The Faith Leaders Institute of the Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement recently hosted its second annual Faith Leaders Summit at the USC Davidson Center. More than 300 people attended the event, …

CRCC housed the Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Initiative from 2009 to 2013. Findings from the initiative can be found here. Pentecostal and Charismatic religion flourishes at some of the most fluid and …

Our ongoing project on the Los Angeles Dream Center has introduced us to many memorable people, among them, Alfred Lomas. Alfred is the director of the Food Truck ministry at the Dream …

At different times and in different parts of the world, Pentecostal and charismatic expressions of Christianity have followed very different trajectories. In Soviet-era Romania, for example, some Pentecostal groups were favored by …

Religious history in the former Soviet Union is more than a linear story of evangelization, conversion, and church growth.

That evangelical Christians have long been able to co-opt popular cultural forms, give them a nice (and wholesome) Christian gloss, and then turn them into forms intended to further their aims is …

According to a recent report from the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank, the number of people served by its affiliate food pantries, kitchens and shelters throughout Los Angeles County has increased 46% since …

John Seely Brown was chief scientist of Xerox Corporation and director of its Palo Alto Research Center for almost 20 years. His lecture answers two central questions: What made PARC so creative? …

Richard Flory, CRCC senior research associate and research associate professor, was quoted in an Associated Press article by Gillian Flaccus. The Crystal Cathedral, a megachurch founded by Robert H. Schuller Sr. is …

It is no secret that women generally get the short end of the stick, so to speak, when it comes to how they are treated and viewed in religions and religious institutions. …

Richard Flory, CRCC senior research associate, appeared on a CBS Evening News broadcast about American religious practice. The story, “Crossing Boundaries,” focused on a recent study from the Pew Forum on Religion …

There seems to be some concern among both religious leaders and the faithful, that our recent economic woes will cause significant change in the religious landscape of America.

Portraits of Faith, Hope and Social Transformation. Photographs by Jerry Berndt.

Portraits of Survival and Hope. Photographs by Jerry Berndt.

Or maybe we could develop an alternative explanation and call it the “Spiritualization Thesis.” Americans are, apparently, as interested in religious and spiritual activities as ever, including prayer and seeking out various forms of spiritual guidance and direction.

Recognizing, preserving and protecting cultural heritage in conflict zones

Analyzing the development and impact of Neo-Confucian education in China.

Tracing the largest social movement of the 19th century through photographs around the globe

Creating a resource to document the history and evolution of Gospel Music

There’s an interesting article in the Sports Section of the New York Times (August 2, 2009) on several X Games competitors who have given up life in the fast lane, of (apparently) sex, drugs and rock and roll, and have converted to Christianity of an evangelical sort.