Archive
Spiritual Exemplar Life Story Interview Guide
The following interview guide may be useful to journalists and researchers interested in collecting and telling stories of humanitarianism and/or the role of spirituality in people’s lives and work. The USC Center …
Layli Miller Muro: Protecting the Rights of Migrants
As a lawyer and a member of the Baha’i faith, Layli Miller-Muro believes the pursuit of justice is a divine calling. When she was in law school in 1996, Miller-Muro successfully helped …
Huda Abu Arqoub: Building the Land Her Grandfather Knew
Peacebuilder Huda Abu Arqoub has a spiritual vision for Israel/Palestine rooted in the past. A truly holy land, she says, is one in which all can live together. When Huda Abu Arqoub …
Holistic Resilience: Why Some Spiritual Exemplars Question Suffering as a Path to Resilience
When CRCC’s “Spiritual Exemplars Project” team was invited to present about “resilience,” it was easy to think of many examples within our sample of 100+ spiritually engaged humanitarians who had endured and …
Dr. Nikia S. Robert: The Birth Of The Abolitionist Sanctuary
This article was originally published on The Christian Recorder, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. On a late spring Sunday in May, the Rev. Dr. Nikia S. Robert, an …
Jenifer Colpas Fernández: Young Colombian activist brings light to the displaced communities
This article was originally published on Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. CARTAGENA, Colombia (RNS) — In Isla de León, an hour’s drive through traffic-choked streets …
Sister Teresa Forcades: Meet a Catholic Nun Who Smashes the ‘Pro-life’ Patriarchy
This article was originally published on Smashboard, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. “All women should have the ‘morning-after’ pill in their purses”. It’s a compelling statement, especially since …
Eboo Patel: Leading Interfaith America Into The New Era Of Religious Diversity
This article was originally published by Religion Unplugged, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. CHICAGO — By his own telling, as a young man Eboo Patel was something of a …
Remembering Edmund Kaszibuloh Koroma: A Savior and Peace Builder
He was many things rolled into one: A committed community peace builder, a passionate promoter of religious tolerance and a tireless advocate of free education for children. Above all, Edmund Kaszibuloh Koroma …
Why They Cross the Mediterranean: Italy’s ‘Guardian Angel of Refugees’ in Conversation with a Survivor of the 2013 Lampedusa Shipwreck
For nearly 20 years, Eritrean Catholic Priest Mussie Zerai has fielded thousands of distress calls from refugees and migrants on shipwrecked vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. “I’ve heard the voices. I’ve heard …
Father Mussie Zerai: The Migrant Priest
Father Mussie Zerai (born in Asmara, 1975) is an Eritrean Roman Catholic priest and refugees’ rights advocate. Referred to as “the migrant priest,” “guardian angel of the refugees,” and “refugees’ first responder,” …
Passing on the Kindness: A Conversation on Faith and Social Entrepreneurship
The Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard hosted a conversation with Ida Puliwa, a social entrepreneur and community organizer from Malawi and a “Spiritual Exemplar,” profiled as part of the Center for Religion and …
Stones that Have Weathered Many Storms: A Reporter’s Notebook from a Human Rights Defender’s Place of Solace
In the rugged landscape of the Kotayk Province of Armenia, Geghard Monastery rises from an amphitheater of steep cliffs like a revelation. Even the long trek to the monastery complex, surrounded by …
Lara Aharonian: Advocating for Armenia’s Vulnerable Women
This article was originally published by Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. YEREVAN, Armenia (RNS) — Home for Lara Aharonian is this capital city whose architecture …
Caroline Bundy: Finding Grace for Homeless Youth and LGBTQ+ in Alabama
This article was originally published by Alabama Political Reporter, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Alabama’s governor recently signed a pair of bills—one criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender youth and …
Teresa Forcades: A Catholic Nun who Complicates the Abortion Conversation
This article was originally published by The Independent, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. It’s time to reimagine the debate around abortion. We are trapped in the tyranny of …
Ruth Messinger: The New York City Politician’s Long Second Act Honors ‘an Obligation to Respond’
This article was originally published by Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. (RNS) — New Yorkers of a certain age remember Ruth Messinger as a city …
Zannah Mustapha: Teaching Boko Haram’s kids
This article was originally published in The Christian Science Monitor, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA — One morning in May, Zina Mustapha stood before her 20 …
Fouzia Azizi: Refugee to Refugee, Afghan Resettlement Worker Draws from Faith and Experience
This article was originally published by Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. CONCORD, Calif. (RNS) — Sayed Hashmi, an Afghan citizen, did not want to leave his …
Tom Catena: Choosing Joy Over Happiness
This article was originally published by Religion Unplugged, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. GIDEL, Sudan — The media is filled with articles on how to achieve happiness, including in …