Archive
Reimagining Religion Conference: The Future of Religion in Los Angeles
What does the future of religion in the United States look like? Even as religious affiliation declines, the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture finds signs of innovation and vitality in …
Pico Union Project: An Interfaith Space in Los Angeles
The Pico-Union Project reveals several layers of Los Angeles’ immigrant religious history, even as it embodies the communities and practices that are shaping the city’s future. Built in 1909 for a Jewish …
September 16, 2001: Rev. Murray’s post-9/11 Sermon
In a sermon titled “Above the Madness,” Rev. Cecil Murray of First AME Church (FAME) in Los Angeles admonishes his congregation not to partake of the toxic stew of hatred and rage …
Trust Talks: A Dialogue on Police and Race in Los Angeles
Trust Talks is a faith community-led initiative that brings together all sides of the Downtown Los Angeles community—including representatives of Skid Row, condo owners and renters, police, business owners, and activists—in …
Sunday Assembly: Atheists Find Community at Godless Church
Sunday Assembly Los Angeles is part of a global network of “godless” communities that started in the United Kingdom in 2013. Defying the notion that the growing ranks of religiously disaffiliated people …
Generation Change Fellow Profile: Shubey Nantege of GoGirl Africa
Shubey Nantege, a Ugandan Generation Change Fellow, founded GoGirl Africa, a civil sociey organization that empowers girls and women to create and lead social change across Uganda. This video profiles Nantege and …
Founders MCC: A Radically Inclusive Christian Community
Founders Metropolitan Community Church (MCCLA) is colloquially known as the Gay Church. Part of our series on religious creativity, this video captures how the church’s ethos of radical inclusion has changed lives …
Catholic Sisters Create a Model of Economic Empowerment in Zambia
In Chipapa, Zambia, Catholic sisters have created a model of sustainable development that allows the sisters to support themselves while helping the wider community. Sister Catherine Oguonu provides a tour of the …
Beautiful Gate: Envisioning Christian Faith in Los Angeles
Beautiful Gate defines itself as a movement, not a church or community. Located in Los Feliz and founded by missionaries Samuel and Priya Theophylus, Beautiful Gate is an example how some Christian …
May 3, 1992: Rev. Cecil Murray Preaches as the Fires of the L.A. Riots Burn
Over six days in late April and early May 1992, hundreds of fires burned in the heart of Los Angeles. The acquittal of police officers charged with using excessive force against Rodney …
Embodied Religion: Reassessing the Role of the “Senses” in Religious Research
We often make the mistake of identifying religious vitality with assent to particular beliefs. In this process, we forget that intellectual assent to beliefs is merely one element of religious experience. I …
Nefesh: A Soulful Experiment in Jewish Revival
Nefesh has breathed new life into Jewish communal devotional practice at one of the most storied synagogues in Los Angeles. Watch here: Like many religions, Judaism faces a decline in participation in …
A Mosque with Open Doors, Inviting the Community In
Masjid Al-Fatiha embraces its role as an ambassador for Islam in the larger community, while also creating a space for Thai Muslims to preserve their religious and cultural traditions in America. Although …
Spiritual Healing Networks in Long Beach
Long Beach, California is a perfect example of the creativity and collaboration among people who embrace spiritual forms of healing, such as yoga and meditation. This video explores how this network operates: …
Against the Stream: Taking Refuge in an American Sangha
Against the Stream (ATS) is a Buddhist Meditation Center that seeks to introduce Buddhist teachings and practices rooted in traditional Buddhist lineages of South and Southeast Asia with a distinctly American anti-establishment …
Dignity and Power Now: The Spirituality of Black Lives Matter
Dignity and Power Now (DPN), a grassroots organization in Los Angeles, works to end mass incarceration. Founded by Patrisse Cullors, an artist and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, DPN uses …
Laundry Love: Making a Laundromat Sacred through Service
Laundry Love is a nationwide network of more than 100 groups that offer free laundry to people in need, creating new communities at laundromats. It began in Ventura, California in the early …
Charting the Future of Religion in Los Angeles and Beyond – The Story of USC CRCC
The USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture is a research and training center that explores how religions change and make change in Southern California and the world. This video tells the …
The Row L.A. – A Skid Row Church Ministers on the Streets of Los Angeles
At The Row, or the “Church Without Walls,” members congregate on the corner of Wall St. and Winston St. in the middle of DTLA’s Skid Row every Friday night. Though church members …
After Charleston: Race and Religion in America
The racially motivated shooting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015 was a wake-up call for Christians across the United States that racism still affects the church. This …