The Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life was established at Trinity College in 1996 to advance knowledge and understanding of the varied roles that religious movements, institutions, and ideas play in the contemporary world; to explore challenges posed by religious pluralism and tensions between religious and secular values; and to examine the influence of religion on politics, civic culture, family life, gender roles, and other issues in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Non-sectarian and non-partisan, the Center sponsors public lectures, organizes conferences and workshops, contributes to the liberal arts curriculum, and supports the publication and dissemination of materials for both academic and general audiences. Its initiatives are designed to foster discussion of religion in public life both within the campus community and among various external publics.
As we transition into an era of new leadership under director Leslie Ribovich, the Center looks to continue the Center’s national profile, integrate the Center’s work into the Hartford and Trinity communities and classrooms, and understand race and education as important areas where religion intersects in public life. Now housed in the Religious Studies Department and Public Policy & Law Program, the Center is also an intellectual space for anyone across campus who is interested in the role of religion in public life.
Get to know the staff of the Greenberg Center here and our undergraduate student fellows, past and present, here.
History and Former Leadership
In 1996, the Center for Religion in Public Life was founded thanks to a generous donation by Leonard E. Greenberg ’48, who greatly agreed with the Center’s mission to examine the role of religion in society in a nonsectarian and nonpartisan manner. While at Trinity, Mr. Greenberg was an active member of the student newspaper and one of the founding members of Trinity College’s Hillel. Throughout the rest of his life and career in business, religion played a strong role in Greenberg’s life, as seen in the leadership roles he took with American Jewish Committee and AIPAC. The Center was formally renamed after Mr. Greenberg on April 30th, 2000.
You can learn more about Leonard E. Greenberg ’48 here.
Founding director, Mark Silk, was responsible for starting many of the programs associated with the Center today, including the Distinguished Visiting Fellowship, the Moses Berkman Award, Religion in News, and the Greenberg Lunch seminars.
The Distinguished Visiting Fellowship continues to be awarded annually. You can learn more about it and previous fellows here.
The Moses Berkman 1920 Memorial Journalism Award honors a journalist whose work demonstrates the qualities of integrity, insight, journalistic excellence, and serious moral purpose that were the hallmarks of Moses Berkman’s journalism, political editor, columnist and editorial writer on the Hartford Times from the 1920s to the 1950s. The prize was established by a gift from the estate of his wife Florence Berkman, also a longtime journalist at the Hartford Times and Hartford Courant. It is awarded biannually; learn more about the prize and previous winners here.
Religion in the News was a publication originally sponsored by a grant from Pew Charitable Trusts. In its 14-year run, 40 issues were published. You can read them here.
The Greenberg Lunch seminars, now Works-in-Progress lunches, are an opportunity for the Trinity community to come together for a meal and conversations about upcoming works. Learn more about this year’s Works-in-Progress lunches here.
Silk, alongside former associate director Andrew Walsh, are responsible for several publications, including the Religion by Region series. You can learn more about those publications here.
Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture
The Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC) operated at Trinity College from 2005 to 2019 under the leadership of Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar. It was established to advance the understanding of the role of secular values and the process of secularization in contemporary society and culture. Nonpartisan and multidisciplinary, the Institute conducted academic research, sponsored curriculum development, and presented public events.
The ISSSC had a global research agenda and aimed to develop strong international links. In the teaching sphere innovative courses were developed on secularism and secularization at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including curricula, bibliographies and syllabi. The Institute served as a forum for civic education and debate through lectures, seminars, and conferences.
Among its most important projects was the series of American Religious Identification Studies (1990, 2001, 2008 and 2013).
Program on Public Values
The Program on Public Values was created in 2007 to serve as common home for both the Greenberg Center and the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture. It featured common projects, most importantly the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey. It also took responsibility for awarding the Moses Berkman Memorial Journalism Award. After the ISSSC closed its doors in 2019, the Program became a means for the Center to look broadly at the moral and ethical dimensions of public issues, secular as well as religious. In 2017, it made climate change a central focus of its activities, both on and off campus. Learn more about the Program on Public Values here.
