Archive
Footnotes
1 Lawson, Erma J. (2007) “Wading in the Waters: Spirituality and Older Black Katrina Survivors,” Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved,18.2: 341-354. Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation …
Introduction
Faith-based organizations (FBOs) and faith leaders serve as focal points for people seeking physical, social, emotional, and spiritual care when disasters strike, as evidenced by responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane …
Current Environment and Need for Engagement
As the social safety net of the United States erodes, faith-communities often work to fill many of the unmet needs of their congregations and their surrounding communities on a day-to-day basis. They …
Types and Tiers of Faith Communities
Similar to the assumptions noted previously, most discussions of the potential role of the faith community to act in various public capacities assume that there is a singular entity made up of …
Roles of Congregations
Polls show that during times of crisis, nearly 60 percent of Americans say they turn first to a religious leader for comfort and guidance.21 In the wake of crisis or disaster, it …
Congregations and Faith Based Organizations in Disasters: Setting the Stage
The story of Katrina, and the role of the faith communities in response to the devastation caused both by the storm and human error, helped fuel a new and evolving interest in …
Recommendations
Based on the foregoing, the authors recommend that Cal EMA consider the following points as it formulates a strategy to build competent sustainable relationships with and include faith communities of all “types” …
Conclusion
Faith-based organizations represent an important ally for public agencies as they seek to strengthen and enhance disaster preparedness and response in California. Because of their diversity and ubiquity, faith-based organizations serve as …
Assets of Congregations
U.S. congregations number in excess of 345,000 making them the most ubiquitous institutions in all neighborhoods across the United States. In the five-county greater Los Angeles area, for example, there are more …
Barriers to Public Agencies and Faith Communities Working Together
Congregations and FBOs often experience barriers to working with government. These barriers may be due to the characteristics of a particular faith group, or due to the lack of religious literacy or …
The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the American News Media
The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the American News Media Diane Winston, Editor (Oxford University Press: 2012) Whether the issue is the rise of religiously inspired terrorism, …
The Dream Center: Spirit-Infused and Socially Engaged Urban Ministry
This article appeared in PentecoStudies: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Research on the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Vol 11, No 1). Abstract: In this article we investigate the Dream Center, a large-scale Pentecostal …
Black Church Barrios: African American Churches Adapt to Latino Neighbors
CRCC Director of Research Richard Flory and Executive Director of the Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement Mark Whitlock have appeared in an article in Christianity Today discussing the effect of demographic …
An Evangelical Changing of the Guard?
This post originally appeared at Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. At about the same time that President Barack Obama came out in favor of gay marriage, and …
Religion in the News: What Does it All Mean?
This post originally appeared on Patheos’ Black, White and Gray blog. Several news stories about religion in the U.S. have caught my attention over the last couple of weeks, and they each …
Megachurch and Microscoop: Beyond the Crystal Cathedral
This post originally appeared at Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. The Crystal Cathedral has finally met its demise. After bankruptcy, the sale of the landmark sanctuary to …
Richard Flory talks about churchgoing on podcast
Why go to church when a recent Barna Group survey found that most churchgoers barely remember any insight from the previous week’s service? CRCC Director of Research Richard Flory talked about that …
Demographic Change: Casualties or Opportunities?
This post originally appeared on Patheos’ Black, White and Gray blog. At the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, we’ve been talking a lot lately about how different communities in the …
Prof. Flory Goes to Chapel
I attended chapel today at Biola University (where I once worked), which increased the number of times I have attended a Biola chapel from zero to one. But, if chapels had been …
Opening the Gates: L.A. Congregations Confronting Gang Violence
Los Angeles has been regarded as the epicenter of the nation’s gang epidemic for decades. What began as relatively localized battles over turf and small-scale drug sales in L.A. has morphed into …