ReportAMCLI Through the Years – Founders’ ReflectionThe American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute (AMCLI) emerged out of a research project and a convening of civic leaders in 2006. Fifteen years after its inception, the USC Center for Religion and …Topics: AMCLI, Muslims and Islam
AudioRussell Jeung: He Started A Movement to #StopAAPIHateThis radio documentary was originally produced by KALW’s The Spiritual Edge, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. To hear this and other profiles, subscribe to The Spiritual Edge podcast …Topics: Christians and Christianity, COVID, Engaged Spirituality, race, Spiritual Exemplars, Violence
AnnouncementRichard Flory Named Executive Director of CRCCRichard Flory has been appointed as the executive director of the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture by Amber Miller, dean of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. …Topics:
FeaturedEngaged SpiritualityTopics:
CommentaryEngaged Spirituality at COP26 – UN Climate TalksCRCC has been collecting the stories of 100 “spiritual exemplars,” people inspired by their faith to work on some of the world’s most intractable issues since 2019. What we did not expect …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Environment, Spiritual Exemplars- VideoHate Crimes & Civil Rights: A Critical Conversation with the FBI & US Attorney’s Office
AnnouncementThe Spiritual Edge Sweeps Religion News Association Radio AwardsThe Spiritual Edge swept the Religion News Association’s 2021 radio award, with audio documentaries from its Sacred Steps series placing first, second and third. Sacred Steps, a series of profiles of people …Topics: Engaged Spirituality,
ArticleBrother Chân Pháp Dung: Where the Search for Simplicity LeadsThis article was originally published in Yes Magazine, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Before entering monastic life, Brother Chân Pháp Dung gave away his worldly possessions. The last step …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Engaged Spirituality, Environment, Spiritual Exemplars- VideoJohn Hope Bryant: Building Wealth in Communities of Color
- VideoCreating Safe(r) Spaces for Mindfulness of Breath: Experiences of Race in American Mindfulness
ReportUnderstanding Religious Literacy Content Creators and Providers in Education, Journalism, and New MediaThe Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (AVDF) commissioned the Aspen Institute Inclusive America Project (IAP) to conduct a review of content providers and creators of religious literacy materials in the categories of new …Topics: Education, Media, Religious Pluralism
ArticleSoni Sori: An Indigenous Activist Fights in Memory of the Children She Couldn’t SaveThis article was originally published in Religion News, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. DELHI, India (RNS) — When the students fled her village school in 2011 to join Maoist rebels …Topics: Asia, Engaged Spirituality, Gender, Spiritual Exemplars
“It is reasonably easy to be an armchair critic of religion. There are ample examples of religious leaders who compromise the values of their tradition, and the fundamentalists of every religion are inevitably out of step with the latest findings of modern science.
“But the storyline about religion gets more complicated when one examines religious people in the trenches, serving the poor and disenfranchised of their societies.”
– Donald E. Miller
A Pragmatist’s View of Religion
Experts
The CRCC can connect you with one of our many expert religious researchers and writers, contact us and we’ll help you find the right person for your subject.
Mark WhitlockContributing WriterRev. Mark Whitlock is a pastor specializing in church leadership and community and economic development.
Cecil L. MurrayUniversity FellowRev. Cecil Murray works to ensure that the legacy of African American Church leaders pass on their years of experience to the next generation.
Brie LoskotaContributing FellowBrie Loskota researches how religions change and make change in the world, and works to build the capacity of religious communities around the globe.
Donald E. MillerDirector of Strategic InitiativesDonald Miller focuses on global religious trends, genocides of the 20th century, and the role of religious NGOs in addressing issues of moral concern.
Richard FloryExecutive DirectorRichard Flory is a sociologist whose work focuses on religion and urban life, religious and cultural change, and youth and young adults.
Nalika GajaweeraResearch AssociateNalika Gajaweera is a cultural anthropologist specialized in Buddhism, transnationalism and ethics, with an area expertise in South Asia.
Juan MartínezPast FellowJuan Martinez studies the history of Latino Protestantism, Latino Protestant identity and transnational mission among U.S. Latinos.
Najuma Smith-PollardAssistant Director of Community and Public EngagementRev. Najuma Smith-Pollard combines her experience as a pastor and expertise as a community leader to train Murray Center Fellows.
Nick StreetSenior WriterNick Street is a journalist covering religious change and innovation, Buddhism, Pentecostalism and LGBT issues.