For many people working on humanitarian causes, spirituality is the force that compels them to be engaged with the world. They may have a ministry to serve the poor or be an activist fighting for human rights. They may be Buddhist, Muslim, Christian or not adhere to any particular tradition. What they share is an engaged spirituality.
From our first project following the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles, CRCC’s research and training programs have sought to understand and support faith leaders committed to improving their communities. CRCC continues this work today by studying the lives and work of exemplary people committed to advancing human flourishing across the globe. The following page includes stories of such people, created by CRCC’s researchers and journalist fellows. From the individual stories, CRCC aims to define and establish a field of “spiritual exemplars” and understand how engaged spirituality operates in their lives. This endeavor is supported by the John Templeton Foundation and Templeton Religion Trust.
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Above, Maggie Gorban ministers to children in a slum on the outskirts of Cairo.
ArticleSameer: Leading the Peaceful Resistance Against Israeli OccupationThis radio documentary was 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: Engaged Spirituality, International Affairs and Policy, Middle East and North Africa, Muslims and Islam, Spiritual Exemplars, Violence
AnnouncementNominate a Spiritual ExemplarDo you know someone who is changing the world? Is their work inspiring but not widely known? The USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture is launching a global project on spiritual …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Spiritual Exemplars
FeaturedSpiritual ExemplarsTopics: Engaged Spirituality, Spiritual Exemplars
AnnouncementThe Spiritual Edge Sweeps Religion News Association Radio AwardsThe Spiritual Edge swept the Religion News Association’s 2021 radio award, with audio documentaries from its Sacred Steps series placing first, second and third. Sacred Steps, a series of profiles of people …Topics: Engaged Spirituality,
AudioMichelle Clifton-Soderstrom: An Evangelical Professor And Her Students Inside A Maximum Security PrisonThis 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: Christians and Christianity, COVID, Criminal Justice, Engaged Spirituality, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Spiritual Exemplars
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
ArticleBrother Chân Pháp Dung: Where the Search for Simplicity LeadsThis article was originally published in Yes Magazine, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. Before entering monastic life, Brother Chân Pháp Dung gave away his worldly possessions. The last step …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, Engaged Spirituality, Environment, Spiritual Exemplars
AudioRussell Jeung: He Started A Movement to #StopAAPIHateThis 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 …Topics: Christians and Christianity, COVID, Engaged Spirituality, race, Spiritual Exemplars, Violence
ArticleBishop Isaiah: The Bishop, the Art school and the Conflict ZoneThis article was originally published on Eurasianet, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. In the village of Zemo Nikozi, reminders of the 2008 war are hard to hide. …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Education, Engaged Spirituality, Race and Culture, Violence
AudioNoe Kasali: A Mental Health Counselor In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo Creates New Rituals For GriefThis 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 …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Healthcare, Spiritual Exemplars, Sub-Saharan Africa, Violence
ArticleSoni Sori: An Indigenous Activist Fights in Memory of the Children She Couldn’t SaveThis article was originally published in Religion News, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. DELHI, India (RNS) — When the students fled her village school in 2011 to join Maoist rebels …Topics: Asia, Engaged Spirituality, Gender, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleTeachers Turn to Mindfulness After a Stressful Pandemic YearThis article was originally published in Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. The past school year was the most challenging in Jon Salunga’s teaching career. It was …Topics: Buddhists and Buddhism, COVID, Education, Engaged Spirituality, Spiritual Exemplars
CRCC Experts
To schedule an interview with one of our experts, please contact CRCC:
crcc@usc.edu or 213-743-1611
Hebah FarragAssistant Director of ResearchHebah Farrag manages the center’s research and evaluation projects while engaging in research focused on religion, social change and new spiritualties.
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.
Arpi MillerContributing FellowArpi Miller is a sociologist who studies secular and faith-based immigrant advocacy and accompaniment.