Center for Religion and Civic Culture

Center for Religion and Civic Culture
Name	Center for Religion and Civic Culture
Formation	2000
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California
Parent organization	University of Southern California
Leader title	Director

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Center for Religion and Civic Culture

The Center for Religion and Civic Culture is a research institute based at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It was established to study interactions among religion in the United States, public life, and civic engagement across local, national, and global contexts, engaging scholars associated with religious studies, sociology, and political science. The Center collaborates with institutions such as United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pew Research Center, Ford Foundation, and universities including Harvard University, Yale University, and Stanford University.

History

Founded in 2000 during a period of expansion in American studies, the Center drew on intellectual currents from American Religious History, scholars linked to Columbia University, University of Chicago, and Princeton University. Early initiatives connected to events like the aftermath of September 11 attacks, debates over the Religious Right (United States), and comparative projects involving Northern Ireland peace process and South Africa post-apartheid reconciliation. Leadership included faculty with ties to programs at Claremont Graduate University, Georgetown University, and research networks bridging Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Center's archival and digital projects referenced collections modeled on repositories such as the Library of Congress and initiatives comparable to the Digital Public Library of America.

The Center's mission aligns with civic initiatives championed by figures and organizations like Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, National Council of Churches, and Islamic Society of North America. Programs address themes similar to those covered by the Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, exploring intersections of faith with public policy debates around immigration informed by cases like Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and health initiatives linked to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Signature programs have convened panels featuring scholars from Columbia Law School, Oxford University, and practitioners from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Research outputs have included comparative studies, reports, and edited volumes published with presses such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and University of California Press. Topics have overlapped with scholarship by authors affiliated with Princeton University Press, Routledge, and journals like Journal of American History, American Political Science Review, and Sociology of Religion. Projects have examined case studies involving cities such as Chicago, New York City, Miami, and international sites including Jerusalem, Cairo, and Jakarta, producing analyses on topics resonant with work by Samuel Huntington, José Casanova, and Phil Zuckerman.

The Center offers training modeled on programs at Harvard Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, and professional development comparable to offerings from United Nations institutes and World Bank training academies. Graduate seminars draw on faculty connected to USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and invite visiting scholars from University of California, Berkeley, London School of Economics, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Workshops have engaged leaders from National Institutes of Health, UNICEF, and advocacy groups like American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center.

Partnerships include collaborations with religious organizations such as the Southern Baptist Convention, United Methodist Church, Jewish Federations of North America, and interfaith coalitions like Religions for Peace. Community engagement initiatives have worked with municipal governments in Los Angeles, philanthropic partners like the Gates Foundation, and civic programs affiliated with AmeriCorps and Teach For America. The Center has participated in dialogues alongside institutions including The Aspen Institute, Skoll Foundation, and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

Funding sources have included foundations and donors similar to MacArthur Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and federal grant programs administered by agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and National Science Foundation. Administrative oversight is integrated with university structures at University of Southern California and governance practices comparable to research centers at Columbia University and University of Michigan. Directors and advisers have been drawn from networks including faculty from Duke University, Brown University, Northwestern University, and policy experts formerly associated with United States Agency for International Development.

Category:Research institutes in California Category:University of Southern California