Archive
April 12, 1992: “Heaven Has a Cover Charge”
Pastor Murray encourages his congregation to be committed. “When there is no commitment, there is nothing at all,” he says. To get to heaven, there must be a lot of working, struggle …
April 19, 1992: “There’s Always a Third Day” (Part Two)
Pastor Murray redefines death as a condition where you only see the negative in life. He accuses many of practicing “dead religion,” or not coming to church for the Lord but to …
April 19, 1992: “There’s Always a Third Day” (Part One)
“I think death died when Jesus died,” says Pastor Murray, making the argument that those who are disenfranchised will rise again. He tells his congregation that with a will to live, you …
April 11, 1999: “What’s Jesus Cooking Up Now?”
In this sermon, Rev. Murray poses the question: “Are you doing any good in life or are you just going through the motions?” He encourages his congregation to “claim your blessings and …
April 5, 1992: “Does Anybody Here Know My Jesus?”
Pastor Cecil L. Murray encourages his congregation to challenge the stereotype of the “gentle Jesus,” asserting that Jesus was not gentle and passive, but assertive for justice. He says, “When you meet …
Pacific Standard: Flory on Evangelical support for Trump
The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies have revealed a split among Christians, with some providing sanctuary to immigrants in danger of deportation and others maintaining their support of the president. Pacific Standard quoted …
Catholic Sisters: Vocations in Africa
Many young women in countries across Africa have decided to become Catholic sisters. In this video, young women share why they decided to follow the path of religious life. The sisters note …
How Salvation Army’s Red Kettles Became a Christmas Tradition
This article originally appeared on The Conversation. Tinseled trees and snowy landscapes are not the only signs of the upcoming holiday season. Red kettles, staffed by men and women in street clothes, …
OC Register/LA Sentinel: Whitlock Fasting to End Gun Violence
Mark Whitlock, executive director of the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, has committed to a 73-day fast to end gun violence. The Orange County Register and the L.A. Sentinel detailed …
Jewish Unbound: Tobin Belzer on Studying Jews Differently
Jewish identity has long been measured by whether a person holds certain attitudes or practices certain behaviors, but there’s a different way to look at it, argues Tobin Belzer, a contributing fellow …
KPCC: Najuma Smith-Pollard on Same-Sex Marriage and the Black Church
In 2008, a majority of Black voters helped ban same-sex marriage in California. KPCC talked to Najuma Smith-Pollard, program manager for the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, about whether attitudes …
Credits
This report is a project of the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture in partnership with the Knight Program in Media and Religion. Its impetus was our dissatisfaction with how “evangelicalism” was …
Kingdom Christians
Who Congregations of Kingdom Christians strive to mirror the demographic and socioeconomic mix of the urban neighborhoods where they are rooted. They often include a more diverse mix of Asian, Latino and …
Peace & Justice Evangelicals
Who The Peace and Justice wing of evangelicalism is a loose network of evangelical pastors, non-profit leaders, professors and activists. They are a small but growing minority in the larger evangelical world. …
iVangelicals
Who iVangelicals are concentrated in the evangelical megachurch movement and focus on reaching large numbers of people through popular worship services, a wide range of programs and small group ministries. Because of …
Neo-Fundamentalist Evangelicals
Who Neo-fundamentalists are evangelicals who are no less theologically and politically conservative than Trump-vangelicals, but who maintain a purist approach to theology and morality that determines which people or groups they will …
MAGA-vangelicals
Who This group constitutes the white Christian nationalist core of Trump’s political base, with some Latino, Asian and African-American pastors also aligning themselves with this movement. What The key to this demographic …
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 …
5,000 Pies: Serving Pizza and Faith in Long Beach
5,000 Pies is a small, storefront restaurant and “social enterprise” operated by Fountain of Life Covenant Church in a multi-ethnic and economically challenged neighborhood on the west side of Long Beach, California. …
Reflections on My Experience as a Generation Change Fellow
By Ezekiel Nworie This blog post originally ran on Youth for Technology Foundation’s website. Call it an adventure, a dream realized, a handshake with experience or a door of opportunity. In June, I traveled …