CommentaryThe Roaring 20s: Religion Trends to Watch in 2020 and the Next DecadeThe 1920s was a decade of change, and we see the 2020s as reminiscent of the cultural flux of that period. When people think of the 1920s, many imagine a golden era …Topics: Community Dynamics, Environment, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture
FeaturedEngaged SpiritualityTopics: Community Dynamics, Environment, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture
ArticleCOVID-19: The Essential Problem with State-Faith RelationsThis article was originally published in The Hill. A Los Angeles-area church is the latest to make national headlines by defying public health orders and gathering in-person as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Grace …Topics: COVID, Disaster Response, Religious Leadership
ArticleFar from Being Anti-Religious, Faith and Spirituality Run Deep in Black Lives MatterThis article was originally published on The Conversation, and was written with Ann Gleig. Black Lives Matters (BLM) has been portrayed by its detractors as many things: Marxist, radical, anti-American. Added to …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Engaged Spirituality, Protests and Uprisings, Race and Culture
ArticleJulie Coyne: Creating A Community of Care in Highland GuatemalaOn any given afternoon, for the last 22 years, Julie Coyne has waited eagerly at the doorway to Education and Hope, green eyes twinkling. Children emerge from the surrounding streets dressed in …Topics: Catholics and Catholicism, Economic Inequality, Education, Engaged Spirituality, Immigration, Latin America, Spiritual Exemplars
CRCC in the NewsNewsweek: Flory on Trump’s Waning White Evangelical SupportDonald Trump’s approval rate among white evangelicals has slipped since the onset of the pandemic in March. What does this signify for Trump’s re-election campaign? In an article about the 2020 Republican …Topics: Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Political Attitudes and Values, Voting and Elections
ReportHow Will Evangelicals Vote in 2020?CRCC created “The Varieties of American Evangelicalism” to help journalists and observers of political life understand the nuances of Evangelicals highlighted and exposed by their overwhelming political support for Donald Trump. In …Topics: weforum
CommentaryWill Our Sense of Solidarity Fall Victim to the Pandemic?I recently argued in a piece for Religion News Service that the pandemic is leading religious institutions and our moral perceptions through a process of creative destruction, one in which an increasing …Topics: COVID, Engaged Spirituality, Faith-Based Organizations, weforum
CommentaryA Spark To Set a Fire of Innovation: Reimagining ChurchThe following is excerpted from Richard Flory’s remarks at the first round in CRCC’s series “Conversations on Thriving Communities.” The goal of Reimagining Church Initiative is to bring together a group of …Topics: CMCCE, Thriving Congregations, weforum
CommentaryFaith, hope and creative destruction: religious responses to COVID-19This article was originally published in Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. (RNS) — In France, a hip female rabbi has improbably developed a large interfaith …Topics: COVID, Engaged Spirituality, Religious Leadership
EventReligion’s Role in Social Change – Council on Foreign RelationsHow can the religious community in America influence social change? Najuma Smith-Pollard, program manager of the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, joined Ruth Messinger, former president and current global ambassador …Topics: CMCCE,
ArticleThe Fight for Black Lives is a Spiritual MovementThis article was originally published in the Berkley Forum as an editorial response to “Religion and Racial Justice: The George Floyd Protests.” A circle of flowers forms a sanctuary honoring the space …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Engaged Spirituality, Protests and Uprisings, Race and Culture
“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 LoskotaExecutive DirectorBrie 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 FlorySenior Director of Research and EvaluationRichard 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-PollardProgram Manager of the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community 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.