EventDec. 5: Engaging Faith Communities in Disasters Workshop DetailsHow can disaster response professionals engage faith communities during crises? Incorporating diverse religious and cultural groups into disaster response builds the resilience of the whole community. The Center for Religion and Civic …Topics: Disaster Response, Event
EventFeb. 9: Reimagining Religion ConferenceEvent Details February 9, 2017 Please click here and fill out this form to be added to the invite list. Increasingly, Americans are choosing not to identify with a particular religious tradition. …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Event, Meditation and Prayer, Political Attitudes and Values, Religious "Nones", Religious Affiliation, Religious Beliefs and Rituals, Southern California
CommentaryTrump Will Always Be With Us – Rev. Cecil Murray on the ElectionAs soon as I entered my office on Wednesday morning, people started calling me. The callers are in shock, amazement, at what happened in the presidential race. I listen, and then I …Topics: Black Church, CMCCE, Interfaith/Multifaith Movements, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture, Voting and Elections- VideoDignity and Power Now: The Spirituality of Black Lives Matter
CommentarySurprised American Evangelicals Voted for Trump? They Have a History of RacismThis post originally appeared on International Business Times. As a scholar of religion, one story that has intrigued me since the beginning of the 2016 presidential campaign is how Trump’s candidacy—now his …Topics: Creativity and Innovation, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Government and Religion, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture, Voting and Elections
CommentaryMight, Right and White Privilege: It’s Morning in America, the SequelThis post originally appeared on Religion Dispatches. Early this morning, when Donald Trump accepted the presidency of the United States, Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell were somewhere enjoying the last laugh. Their …Topics: Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Government and Religion, Political Attitudes and Values, Voting and Elections
CommentaryA Post-Election Prayer for Love, Families and UnityThe Rev. Najuma Smith-Pollard, program manager for the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, was part of a prayer service for hope and unity at the Cathedral of Our Lady of …Topics: Black Church, Christians and Christianity, CMCCE, Family and Relationships, Government and Religion, Interfaith/Multifaith Movements, Race and Culture, Religious Leadership, Southern California
CRCC in the NewsHow are Religious Congregations Talking About the Election in 2016?Each election season brings questions about the role of religion in politics and the separation of church and state. In 2016, the presidential campaign also has introduced questions about the importance of …Topics: Community Dynamics, Creativity and Innovation, Political Attitudes and Values, Voting and Elections
CommentaryHow to solve the difficult problem of adding ‘Muslim’ to ‘American’This post originally appeared on the Los Angeles Times. In mid-September, my 6-year-old daughter ran into our living room and literally started jumping for joy. “Baba, it’s a miracle!” she told her father with …Topics: Family and Relationships, Media, Muslims and Islam, National and Cultural Identity, Political Attitudes and Values, Race and Culture
ArticleHow a New Generation Is Changing Evangelical ChristianitySince the late 1970s, American evangelicalism has been largely identified with right-wing politics. Conservative religious values entered the political sphere through movements such as Moral Majority and Focus on the Family that …Topics: Christians and Christianity, Evangelicals and Evangelicalism, Political Attitudes and Values, Voting and Elections- VideoLaundry Love: Making a Laundromat Sacred through Service
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
“It is reasonably easy to be an armchair critic of religion. There are ample examples of religious leaders who compromise the values of their tradition, and the fundamentalists of every religion are inevitably out of step with the latest findings of modern science.
“But the storyline about religion gets more complicated when one examines religious people in the trenches, serving the poor and disenfranchised of their societies.”
– Donald E. Miller
A Pragmatist’s View of Religion
Experts
The CRCC can connect you with one of our many expert religious researchers and writers, contact us and we’ll help you find the right person for your subject.
Mark WhitlockExecutive Director of USC Cecil Murray Center for Community EngagementRev. Mark Whitlock is a pastor specializing in church leadership and community and economic development.
Cecil L. MurrayUniversity FellowRev. Cecil Murray works to ensure that the legacy of African American Church leaders pass on their years of experience to the next generation.
Brie LoskotaExecutive DirectorBrie Loskota researches how religions change and make change in the world, and works to build the capacity of religious communities around the globe.
Donald E. MillerProfessor of ReligionDonald Miller focuses on global religious trends, genocides of the 20th century, and the role of religious NGOs in addressing issues of moral concern.
Richard FlorySenior Director of Research and EvaluationRichard Flory is a sociologist whose work focuses on religion and urban life, religious and cultural change, and youth and young adults.
Nalika GajaweeraResearch AssociateNalika Gajaweera is a cultural anthropologist specialized in Buddhism, transnationalism and ethics, with an area expertise in South Asia.
Juan MartínezContributing FellowJuan Martinez studies the history of Latino Protestantism, Latino Protestant identity and transnational mission among U.S. Latinos.
Najuma Smith-PollardProgram Manager of the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community EngagementRev. Najuma Smith-Pollard 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.