Archive
Richard Flory talks Crystal Cathedral with NPR
NPR quoted Richard Flory, CRCC director of research and research associate professor, in a report about the ongoing financial woes of the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County. The Crystal Cathedral, a megachurch …
APPENDIX: Survey on Capacity and Impact
PTM survey results In Fall 2010, CRCC conducted an online survey of all PTM alumni to get a better understanding of their participation in the program, from recruitment to what they learned …
Who Takes Up the Mantle Now? Phase IV and Beyond
That imperative sounds far easier than it actually is. The people who live in many of the neighborhoods served by this city’s historically African-American churches are no longer predominantly African-American. In fact, …
Civic Engagement in the Classroom and the Community
“Religion is personal but it isn’t private,” says Rev. Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray in a typically pithy summary of belief capturing a tension that shapes the lives of individual Christians as well …
Introduction: History and Context
For Rev. Najuma Smith-Pollard, the statistics that describe the plight of many urban AfricanAmerican communities aren’t abstractions— they’re everyday realities. St. James A M E Church, where Smith-Pollard serves as pastor, is …
Passing the Mantle: A New Generation of Leaders in the Black Church
Executive Summary In many urban neighborhoods where African American churches have deep roots, obdurate problems such as homelessness, drug addiction, gang violence and educational underachievement have only grown more acute since the …
Mega Crystal Cathedral Meltdown Redux
This post originally appeared at Trans/Missions, the USC Knight Chair in Media and Religion site. The past tumultuous few years for the Crystal Cathedral have included the retirement (and un-retirement, then subsequent …
Notes
1. Charles E. Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya. 1990. The Black Church in the African American Experience. Durham, NC [u.a.]: Duke University Press. 2. “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey,” Pew Forum on Religion …
The Future
Despite lingering vestiges of structural racism, an entrenched economic downturn, and changing community demographics, a 2011 Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation-Harvard University poll found that 85 percent African Americans were still optimistic about …
Social Engagement in the Age of Obama: Observations for the Black Church
Lessons on Social Engagement in the Post-Civil Rights Era For most of its history, the Black Church served as the spiritual and political center of the African American community. From the strident advocacy …
Faith-based Social Engagement in 20th Century Los Angeles: A Historic Overview
Building a Community Like many of its urban counterparts, the city of Los Angeles was impacted greatly by the movement of African Americans out of the South during the middle of the …
A House Built on Sand: Economic Challenges to the Viability of the African American Church
The Real Estate Crisis and its Effect on the Black Church All faith traditions are affected when parishioners lose their jobs and homes. As much a spiritual crisis as a financial one, in …
The Black Church Next: Challenges and Opportunities Facing African American Congregations in 21st Century Los Angeles
For generations the church was the stalwart institution in the African American community. From providing assistance to new urban migrants to serving as the social conscience of a nation, the church was …
Foreword
Like Ezekiel of old, Dr. Daniel Walker invites us to walk with him through a valley of dry bones. It is not yet a graveyard, but the site of a recent battle …
Voice of America Features IMPA
The Voice of America featured the International Mission Photography Archive, a joint initiative of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture and the USC Digital Library. “Online Archive Preserves Images from Christian …
How Can Public Officials Engage With Religion? Faith and Diplomacy Briefing
Brie Loskota delivered the following remarks at a Faith and Diplomacy Briefing in Washington, D.C. on April 11, 2011. The event was sponsored by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy. I was …
Gays and Lesbians at Evangelical Colleges?
Shocking! According to the New York Times, there are gay and lesbian students at evangelical colleges, and they actually want to be recognized by their schools for the people they are, not …
Enhancing Impact in the Public Square: Building Capacity and Developing Leadership among American Muslims and Their Organizations
A new report published by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings explores the role of Muslim faith-based organizations in American civic life. Authors Brie Loskota and Nadia Roumani, co-founders …
Future Challenges
The challenges facing the Los Angeles region in the coming years are immense, and we are just beginning to understand them. For example, the economy is slowly recovering from the recession of …
Faith groups in the civic sphere of Los Angeles
Currently, faith groups in Los Angeles exhibit five different, although sometimes overlapping, approaches to meeting the needs they see in the public sphere: 1) Charity in the form of volunteerism and service …