CommentaryThe Moral Power of Stories: How Exemplars Help Us Find Meaning and PurposeWhat has more emotional salience, an abstract moral principle such as love or justice or a good story of someone whose life commitments exemplify these values? Shortly after I finished my Ph.D. …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Media, Spiritual Exemplars- VideoUnveiling the Heart of 100 Humanitarians
ReportStories of Social Change: Spirituality in ActionA multimedia exhibit on display at USC Wallis Annenberg Hall (ANN) August 21 – September 21, 2023 A global team of journalists and researchers at the University of Southern California produced …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Media, Spiritual Exemplars
CommentaryDonald E. Miller: ‘Spiritual exemplars’ change the media narrative about religionThis article was originally published on Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Media stories about religion often focus on corruption in religious institutions, politicians’ alliances with conservative Christians and …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Media, Religious Leadership, Spiritual Exemplars
CommentaryThriving (or Just Surviving): 2023 Trends to Watch in Religion and SocietyIf CRCC’s annual trends to watch have been growing more ominous in recent years, then 2023 feels like a pivotal year for many of the issues we’ve been tracking: Like our final …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Media, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture, Southern California, Thriving Congregations
CommentaryStudent Reflection: Curating Religion: Pluralistically, Singularly, or Not At All?By Caris White Caris White is a student at Dartmouth College studying religion and art history. The following blog post was an independent project she worked on during a summer internship with …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Media
CommentaryPandemic Year 3 Predictions: Adjusting to New “Normals” in 2022Since 2016, CRCC has shared the trends in religion and society that we see shaping the coming year. What started as light-hearted predictions has grown more ominous over the years. Anybody surprised …Topics: Black Church, Christians and Christianity, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Media, Meditation and Prayer, Political Attitudes and Values, Protests and Uprisings, Religious Leadership, Religious Pluralism, Voting and Elections
AudioMehool Sanghrajka: A Jain Tech Innovator Combines A Religious And Worldly Perspective In EducationThis radio documentary was originally produced by KALW’s The Spiritual Edge, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. To hear this and other profiles, subscribe to The Spiritual Edge podcast in …Topics: Education, Engaged Spirituality, Europe, Media, Spiritual Exemplars
ReportUnderstanding Religious Literacy Content Creators and Providers in Education, Journalism, and New MediaThe Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (AVDF) commissioned the Aspen Institute Inclusive America Project (IAP) to conduct a review of content providers and creators of religious literacy materials in the categories of new …Topics: Education, Media, Religious Pluralism
CRCC in the NewsPC Magazine: Quraishi on the Possibility of Productive Online ConversationsAre productive online conversations possible? According to Amanda Quraishi, founder and director of the Institute for Digital Civic Culture (IDCC), they’re not only possible, but crucial. PC Magazine interviewed Quraishi on designing …Topics: Digital Culture, Media- VideoCritical Conversations on Activism, Online and Off
- CommentaryBeyond Influencer Marketing: How to Exercise Real Leadership OnlineThere are some things you will have no trouble finding on today’s internet: more fascinating content than you can ever hope to consume; oceans of strong opinions; products you never knew you …Topics: Digital Culture, Media, Religious Leadership
CRCC Experts
To schedule an interview with one of our experts, please contact CRCC:
crcc@usc.edu or 213-743-1611
Nick StreetSenior WriterNick Street is a journalist covering religious change and innovation, Buddhism, Pentecostalism and LGBT issues.
Megan SweasEditor and Director of CommunicationsMegan Sweas is a journalist specializing in social and economic justice issues and world religions.
Diane WinstonAs a journalist and scholar, Diane Winston is a national authority on religion, politics, the news media and entertainment.