One of the fascinating aspects of living in a time of great religious flux is the boom in religious (and irreligious) innovation. Young adults who are leaving established institutions are forming new kinds of associations to nurture a sense of purpose and belonging. Congregations with empty pews are experimenting with novel forms of music and liturgy to try to attract converts as well as to retain the faithful. Service-oriented groups that welcome all comers, regardless of religious affiliation, are flourishing across the country. And a variety of spiritual practices that focus on the experience of individual believers are flourishing in the West as well in as in the global South.
- ReportUncharted Pilgrimages: Mapping Contemporary Spiritual JourneysTopics: Creativity and Innovation, Southern California, weforum
- EventReimagining Religion Conference Program and Livestream – Feb. 9, 2017Scroll below to watch the livestream (times of panels noted on conference schedule) February 9, 2017 University of Southern California Preview: Increasingly, Americans are choosing not to identify with a particular religious …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Meditation and Prayer, Political Attitudes and Values, Religious "Nones", Religious Affiliation, Religious Beliefs and Rituals, Southern California
- ArticleMapping the New Landscape of Religion in Los FelizThis article originally appeared in BOOM: A Journal of California. Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church was in trouble. Its congregation had become too small to sustain the decaying Los Feliz building that had …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Christians and Christianity, Creativity and Innovation, LGBT Issues, Place and Religion, Religious Affiliation, Southern California
- ArticleSitting in the Fire Together: People of Color Cultivating Radical Resilience in North American Insight MeditationThis article appeared in the Journal of Global Buddhism’s Special Issue on Buddhism and Resilience, Vol 22, No 1 (2021), co-edited by Nalika Gajaweera. Abstract Drawing upon ethnographic research conducted in California …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Creativity and Innovation, Race and Culture, TAS
- ArticleJournal of Global Buddhism: Special Issue on Buddhism and ResilienceNalika Gajaweera co-edited a special issue of the Journal of Global Buddhism on Buddhism and Resilience with Darcie DeAngelo. Below is an excerpt of their introduction along with a list of articles …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Creativity and Innovation, Race and Culture, TAS
- BookReligion in Los Angeles: Religious Activism, Innovation and Diversity in the Global CityReligion in Los Angeles: Religious Activism, Innovation and Diversity in the Global City Edited by Richard Flory and Diane Winston (Routledge, 2021) Why has Los Angeles been a hotspot for religious activism, …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Catholics and Catholicism, Christians and Christianity, Community Organizing, Creativity and Innovation, Faith-Based Organizations, Hindus and Hinduism, Interfaith/Multifaith Movements, Jews and Judaism, Pentecostals and Pentecostalism, Religious Leadership, Southern California
- ArticleNica Aquino: Searching for HomeIronically, hope for the Kalinga way of life may be found far from Lubuagan and the Chico River, in the outposts of the Filipino diaspora. For example, one of Cirilo “Sapi” Bawer’s …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Engaged Spirituality, Place and Religion, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture
- AnnouncementTransforming the American Sangha: Race, Racism and Diversity in North American Insight MeditationNorth American Insight Meditation institutions, rooted in the Vipassana tradition of Theravada Buddhism, are often seen as liberal, inclusive multicultural spaces committed to welcoming diverse constituencies into their communities. The research undertaken …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Creativity and Innovation, Race and Culture
- ArticleAzza Karam: The Role Of Women In Faith And DiplomacyThis article was originally published in Religion Unplugged, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. LINDAU— Azza Karam was just about to step up to the podium at the Inselhalle in …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Engaged Spirituality, Faith-Based Organizations, Government and Religion, International Affairs and Policy, Political Attitudes and Values, Spiritual Exemplars
- ArticleCOVID-19 Proves To Be a Test of Faith for Believers, Churches and CommunitiesThis USC News article was built off of a source alert “Spirituality in a Pandemic: A Test of Faith for Believers and Organizations.” The source alert has additional perspective from Najuma Smith-Pollard …Topics: COVID, Creativity and Innovation, Government and Religion, Race and Culture, weforum
- ArticleFar from Being Anti-Religious, Faith and Spirituality Run Deep in Black Lives MatterThis article was originally published on The Conversation, and was written with Ann Gleig. Black Lives Matters (BLM) has been portrayed by its detractors as many things: Marxist, radical, anti-American. Added to …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Engaged Spirituality, Protests and Uprisings, Race and Culture
- ArticleAl and Andi Tauber: How Two Mennonite Musicians Turn Street Ministry Into SongThis radio documentary was produced by KALW’s The Spiritual Edge, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Listen to it on SpiritualEdge.org. To hear this and other profiles, subscribe to …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Creativity and Innovation, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, LGBT Issues, Race and Culture, Southern California, Spiritual Exemplars
“Most people would probably be surprised to hear ‘faith’ and ‘innovation’ used in the same sentence. But any conversation about leaders in entrepreneurship and innovation has plenty of space for the topic of faith.”
—Rebecca McQuigg Rigal
“A Leap of …Entrepreneurship? Finding a Place for Faith in Social Innovation”
CRCC Experts
To schedule an interview with one of our experts, please contact CRCC:
crcc@usc.edu or 213-743-1611