About Us
Who We Are
Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) brings together a multi-disciplinary community of scholars to encourage and support research on the role of religion in public affairs. Established in 1985, CURA is the oldest center for the study of religion and world affairs in the United States. Supported by a substantial endowment and grants from various foundations, CURA has sponsored over 140 research projects on five continents, leading to the publication of over 160 books.
Our Mission
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Our Founder
Prof. Peter Berger
Prof. Peter Berger founded the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs (CURA) at Boston University in 1985 and served as its first Director until 2009. He nurtured CURA into a world-leading center for research, education and public scholarship on religion and world affairs which provides state-of-the-field scholarship and research on religion in an age of globalization.
Prof. Peter Berger was an eminent sociologist whose prolific writings on sociological theory, the sociology of religion, and Third World development have been translated in many languages. His book The Social Construction of Reality (1966) is considered a classic. The book is considered one of the most influential texts in its field and was named by the International Sociological Association (ISA) as the fifth most influential book written in the field of sociology during the 20th century.
His more recent books include Redeeming Laughter: The Comic Dimension of Human Experience (1997); Modernity, Pluralism and the Crisis of Meaning (with Thomas Luckmann, 1995); The Capitalist Revolution: Fifty Propositions About Prosperity, Equality and Liberty (1988); and The War Over the Family: Capturing the Middle Ground (with Brigitte Berger, 1983). In 1992, Professor Berger was awarded the Manes Sperber Prize, presented by the Austrian government for significant contributions to culture.
Our Faculty and Staff
Jennifer Hunter
Assistant Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA)