Curran Center for American Catholic Studies

The Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies

The center advances knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of American Catholicism within the academy, the church, the broader religious community, and the general public.

About the Center Undergraduate Studies

Our mission is to:

  • Educate rising generations of religiously-informed citizens
  • Foster ecumenical, inter-religious, and interdisciplinary engagement with Catholic thought and practice
  • Promote informed and compassionate analysis of the critical religious and social issues of our time.

A Center for American Catholic Studies

    • The Center focuses on the rich and complex story of Catholicism in the Americas.
    • We take a ‘hemispheric’ approach to Catholicism that recognizes the interwoven tapestry of Catholicism in North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean—the entire “ecclesia in America.”
    • The Curran Center is rooted in Fordham’s Roman Catholic Jesuit identity, an identity that inspires a critical-faithful approach to the tradition and a creative search to imagine its place in the world.
    • Catholic means universal, and the Center’s vision of Catholicism is global and inclusive.
    • Our conversations are ecumenical, interreligious, and with those not having religious identities.
    • Inspired by the example of Pope Francis, we recognize that thinking about faith demands thinking about justice issues such as poverty, peace, and the earth as well.
    • As a university-based center, we emphasize an approach to Catholicism that is intellectual and engaged.
    • Our American Catholic Studies concentration provides Fordham undergraduates with an opportunity for intensive study of the Catholic tradition enhanced by events, outings, mentorship, service, and an experience of the community.
    • Our programming includes lectures by distinguished scholars, conferences on timely issues, and faculty reading groups that explore topics of faith, justice, aesthetics, and human meaning.
    • Our awards and book series seek to support scholarship on Catholicism that is creative, critical, and explores new horizons.

A Look Ahead Upcoming Events

A Look Back Past Events Archive

News

Ethan Hawke Discusses Flannery O’Connor Biopic with Fordham Scholars

Ethan Hawke Discusses Flannery O’Connor Biopic with Fordham Scholars

Actor and director Ethan Hawke joined Fordham’s Angela O’Donnell and David Gibson at a May 3 private screening of Wildcat, a movie about Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor directed by Hawke …

Caring for Our Common Home: Fordham Sustainability Update

Caring for Our Common Home: Fordham Sustainability Update

Last summer, in response to a call from Pope Francis to “take concrete actions in the care of our common home,” Fordham published the Laudato Si’ Action Plan. The document …

Liberation Theology and the Future of Religion

Liberation Theology and the Future of Religion

It’s a commonly held perception that the popularity of religion has been declining in recent years, and with it, the impact on liberation theology—a Christian movement favored in the 1960s …

Eleven Fordham Students Head to Rome for Pope’s Synod on Synodality

Eleven Fordham Students Head to Rome for Pope’s Synod on Synodality

Ten Fordham undergraduates and one graduate student arrived in Rome on Saturday to observe Pope Francis’ historic Synod on Synodality and participate in related events. The gathering was convened by …

In Self-Produced Documentary, Student Explores New Angle on Catholicism

In Self-Produced Documentary, Student Explores New Angle on Catholicism

In a documentary that features a prominent cast of religious figures and artists, student Henry Sullivan is exploring how Catholics creatively imagine their faith. “People traditionally view Catholic art as …

Pope Francis, Martin Scorsese Address Conference in Rome Co-Sponsored by Fordham

Pope Francis, Martin Scorsese Address Conference in Rome Co-Sponsored by Fordham

A three-day international conference in Rome at the end of May brought together 60 writers, poets, and artists, including filmmaker Martin Scorsese, to discuss the spiritual and religious dimensions that …

In Ignatian Community of Practice, a Chance to Reflect on Service

In Ignatian Community of Practice, a Chance to Reflect on Service

Service has always been a core part of Fordham’s Catholic American Studies concentration, a selective program designed to give undergraduate students of any major a deeper appreciation of the historical, …

Curran Center Lecture Explores Thomas Merton’s Affair–and His ‘Complex’ Humanity

Curran Center Lecture Explores Thomas Merton’s Affair–and His ‘Complex’ Humanity

Thomas Merton’s humanity, humility, and complexity are part of what drew Gregory Hillis to him in the first place. So it’s fitting that Hills, a professor of theology and religious …

In Verse, Capturing Sacred Spaces Everywhere

In Verse, Capturing Sacred Spaces Everywhere

Although there are specific locations that cultures place great importance on, from landmarks to shrines, each of us also has our own, personal spaces that are sacred to us. For …

Curran Center Award Winner Explores Healing Power of Voice

Curran Center Award Winner Explores Healing Power of Voice

There is healing power in using your voice. That was one of the lessons of “A Theology of Voice: VOCAL and the Catholic Clergy Abuse Survivor Movement,” an article by …

Curran Center Contest Winner Examines History of Slavery

Curran Center Contest Winner Examines History of Slavery

Kelly Schmidt, Ph.D., was disturbed by racism from a very young age. “I don’t quite remember where I had learned about prejudice and discrimination for the first time, but I …

Contact Us

The Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies

Duane Library 260
Fordham University
Bronx, NY 10458

Tel: 718-817-0662

Fax: 718-817-5746

Email: [email protected]