CommentaryStones that Have Weathered Many Storms: A Reporter’s Notebook from a Human Rights Defender’s Place of SolaceIn the rugged landscape of the Kotayk Province of Armenia, Geghard Monastery rises from an amphitheater of steep cliffs like a revelation. Even the long trek to the monastery complex, surrounded by …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Meditation and Prayer, Middle East and North Africa, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleTaizé: A Musical Monastic Community, Formed in Response to a Global Crisis, Faces New OnesThis article was originally published by America Magazine, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. “Iedere nacht verlang ik naar u, o God” (My spirit yearns for you in the …Topics: Catholics and Catholicism, Christians and Christianity, Engaged Spirituality, Europe, Meditation and Prayer, Religious Leadership, Spiritual Exemplars
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- VideoCreating Safe(r) Spaces for Mindfulness of Breath: Experiences of Race in American Mindfulness
ArticleMindfulness in a time of Dis-ease: Breathing through Cancer, COVID & Climate ChangeThis article was originally published in Mindfully Speaking, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. My mind was racing. I couldn’t sleep despite the fatigue of the first trimester …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Community Dynamics, COVID, Engaged Spirituality, Faith-Based Organizations, Meditation and Prayer, Spiritual Exemplars
CommentaryWhat’s So Wrong with Mindfulness?This article originally appeared in Tricycle. “I was stressed out, burned out, and divorced. And then I started doing yoga.” This is how many people I have spoken to in the course …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Creativity and Innovation, Meditation and Prayer, Transnational- VideoSpiritual Healing Networks in Long Beach
- VideoAgainst the Stream: Taking Refuge in an American Sangha
CommentaryAn “Everybody Friendly, Artist-Driven, God-Optional” Jewish New YearMost of my memories of Jewish worship services are an amalgamation of the hundreds of services I’ve attended throughout my life. But there are a few that stand out. At a Shabbat …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Jews and Judaism, Meditation and Prayer, Religious Beliefs and Rituals
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
CRCC in the NewsKPCC Take Two: Brie Loskota on Making Sense of TragedyWith vigils being held throughout the country after the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, KPCC asked Brie Loskota to address the urge to come together after national tragedies. Here are a …Topics: Meditation and Prayer, Religious "Nones", Religious Affiliation, Religious Beliefs and Rituals, Violence
CommentaryPre-Fight and Post-Fight PrayersThis post originally appeared on Huffington Post. Last November Andre Berto made an unannounced trip to Inova Fairfax Hospital. He went to visit both a comatose Prichard Colón and a family pleading …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Creativity and Innovation, Meditation and Prayer, Violence
CRCC Experts
To schedule an interview with one of our experts, please contact CRCC:
crcc@usc.edu or 213-743-1611
Richard FloryExecutive DirectorRichard Flory is a sociologist whose work focuses on religion and urban life, religious and cultural change, and youth and young adults.
Nalika GajaweeraSenior Research AnalystNalika Gajaweera is a cultural anthropologist specialized in Buddhism, transnationalism and ethics, with an area expertise in South Asia.
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.
Donald E. MillerDirector of Strategic InitiativesDonald Miller focuses on global religious trends, genocides of the 20th century, and the role of religious NGOs in addressing issues of moral concern.
Najuma SmithAssistant Director of Community and Public EngagementRev. Najuma Smith combines her experience as a pastor and expertise as a community leader to train Murray Center Fellows.
Nick StreetSenior WriterNick Street is a journalist covering religious change and innovation, Buddhism, Pentecostalism and LGBT issues.