Logo (above) by Caylin Yorba-Ruiz. Caylin is an empowerment artist focused on creating accessible art for survivors of trauma and for individuals seeking improved mental health and wellbeing. She received a BA in Studio Art and a BA in Media & Cultural Studies from UC Riverside. Follow Caylin's work on Instagram at @caylin.perry or on Etsy @CaylinPerryArt.
The Religion and Sexual Abuse Project is a collaboration between scholars of religion with a range of geographic and tradition expertise for understanding the dynamics of sexual abuse and misconduct in religious communities. Project leaders understand the deep harm caused by sexual abuse as well as the importance of situating sexual abuse in broader cultural, historical, and social contexts. This project aims to support fruitful conversations between different stakeholders in a range of domains including academia, faith-based community, media, and advocacy.
Project leaders all have PhDs and hold positions at colleges or universities. Some are members of faith communities, while others have no personal relationship to the communities they study. Their views are not unified. Participants in this project are committed to transparency regarding their own positionality.
The Religion and Sexual Abuse Project is funded in part by the Henry Luce Foundation. These funds support eleven distinct academic projects, a series of interdisciplinary public-facing conferences, scholarly workshops, collaborations with advocacy organizations, a set of pedagogical resources, and an online resource hub.
