Good Vibrations: Sonic Rituals and Sacred Time
“Please come on Saturday morning, by 6:50am to get settled in for the 7-8:30am gathering.” So read the email from Kathryn, one of my research interlocutors, who helps coordinate a small group …
Southern California and the World
Finding, Losing Faith in Foxholes
Photo by Eric Feferberg The aphorism “There are no atheists in foxholes” first arose to describe the pleas for salvation prayed by terrified soldiers facing impending death in the trenches of Europe …
California Megachurches
Megachurches Adapted from the description provided by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. When researchers talk about “megachurches,” they are generally referring to any Protestant congregation with a sustained average weekly attendance …
Churched Out
I’m churched out. I’ve gone to more church services in the last two months than I have over the past 30 years. Now, I’m not exactly complaining about this development since these …
Pirates in the White Room
Cartoon by Matt Bors. Last week I met Gary Wexler, who teaches in the communications management program at USC’s Annenberg School. The two of us were having lunch with my CRCC colleagues …
The Wild, Wild West of Mindfulness
Diana Winston’s post-college spiritual journey was something of an anachronism. After she graduated from Brown in the late 1980s, Winston traveled to Southeast Asia, where she spent several years working with Theravada …
Want to Build a More Resilient City? Bring Faith to the Table
Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti recently announced his commitment to hire a Chief Resilience Officer, who will be tasked with increasing the city’s ability to recover from man-made and natural disasters. This …
Heart of Dharma: Comparing Buddhist Practice, East and West
A dozen or so Vipassana (Insight) practitioners have just ended a session of “sitting” (meditation) and discussion in one of the numerous Insight meditation centers in Los Angeles. In light of the …
Iceberg Lettuce vs. Arugula: Religion and Gentrification in Los Feliz
Last week I took a walk on the gentrifying edge of Los Feliz with the pastor of a local church that mainly ministers to the down-and-out. We talked about the urban landscape …
The Burbs Are All Right: Religion, Sprawl and L.A.’s Urban Logic
As a part of our Religious Competition and Creative Innovation project, our research team meets once each month for “idea lunches” during which we have freewheeling discussions about what we’re seeing in …