Archive
The Radical Resistance and Radical Acceptance of Spiritual Exemplars
How spiritual exemplars work to create a world befitting of our inherent nobility A key question we are asked by consumers of our research on “spiritual exemplars” is about the qualities of …
Spiritual Exemplars: The Pragmatism and Mystical Perspective of William James
William James was the inspiration for our project on “spiritual exemplars” at the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture. James, a philosopher and psychologist, believed that one learns more from what …
Spotlight shines on spiritually engaged humanitarians in ‘Stories of Social Change’ exhibit
This story was originally published by USC News. After being immersed in the material for five years, Megan Sweas didn’t need a script as she led small groups on tours of the …
We Need Heroes: Countering Cultural Despair with an Exhibit of Exemplars
There is a great boom in psychotherapy these days. Especially among a younger generation, people are lonely, anxious about the environment, insecure financially—fearful they will not achieve the same standard as their …
Kumu Hina and Walter Ritte: ‘A very Hawaiian place’
This article was originally published by Indian Country Today, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. HONOLULU, Hawai’i — It’s a weekday evening rush-hour in Honolulu, and Hina Wong-Kalu is driving us …
Communality: A Possible Solution to Environmental Protection
“An individual does not exist,” Jaime Martínez Luna, a Zapotec intellectual (pictured in yellow jacket), told me as we shared coffee in his kitchen in the small mountain village of San Pablo …
Carmen Santiago Alonso: In Oaxaca, Indigenous Farmers Mourn Catholic Activist
This article was originally published by Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. OAXACA, Mexico (RNS) — At Carmen Santiago Alonso’s funeral on Feb. 7, the …
Tom Goldtooth: From Indian bar bouncer to humanitarian
This article was originally published by Indian Country Today, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. BEMIDJI, Minnesota — The offices of the Indigenous Environmental Network are located in the corner …
Winona LaDuke and Tom Goldtooth: A Spiritual Perspective on Climate Change
This story was originally published by Indian Country Today, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Covering the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, was a binge-work undertaking filled …
Engaged Spirituality at COP26 – UN Climate Talks
CRCC 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 …
Rosalina Tuyuc Velasquez: Calling on Ancient Maya Wisdom to Heal Guatemalan Widows
This radio documentary was originally published by KALW’s The Spiritual Edge, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Listen to it at KALW.org. To hear this and other profiles, subscribe …
Brother Chân Pháp Dung: Where the Search for Simplicity Leads
This 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 …
Soni Sori: An Indigenous Activist Fights in Memory of the Children She Couldn’t Save
This 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 …
Nestor Castro: Better Red Than Dead
Nester Castro (left), professor of anthropology at the University of the Philippines, holding an English-language Filipino newspaper from 1972, when Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in order to secure his grip on …
Nica Aquino: Searching for Home
Ironically, 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 …
Sapi’s Struggle: Indigenous Resistance to Cultural Assimilation in the Philippines
This 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 …
Sarah James: Fighting for What’s Sacred in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
This radio documentary was produced by KALW’s The Spiritual Edge, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Listen to it on SpiritualEdge.org. To hear this and other profiles, subscribe to …
How Covid-19 and the Fight Against Big Oil is Reviving One Alaskan People’s Spiritual Traditions
This article was originally published in Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. It also became a podcast episode for The Spiritual Edge. To hear it and other …
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 …
The Roaring 20s: Religion Trends to Watch in 2020 and the Next Decade
The 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 …