values, Religious Beliefs and Rituals
- CommentarySexual Assault During Hajj: Will #MosqueMeToo Lead to Reforms in Mecca?In February of 2018, inspired by the #MeToo movement, Muslim women took to social media to describe sexual harassment and assault in the holiest shrines of the Islamic faith: the Kaabah in …Topics: Gender and Sexuality, Muslims and Islam, Place and Religion, Violence
- VideoWilshire Boulevard: A Tour of Religion in Los Angeles
- ArticleAyahuasca-naut: A Zen Student’s Experiment with Shamanic MedicineThis piece originally appeared in Boom California. A hallucinogenic brew called ayahuasca is having a heyday in the United States. Rolling Stone, Fusion, VICE and other trend-spotting news outlets have posted stories about spiritual adventurers tripping …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Place and Religion, Religious "Nones", Religious Affiliation, Southern California
- CRCC in the NewsOC Register: Orange County Church Finds Higher Purpose with Affordable HousingThe Wesley Village affordable housing project in Garden Grove was recently opened on Garden Grove United Methodist Church’s land. The concept of using church land to host affordable housing has been used …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Creativity and Innovation, Faith-Based Organizations, Government and Religion, Place and Religion, Social Services, Southern California
- MapLong Beach: Interactive Map of Religious CongregationsTopics: Creativity and Innovation, maps, Place and Religion, Southern California
- CommentaryFaith in East Los Angeles, the Vatican of BoxingThis post originally appeared on Huffington Post. Leo Santa Cruz is the undefeated, undisputed champion of America’s best boxing city, Los Angeles. He won that title after defeating Abner Mares, a fellow …Topics: Catholics and Catholicism, Creativity and Innovation, Place and Religion, Southern California
- CRCC in the NewsLong Beach Press-Telegram: New Churches in an Urban Community“Known culturally for its hipsters, bars, food trucks and gay community, Long Beach could also become known as a revival town for churches,” Josh Dulaney writes in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. His …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Creativity and Innovation, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Millennials, Place and Religion, Southern California
- ArticleMapping the New Landscape of Religion in Los FelizThis article originally appeared in BOOM: A Journal of California. Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church was in trouble. Its congregation had become too small to sustain the decaying Los Feliz building that had …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Christians and Christianity, Creativity and Innovation, Place and Religion, Religious Affiliation, Southern California
- MapDowntown Los Angeles and Wilshire Corridor: Interactive Map of Religious CongregationsTopics: Creativity and Innovation, maps, Place and Religion, Southern California
CRCC Experts
To schedule an interview with one of our experts, please contact CRCC:
crcc@usc.edu or 213-743-1611