The Religion, Culture, and Family Project
The Religion, Culture, and Family Project, directed by Don S. Browning, Alexander Campbell Professor Emeritus of Ethics and
the Social Sciences (d. 2010), and funded by a grant from the
Lilly Endowment, Inc., devoted nearly a decade to ecumenical
conversation among scholars, practitioners, and public policy
experts who take seriously the historical and contemporary
influences of religion on both the vitality and the varied
forms of family life. The project produced twelve books, a
series of conferences, and major media projects on
theological, ethical, and institutional resources of the
Christian and Jewish traditions for understanding the family
in its relations to law, economics, and culture, as well as
religion. In winter 2001, the Project aired a three-part PBS documentary, "Marriage: Is It Just a Piece of Paper? 
" which analyzes the meaning and history behind contemporary wedding practices.
