USC.edu

Richard Flory

Program Director
Email rflory@usc.edu Office ACB 439 Office Phone (213) 743-1606

Biography

Richard Flory (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is executive director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California. He is a sociologist whose research focuses on religion and social change, religious and cultural change, the role of faith groups in developing and maintaining civic society, and the religious and spiritual lives of youth and young adults. He has published several books, including most recently, Religion in Los Angeles: Religious Activism, Innovation, and Diversity in the Global City (Routledge, 2021) and Back Pocket God: Religion and Spirituality in the Lives of Emerging Adults (Oxford University Press, 2020).

Professor Flory has been awarded over $11m for research, community engagement, and congregational development projects while at USC. He is currently principal investigator for “Thriving in Ministry,” a $1.1m project funded by the John Templeton Foundation; “Thriving Leaders, Thriving Congregations,” a $2m project funded by the Lilly Endowment in collaboration with the Long Beach Church Collective and the Rosemead School of Psychology; and “Reimagining Preaching” a $1.25m project also funded by the Lilly Endowment. Flory is editor of the book series, Bloomsbury Studies in Religion and Civic Culture, published by Bloomsbury Academic Press, which focuses on empirical studies of religion and spirituality in public life, at the intersection of theory and practice.

His work has been supported by grants from the John Templeton Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, the John Randolph and Dora Haynes Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Louisville Institute.

Flory has written for publications such as The Conversation, Religion Dispatches, Patheos and Zócalo Public Square, and has been quoted by a variety of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the L.A. Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Newsweek, Buzzfeed News and NPR.

Education

  • Ph.D. Sociology, University of Chicago

  • Research Specialties

    Sociology of religion, religion and social change, youth and religion, civic engagement, faith-based organizations

  • Book

    • Flory, R., Winston, D. (2021). Religion in Los Angeles: Religious Activism, Innovation, and Diversity in the Global City. Routledge.
    • Flory, R., Denton, M. L. (2020). Back Pocket God: Religion and Spirituality in Lives of Emerging Adults. Oxford University Press.
    • Flory, R., Christerson, B. (2017). The Rise of Network Christianity: How Independent Leaders are Changing the Religious Landscape. Oxford University Press.
    • Flory, R., Miller, D. E., Sargeant, K. H. (2013). Spirit and Power: The Growth and Global Impact of Pentecostalism. Oxford University Press.
    • Flory, R., Christerson, B., Edwards, K. (2010). Growing Up In America: The Power of Race in the Lives of Teens. Stanford University Press. Publishers Page
    • Flory, R., Miller, D. E. (2008). Finding Faith: The Spiritual Quest of the Post-Boomer Generation. Rutgers University Press.
    • Flory, R. (2000). GenX Religion. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Book Chapters

    • Flory, R. (2022). City of Dreams: Los Angeles as a Cradle for Religious Activism, Innovation, and Diversity”. Migration, Transnationalism, and Faith.Lanham, MD: Fortress Academic.
    • Flory, R. (2021). Redeeming the City: Los Angeles in the Social Imagination of an Urban Social Ministry. Routledge.
    • Flory, R. (2014). Evangelicals and Human Trafficking: Rescuing, Rehabilitating, and Releasing One Individual at a Time. Human Trafficking ReconsideredNew York: IDEA/Open Society.
    • Flory, R., Loskota, B. (2013). Why Religion Still Matters in the World. Religion and Public DiplomacyPalgrave MacMillan.
    • Flory, R. (2012). “A New Religion for Modern Times: American Journalism and Religion, 1870-1930,” in The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the News. Oxford University Press.
    • Flory, R., Farrag, H., Loskota, B., Belzer, T. (2012). “Faith-Based Human Services: The Current State of Outcomes Assessment,” in Outcomes Measurement in the Human Services: Cross-Cutting Issues and Methods. NASW Press.
    • Flory, R., Miller, D. E. (2010). “The Expressive Communalism of Post-Boomer Religion in the U.S.”. Religion and Youthpp. p. 9-16.Ashgate. Publishers book page

    Book Review

    • Flory, R. (2013). Review of “Testing Prayer: Science and Healing”. Contemporary Sociology.
    • Flory, R. (2013). Review of “To the Ends of the Earth: Pentecostalism and the Transformation of Global Christianity”. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

    Essay

    • Flory, R. (2021). “New Media and the Shifting Grounds of Religious Authority”. Sociology of Religion.
    • Flory, R. (2019). Religious Institutions,” Forum: The Religious Situation, 1968. Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation.

    Journal Article

    • Flory, R. (2017). Religious Innovation in Los Angeles and Seoul. Korea Journal.
    • Flory, R. (2015). Mapping the New Landscape of Religion. Boom: A Journal of California. http://bit.ly/Mapping_Religion
    • Flory, R., Miller, D. E. (2012). The Dream Center: Spirit-Infused and Socially Engaged Urban Ministry. PentecoStudies: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Research on the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements.

    Research Report

    • Flory, R. (2017). Reimagining Religion. Center for Religion and Civic Culture.
    • Flory, R., Farrag, H., Gudaitis, P., Loskota, B. (2013). Capacity Building for California Arab, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Communities Project.
    • Flory, R., Farrag, H., Loskota, B. (2012). Faithful Action: Working with Religious Groups in Disaster Planning, Response and Recovery. Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California. Access Report
    • Flory, R., Miller, D. E., Loskota, B., Sato, T. (2011). Opening the Gates: L.A. Congregations Confronting Gang Violence. Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California. Access Report
    • Flory, R., Loskota, B., Miller, D. E. (2011). Forging a New Moral and Political Agenda: The Civic Role of Religion in Los Angeles, 1992-2010. Center for Religion anc Civic Culture, University of Southern California. Access Report
    • Flory, R. (2009). Faith, Health and Policy: Public Health Reentry in San Diego. Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California. Access Report

    Other

  • Committees

    • Member, CRCC Interdisciplinary Research Group, 2010 – 2014

  • Committees

    • Member, Nominations Committee, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2010 – 2011
    • Member, Nominations Committee, Association for the Sociology of Religion, 2010 – 2011

    Professional Offices

    • Council Member, Section on Sociology of Religion, American Sociological Association, 2017 – 2020
    • Council Member, Association for the Sociology of Religion, 2015 – 2018
    • Council Member, Section on Sociology of Religion, American Sociological Association, 2012 – 2015
    • Newsletter Editor, Section on Sociology of Religion, American Sociological Association, 2007 – 2011
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