Founded in 2003 by its present director, Miroslav Volf, the Yale Center for Faith and Culture (YCFC) endeavors to help people envision and pursue lives worthy of our humanity—through discerning, articulating, and commending visions of flourishing in light of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and by fostering truth-seeking conversations among the contending visions in our world today.

The center is widely known for its legacy programs addressing joy and the good life, reconciliation with Islam, faith and globalization, and ethics and spirituality in the workplace. Current initiatives include the following:

YCFC produces For the Life of the World (https://faith.yale.edu/podcast), a podcast about seeking and living a life worthy of our humanity. Past guests include N. T. Wright, Krista Tippett, Willie Jennings, Charles Taylor, Lisa Sharon Harper, Elizabeth Bruenig, Christian Wiman, Makoto Fujimura, and many others.

The Christ and Flourishing initiative (https://faith.yale.edu/initiatives/christ-flourishing) is dedicated to cultivating and resourcing a new theological movement grounded in the conviction that Jesus Christ is the key to human flourishing. To bring deep reflection on the shape of human lives to the heart of Christian formation and education, the program incorporates interdisciplinary and collaborative primary research; a signature course, Christ and Being Human (REL 612), taught regularly at YDS; and partnerships with churches and institutions of Christian higher education.

The Life Worth Living initiative (https://faith.yale.edu/initiatives/life-worth-living) is an effort to revive critical discussion in universities and the broader culture about the most important question of our lives: What is a life worth living? Through its undergraduate course, student fellows program, and campus events, the program facilitates conversation across important and enduring lines of difference on questions of meaning and purpose. In 2023, Miroslav Volf, Matt Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz published a bestselling book based on the course, Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most.

More information about the center’s purpose, mission, vision, and values—as well as its staff, initiatives, projects, and other resources—is available via the center’s website (https://faith.yale.edu/about). Among the resources is an email subscription list that provides updates on YCFC opportunities.