The Louisville Institute

The Louisville Institute
1044 Alta Vista Road Louisville, KY 40205 (502) 992-5432

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The Louisville Institute is a Lilly Endowment-funded program based at Louisville Seminary supporting those who lead and study American religious institutions. The fundamental mission of the Louisville Institute is to enrich the religious life of American Christians and to encourage the revitalization of their institutions, by bringing together those who lead religious institutions with those who study them, so that the work of each might inform and strengthen the other.

The Louisville Institute encourages a broad, collaborative conversation among academics, pastors, and other religious leaders about American religious life. Religious leaders need ready access to the findings of scholars that can help them address more adequately the complex challenges of contemporary ministry. For their part, scholars need to hear pastors and laypersons speak of these challenges, and they need to incorporate these distinctive perspectives in their own work. Conversation among them should result in both better-informed scholars and better-equipped pastors. Such a conversation is most likely to be fruitful when the questions under discussion are of urgent importance to the churches.

The Louisville Institute focuses on three such issues in particular. The first, Christian faith and life, examines the character and role of the biblical and theological reflection and religious practice that effectively shape the lives of American Christians. The second, religious institutions, explores how America's religious institutions might understand and respond constructively to the institutional reconfiguration occurring in American society. The third, pastoral leadership, focuses on improving the quality of religious leadership in North America.

Recent News

Lilly Endowment grant supports work of The Louisville Institute ~ NEW!

Changes to Louisville Institute Grant Programs ~ NEW!

Louisville Institute Grant Programs and Awards Announced  

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The Louisville Institute
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Recent Grants

Following are links to the summaries of some recent grants that you might find of interest. The featured grants change frequently, so be sure to check back from time to time in order to see what the Louisville Institute is funding.

  • A National Study of Associate Pastors and Their Ministry
    John (Jack) Marcum
    Presbyterian Church (USA)
    View Summary
  • Magnifying Mercy through Reflection on the Ministry of St. Francis
    Gregory Roth
    Centerville Presbyterian Church
    View Summary
  • Shopping: Everyday Practices and Christian Faith
    Michelle Maldonado
    University of Miami
    View Summary
  • The Growth of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the American West
    Julius Bailey
    University of Redlands
    View Summary
  • Faith on the Avenue
    Katie Day
    The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
    View Summary
  • Leading Healthy Congregations: The Uniqueness of Autonomous Congregations
    Larry McSwain
    McAfee School of Theology
    View Summary