Economic inequality is both a social issue that people of faith feel called to address and a reality that shapes religious communities. In CRCC’s research in Los Angeles and across the globe, we’ve documented the appeal of Pentecostalism, with its message of healing, among people living in poverty. We’ve witnessed the selfless service of Catholic nuns in African slums, as well as the desire of religious “nones” to find meaning in their efforts to help the poor in their own backyard. In its relationship to economic inequality, religion can either be the “opiate of the people” or the agent of social change.
CommentaryHolistic Resilience: Why Some Spiritual Exemplars Question Suffering as a Path to ResilienceWhen CRCC’s “Spiritual Exemplars Project” team was invited to present about “resilience,” it was easy to think of many examples within our sample of 100+ spiritually engaged humanitarians who had endured and …Topics: Catholics and Catholicism, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Immigration, Jews and Judaism, Race and Culture, Religious Leadership, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleDr. Nikia S. Robert: The Birth Of The Abolitionist SanctuaryThis article was originally published on The Christian Recorder, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. On a late spring Sunday in May, the Rev. Dr. Nikia S. Robert, an …Topics: Black Church, Christians and Christianity, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Race and Culture, Spiritual Exemplars- VideoPassing on the Kindness: A Conversation on Faith and Social Entrepreneurship
ArticleCaroline Bundy: Finding Grace for Homeless Youth and LGBTQ+ in AlabamaThis article was originally published by Alabama Political Reporter, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Alabama’s governor recently signed a pair of bills—one criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender youth and …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Gender and Sexuality, Spiritual Exemplars
ReportWealth-Building ResourcesWhat are your life goals? The USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement hosts workshops to help you build your wealth. Attend a workshop and find the motivation, confidence and tools you …Topics: CMCCE, Economic Inequality,
CRCC in the NewsCBS2 and Spectrum News 1: Najuma Smith-Pollard on Martin Luther King Day Jr.CRCC’s Najuma Smith-Pollard was featured on CBS2 and Spectrum News 1’s “In Focus SoCal” to talk about how Los Angeles communities are continuing the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Speaking …Topics: Black Church, CMCCE, Economic Inequality, Race and Culture, Religious Leadership, Southern California- VideoJohn Hope Bryant: Building Wealth in Communities of Color
ArticleUmar Hakim: Humanitarian Day Reborn for a Ramadan in a PandemicThis article was originally published in The Washington Post and Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Last year, Ramadan ended just days before the murder …Topics: Community Organizing, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Muslims and Islam, Race and Culture, Spiritual Exemplars
AudioShaily Gupta Barnes: An Anti-Poverty Policymaker Finds New Meaning in Hindu TextsThis 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 The Spiritual Edge’s website. To hear this and other profiles, subscribe …Topics: Community Organizing, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Hindus and Hinduism, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleRev. Anand Mathew: A Catholic Priest Takes on Interfaith Fight Against COVID-19 in IndiaThis article was originally published in Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. VARANASI, India — Wearing a lilac tunic with a coarse cotton towel around his neck, …Topics: Asia, Catholics and Catholicism, COVID, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Interfaith/Multifaith Movements, Religious Leadership, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleSister Mary Scullion: Fighting to End Homelessness in PhiladelphiaThis article was originally published in Global Sisters Report, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. PHILADELPHIA — On a recent late summer afternoon, Mercy Sr. Mary Scullion found herself, as she …Topics: Catholics and Catholicism, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Nuns and Women Religious, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleIndira Ranamagar: Nepalese Women in Prison Turn to AmaThis article was originally published in Indian Country Today, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Our aunties are the same all over the world. They are the “go to” women …Topics: Asia, Criminal Justice, Economic Inequality, Engaged Spirituality, Gender and Sexuality, Spiritual Exemplars
“When people ask me, ‘What good can come out of Skid Row?’ I tell them that the people of God come out of Skid Row!”
—Pastor Cue of The Row/Church Without Walls
“Downtown L.A. Captures Pentecostalism’s Past, Present and Future”
CRCC Experts
To schedule an interview with one of our experts, please contact CRCC:
crcc@usc.edu or 213-743-1611
Brad ChristersonContributing FellowBrad Christenson is a sociologist who has written extensively in the areas of religion, race, ethnicity, and globalization.
Rev. Frank Jackson, Jr.Contributing FellowRev. Frank Jackson, Jr. couples his experience in business and investment with his passion for community development.
Andrew JohnsonPast FellowAndrew Johnson is a sociologist who studies religion on the margins of society, with specific interests in religious practice inside of prison, Latin American Pentecostalism and religion in the city.
Rebecca SagerContributing FellowRebecca Sager’s work focuses on political and religious movements and parties in American political life.
Megan SweasEditor and Director of CommunicationsMegan Sweas is a journalist specializing in social and economic justice issues and world religions.