Center for Faith and the Common Good

The Center for Faith and the Common Good is Pepperdine University's academic home for scholarly investigations of how faith and religion impact human flourishing.

United in their shared interest in and passion for improving prison conditions and recidivism, Pepperdine president Jim Gash and Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences and director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University Byron Johnson announced their partnership and creation of the Center for Faith and the Common Good in March 2022.

The center's mission is to integrate key components of Johnson's prolific research on the efficacy of faith-based organizations, criminal justice, and human flourishing while contributing to further studies and wider societal impact. The center partners with faculty scholars from Pepperdine, Baylor, and other interested universities as they pursue collaborative research focused on social and behavioral services. The high-caliber research produced by the center aims to inform public policy initiatives and improve social outcomes to positively impact human flourishing. Because of Gash's and Johnson's previous work, the initial thrust of the center will be a series of rigorous studies focused on prisons and the role of faith-based programs in offender rehabilitation, recidivism reduction, as well as correctional reform more generally.

Institute Leadership

Petra Rickertsen

Executive Assistant to the Vice Provost, Pepperdine University

Contact Us

To connect with the center and share inquiries, ideas, and partnership recommendations, please contact Pepperdine academic director,  Lee Kats.