Public Religion Research and the Beatitudes Society Team Up to Offer Holiday Gift Resource

As we enter into this season of holidays, we wanted to pass along a new resource sponsored jointly by Public Religion Research and the Beatitudes Society–the Progressive Religion Bookshelf.  The PRR and Beats team have put together a list of some of our favorite authors, organized across 12 categories, who are writing about the growing movement of people of faith who are working for social justice and the common good.

Here’s the best part: by shopping for gifts here, you not only support these authors, but 4%-7% of your purchase goes to support the work of Public Religion Research and the Beatitudes Society. The store contains books by PRR president Dr. Robert P. Jones, Beatitudes director Rev. Anne Howard, and the growing host of others who are lifting up progressive religious voices.

Please help us spread the word about this new resource. The direct link to the Progressive Religion Bookshelf is http://www.tinyurl.com/religionbooks.

Check out the preview of the Progressive Religion Bookshelf below. (Follow the link above to see the full version of the store):



Over the past few months, we’ve highlighted the way Public Religion Research findings are making a public impact and being used in a variety of ways–by denominational news agencies to clarify the terrain in debates about gay and lesbian ordination among Mainline Protestants, by newsroom editorial writers reflecting on strategic outreach to young voters, and by community leaders testifying about marriage equality in Washington, DC.

On Tuesday, November 17th, Public Religion Research findings were also featured in a gathering of an influential group of climate scientists and evangelical leaders who met with Senators on Capitol Hill to speak with one voice about the challenge of climate change. The Senate briefing “Scientists and Evangelicals Share Concerns on Climate Change (PDF)” was organized by the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School.

Richard Cizik, New Evangelicals president and leading evangelical environmental advocate, spoke eloquently about the moral imperative of addressing climate change.

I call climate change the ‘civil rights issue of the 21st century”. My father’s generation sat on its hands in the 1950s and ’60s when black Americans sought equal rights. Today, I won’t sit on my hands when the rights of millions and potentially billions around the globe are in jeopardy. God help us if we choose to pretend this can’t happen. We must act now, while we still have the chance. So must our governmental leaders. We will be held accountable.

Cizik buttressed his appeal with data from a recent climate change survey conducted by Public Religion Research and sponsored by Faith in Public Life and Oxfam America.

More than six in ten of all white evangelicals agree that climate change is making it harder for the world’s poor to support their families by causing increased drought and crop failure. A majority of Americans, including evangelicals, support addressing climate change even in our challenging current economic conditions.

Over 270 top evangelical leaders have signed the Evangelical Climate Initiative. To read more about PRR’s climate change survey, click here.