USC Dornsife College Of Letters Arts and Sciences

University of Southern California

Archive

Archive

Thriving (or Just Surviving): 2023 Trends to Watch in Religion and Society

If CRCC’s annual trends to watch have been growing more ominous in recent years, then 2023 feels like a pivotal year for many of the issues we’ve been tracking:  Like our final …

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 …

Sister Norma Pimentel: The Hands and Voice of God for Migrants at the US/Mexico Border

Sister Norma Pimentel is one of the nation’s leading voices calling for new and more just immigration policies. As executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, she …

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 …

Student Reflection: Curating Religion: Pluralistically, Singularly, or Not At All?

By Caris White Caris White is a student at Dartmouth College studying religion and art history. The following blog post was an independent project she worked on during a summer internship with …

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 …

Los Angeles City Hall building rises into a blue sky, with sun shining from the right. American flags hang off the edge of city hall.

Finding Accountability and a Moral Agenda After Revelations of Racism in City Hall

Politicians are elected to represent all of their constituents, not just those who voted for or supported them. They should be fair-minded and not traffic in exclusionary or discriminatory practices, or promote …

KPCC: Najuma Smith-Pollard on LA Council Members’ Racist Remarks

Faith leaders are among those calling for accountability after the revelations of racist comments in a conversation between some of Los Angeles’ top Latino political leaders. The Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard spoke …

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 …

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 …

Sister Agatha Chikelue: Committed to Building Peace in Nigeria

This article was originally published by Global Sisters Report, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality.  When she was an infant, Agatha Chikelue became gravely ill. Her parents took her to …

Sister Teresa Forcades: A Catholic Nun Who Rejects the Pro-Choice/Pro-Life Binary

This article was originally published by Religion Unplugged, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality.  Catholic nun and medical doctor Teresa Forcades says women should make their own abortion …