Center Co-sponsors New Study on Art and Religion

Washington, DC – The Center for Arts and Culture, in conjunction with the Henry Luce Foundation, released this month a collection of essays on the arts and religion. Published by The New Press, Crossroads: Art and Religion in American Life offers seven different perspectives on the ways American people relate to art and religion in their daily lives, and takes a critical look at some contemporary public controversies. Featuring a preface by Garry Wills, Crossroads brings a sharper focus to issues in the arts and religion.

Edited by Alberta Arthurs and Glenn Wallach, the book features essays by leading cultural scholars Paul DiMaggio, David Halle, Neil Harris, Peter Marsden, Amei Wallach, and Robert Wuthnow.

“Crossroads is a telling metaphor for the intersection of two fundamental human characteristics – our spirituality and our creativity,” said Center Executive Director Gigi Bradford. “These essays offer provocative and fresh insights into not only the often sensationalized instances where values may clash, but more importantly, into the harmony of art and religion. We are deeply grateful to the Luce Foundation for investing in this important public issue.”

The Center for Arts and Culture is an independent public policy institute which seeks to broaden and deepen the national conversation on culture. Located in Washington, DC, the Center conducts original research, provides leadership for a national consortium of cultural policy institutes at 28 American colleges and universities, hosts symposia and other public discussions, and publishes critical cultural policy reports and studies. Included in that publication program are the omnibus essay collection, The Politics of Culture, and a recent report on federal cultural policy, America’s Cultural Capital. As part of its commitment to informed discussion and debate on the arts and culture, the Center sponsors critical inquiry, applied research, and creates a “cultural commons,” a public space for honest conversation about cultural policy issues.

Through a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, the Center was able to commission and edit the essays in Crossroads. It also has received support in the past year from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Ford Foundation, the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Open Society Institute, and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. More information about the Center’s public programs, its research agenda and inventory of resources can be found on its website at www.culturalpolicy.org. The Center for Arts and Culture is an independent, nonprofit organization.