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Progressive Leadership is Moral Leadership

The mission of the Center for American Values in Public Life is to advance bold progressive ideas rooted in fundamental American moral and religious values.  As a nonpartisan educational and research project founded by the People for the American Way Foundation, the Center is a collaborative partner in building progressive intellectual infrastructure and advancing the progressive movement. 

Take a look at our publications, listed below, for the rigorous analysis and research we've put together in pursuit of that cause.

Research and Publications

African Americans and the Progressive Movement 
April 2006
The background report provides a detailed account of African American political behavior and views, theology, basic demographic characteristics, issues of opportunity and vulnerability within the African American community. The Center drew on roundtable discussion hosted among 20 scholars, religious leaders and public intellectuals in the African American community.


The American Values Survey
September 2006
This major survey refutes some widely held assumptions about how Americans' religious views and values influence their political behavior. Conducted in August 2006, the survey includes responses from a national sample of 2,502 Americans, with additional over-samples of Hispanics and African-Americans.


The Common Good and the Golden Rule as Moral Frames for Progressives
October 2006
The American Values Survey examined public perceptions of two moral frameworks, the Golden Rule and the Common Good, and tested their relative effectiveness against specific public policy issues.


The Moral Values Debate: Quick Facts
October 2005
Essential facts and figures that concern the moral values debate, presented with visuals that illustrate the most important aspects of the American religious and values landscape.


The Importance of Religion: Quick Facts
October 2005
Essential facts and figures that concern the moral values debate, presented with visuals that illustrate the most important aspects of the American religious and values landscape.


Out of the Boat and into the Storm: A National Conversation with African American Ministers
October 2005
Research report describing the challenges facing the progressive movement within the African American community, and the distinctiveness of African American expressions of progressive values.  The report was based on focus groups and interviews among 33 African American ministers from 17 states.


The Unintended Consequences of Dixieland Postliberalism 
Winter 2006
Article appearing in Crosscurrents (56.1) examining how the writings of theologian Stanley Hauerwas (named “American’s Best Theologian” by Time Magazine in 2001) are supporting a “persecuted majority” identity among white southern Evangelicals.  Appears in an issue with articles by Bill Moyers, Stanley Hauerwas, and Gary Dorrien.