Archive
Parveena Ahanger: A Grieving Mother’s Fight for the Disappeared of Kashmir
Parveena Ahanger, a well-known Kashmiri activist, exuded her characteristic warmth as she sat cross-legged in the kitchen on a freezing January afternoon in Srinagar, the region’s largest city. The warmest corner of …
The Complex Relationship Between Religion and Humanitarianism
The hero image of religious saints involved in humanitarian work warrants examination. I have come to this conclusion in the process of leading a global project on “spiritual exemplars” at USC’s Center …
COVID-19 Proves To Be a Test of Faith for Believers, Churches and Communities
This USC News article was built off of a source alert “Spirituality in a Pandemic: A Test of Faith for Believers and Organizations.” The source alert has additional perspective from Najuma Smith-Pollard …
Celebrating Thich Nhat Hanh’s Influence on his 94th Birthday
Thich Nhat Hanh’s 94th birthday—or continuation day—is Oct 11. In honor of the day, Plum Village monastics asked his friends and students to share short reflections on how Thay, as his followers …
It Takes a Community and Resources to Become an Exemplar
I had the chance to meet with two exceptional women for the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture’s global project on engaged spirituality: Makvala Margoshvili and Marie Stella Kouak. They were …
Julie Coyne: Creating A Community of Care in Highland Guatemala
On 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 …
How 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 …
Will 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 …
A Spark To Set a Fire of Innovation: Reimagining Church
The 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 …
When What You Do Is Who You Are: The Intersection of Jewish Organizational Culture and Identity
“By the time Shabbat comes around, I don’t want to see another Jew or think about anything Jewish.” I have heard variations on that statement countless times over the years that I …
Reimagining Impact: An Evaluation of the Avanath/CORCDC Partnership
This study examines the social impact of community service organizations that are affiliated with church groups in Southern California. In our work with many such faith-based groups, we have found that, while …
Community Transformation: Outlining a Process for Change
Introduction: Innovation Labs for Congregational Vitality and Community Change Imagine if a church held a gala to raise money for programs to help improve the lives of its neighbors, and everyone in …
Community Transformation: Outlining a Process for Change
Introduction: Innovation Labs for Congregational Vitality and Community Change Imagine if a church held a gala to raise money for programs to help improve the lives of its neighbors, and everyone in …
National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) Religious Literacy Primer 2019
The USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement created this religious literacy primer for the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), in an effort to help members of the organization engage …
The Varieties of American Evangelicalism
Donald Trump’s election as president in 2016 brought the culture, fault-lines and political commitments of American evangelicalism into sharp relief. How did a candidate whose lifestyle and morals starkly contradict conservative Christian …