Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy (CRESP) is a non-profit, nonsectarian, educational organization affiliated with Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

. It states that most but not all of its projects are locally based but seek national and international influence through direct work, outreach, and literature on religious tradition, spirituality and ethical thought.

CRESP Mission

CRESP states its mission is to "seek the active participation of concerned individuals at Cornell, in Ithaca, and beyond in fostering vital and caring communities to provide a foundation for a world of peace, mutual understanding, and respect for all life" and that its objective is to "increase the number of individuals and groups who are dedicated to building a just and sustainable society."

Background

CRESP was founded in 1971 as an outgrowth of Cornell United Religious Work (CURW). Its administrative offices are located in Cornell's Anabel Taylor Hall. Initially a think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 on issues of social justice

Social justice

Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...

, Many CRESP-sponsored projects to address the issues of the day are now independent agencies, including Eco-Justice, the Learning Web, anti-apartheid

Anti-Apartheid Movement

Anti-Apartheid Movement , originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British organization that was at the center of the international movement opposing South Africa's system of apartheid and supporting South Africa's Blacks....

 efforts, socially responsible advertising, draft counseling, and farming alternatives. CRESP now serves as the umbrella for sixteen projects and works with Cornell student groups on progressive issues, and has two affiliates, one located in a traditional village outside Dakar, Senegal, and the other in the rural mountains of the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

.

United for Peace and Justice

United for Peace and Justice

United for Peace and Justice is a coalition of more than 1,300 international and U.S.-based organizations opposed to "our government's policy of permanent warfare and empire-building."...

, an anti-war coalition of more than 1,300 international and United States-based organizations, counts CRESP as a member organization.

CRESP projects

Current CRESP projects include:

• Alternatives Library
• Centro de Idiomas
• Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations (CUSLAR)
• Ecovilliage
• Engineers For A Sustainable World
• Ithaca City Of Asylum
• Positive News
• Simple Living America
• Take Back Your Time Day
• TheocracyWatch
  TheocracyWatch
  TheocracyWatch is a project run by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy , located at Cornell University. It was founded by Joan Bokaer, an environmental activist because, she says, "After the 2000 election she realized that few people understood that the religious right had taken...
  
  
• Tompkins County Living Wage Coalition
• Vitamin L