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:
ReportBridges Over Troubled Waters: Faith-leaders Reflect on a Year of LockdownOn March 13, 2020, word started to spread that life in Los Angeles was going to change. Initially, it was thought that we would all be locking down as a short-term measure …Topics: COVID
CommentaryPredictions 2021: An Uphill StruggleAs we do around this time each new year, we at the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC) are going to make some predictions for 2021. Even though the world …Topics: Government and Religion, Political Attitudes and Values, Protests and Uprisings, Race and Culture, Voting and Elections
FeaturedEngaged SpiritualityTopics: Government and Religion, Political Attitudes and Values, Protests and Uprisings, Race and Culture, Voting and Elections
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
ArticleIn a Maoist-impacted region of India, an Indigenous activist continues to fight 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
ArticleTeachers Turn to Mindfulness After a Stressful Pandemic YearThis article was originally published in Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. The past school year was the most challenging in Jon Salunga’s teaching career. It was …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, COVID, Education, Engaged Spirituality, Spiritual Exemplars
Commentary5 Ways for Faith Communities To Support COVID-19 Vaccine Access Locally and GloballyAs the COVID-19 pandemic continues with the Delta variant sweeping across the globe, the need for a timely and coordinated vaccine response is urgent. Faith communities and their leaders are an important …Topics: COVID, Healthcare, Religious Leadership- VideoWitness as Ministry: Serving God and Refugees in Beirut
CommentaryWhy the Black Church Should Support Asian Lives MatterThe below post was originally published by The Christian Recorder and The LA Sentinel. The Rev. Mark Whitlock wrote it with Hyepin Im, CEO of FACE and an alum of the USC …Topics: Black Church, Race and Culture, Violence
CommentaryBuilding on the Past, With an Eye to the Future – A Reflection from CRCC’s New Executive DirectorRichard Flory shared the following reflection upon the announcement of his appointment as CRCC’s executive director, effective July 1, 2021. Thank you all for the notes of congratulations and kind words of …Topics:
CRCC in the NewsThe Special Report: Smith-Pollard looks back on Rodney King BeatingThe Special Report with Areva Martin hosted Najuma Smith-Pollard for a conversation on the impact of the Rodney King beating on Los Angeles and the country 30 years later, along with Lora …Topics: CMCCE,
“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-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.