Center for Process Studies

The Center for Process Studies (CPS) is an academic and interdisciplinary center founded in 1973 by theologian John B. Cobb Jr. and philosopher-theologian David Ray Griffin. Based in Claremont, California, it operates as a faculty center of Claremont School of Theology in association with Claremont Graduate University. Its purpose is to explore the relevance of process thought to intellectual, religious, social, political, economic, and ecological questions. CPS takes its name from process philosophy, a broad tradition associated especially with Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne. Rather than treating reality as composed primarily of fixed substances, process thought emphasizes change, relationship, experience, creativity, and interdependence. CPS uses this framework to bring moral, aesthetic, religious, and scientific perspectives into conversation. Its work also seeks dialogue between Eastern and Western philosophies and religions, and connects questions of human justice with ecological sustainability. The center's activities include academic research, seminars, conferences, lectures, publications, library and archival services, educational resources, and international collaboration. Its principal scholarly publication is Process Studies, an academic journal containing research articles, reviews, critical studies, and thematic sections on process thought and its applications. Process Studies Supplement provides an electronic outlet for longer pieces, while Process Perspectives serves as a newsmagazine covering center activities and developments across the international process movement. CPS also maintains substantial research collections. Its library is described as one of the largest collections devoted to the Whiteheadian and Hartshornean process tradition, with books, dissertations, articles, bibliographies, audiovisual materials, and special collections. The Hartshorne Archive makes the work of Charles Hartshorne accessible, and the holdings include materials connected with process scholars, CPS directors, Alfred North Whitehead, Charles Birch, John Spencer, Daniel Day Williams, and others. These resources support visiting scholars, students, and researchers working across philosophy, theology, ecology, economics, education, ethics, feminist theory, psychology, natural science, and world religions. The center's project structure extends beyond conventional academic publishing. The Whitehead Research Project studies Whitehead's texts, philosophy, and life while placing his ideas in conversation with contemporary philosophies. Process & Faith develops accessible resources for clergy, laypeople, and people from different religious backgrounds, including short courses, books, and the online quarterly magazine Creative Transformation. The China Project translates process texts into Chinese, organizes conferences and a Process Academy, hosts visiting scholars, and has supported the development of process-study centers in China. The Korea Project performs related translation, publishing, conference, and educational work in Korean. The Latin America Project connects process thought with liberation theology and promotes Spanish- and Portuguese-language resources. CPS has also supported public-facing and applied initiatives. The Common Good International Film Festival uses film and discussion to encourage social responsibility, intercultural understanding, and concern for the earth. Through relationships with organizations such as Toward Ecological Civilization, the International Process Network, the Society for the Study of Process Philosophies, the Open and Relational Theologies Group, and the Institute for Postmodern Development of China, CPS participates in a wider network of process-oriented scholarship and activism. The center's leadership has included Executive Director Wm. Andrew Schwartz, Faculty Co-Directors Philip Clayton, Monica Coleman, and Roland Faber, and emerita faculty co-directors Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, John B. Cobb Jr., and David Ray Griffin. The available reference material does not establish complete appointment dates for these positions. CPS remains primarily an academic, publishing, educational, and convening institution rather than a conventional consumer-facing commercial brand.

The Center for Process Studies was founded in 1973 by John B. Cobb Jr. and David Ray Griffin in Claremont, California. Its creation reflected an effort to develop an institutional base for process thought, especially the philosophical and theological traditions associated with Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne. From the beginning, the center was designed to connect abstract reflection with practical concerns, including moral responsibility, social justice, ecological sustainability, and the relationship between science and religion. CPS developed as a faculty center of Claremont School of Theology, working in association with Claremont Graduate University. Its academic setting enabled the center to support teaching, research, visiting scholars, conferences, seminars, lectures, and publications. Rather than concentrating on a single discipline, CPS treated process thought as a framework that could be tested and extended in philosophy, theology, physics, biology, psychology, education, economics, politics, ethics, gender studies, race studies, human rights, and environmental thought. Publishing became one of the center's principal activities. Process Studies developed as its main academic journal, providing a venue for scholarly articles, book reviews, critical studies, and special-topic discussions. The associated Process Studies Supplement created an electronic outlet for longer works, while Process Perspectives reported on CPS programs and related developments across the international process movement. These publications helped sustain a scholarly community around process philosophy and made connections among researchers working in different countries and disciplines. The center also built an important library and archival program. Its holdings include books, dissertations, articles, bibliographies, audiovisual material, and special collections concerning the Whiteheadian and Hartshornean traditions. The Hartshorne Archive preserves and provides access to primary and secondary materials related to Charles Hartshorne. Other materials include works connected with Alfred North Whitehead, Charles Birch, John Spencer, Daniel Day Williams, CPS directors, and conference participants. The library's subject guides extend into hundreds of areas, allowing process scholarship to be used by researchers in theology, philosophy, ecology, science, education, economics, psychology, feminist theory, and world religions. Over time, CPS organized special projects to apply process-relational thinking in particular regions and fields. The Whitehead Research Project focuses on Whitehead's texts, biography, philosophy of organism, and contemporary implications. Process & Faith translates process theology into accessible educational materials for clergy and laypeople, including courses, books, and Creative Transformation, an online quarterly magazine. The China Project has translated process texts into Chinese, supported conferences and an annual Process Academy, hosted Chinese scholars in Claremont, and helped establish process-study centers in China. The Korea Project has pursued Korean-language translation, publishing, conferences, and student programs. The Latin America Project has worked at the intersection of process thought and liberation theology while developing Spanish- and Portuguese-language materials. CPS's work has also included public and ecological initiatives. The Common Good International Film Festival uses international cinema and discussion to promote social and personal responsibility, intercultural understanding, and care for the earth. The center's intellectual orientation has aligned it with efforts such as Toward Ecological Civilization, which seeks sustainable social arrangements integrating scholarship, policy, activism, and grassroots practice. CPS has additionally participated in networks and organizations concerned with process philosophy, open and relational theology, constructive postmodernism, and cross-cultural intellectual exchange. The institution's leadership history includes its founders and a succession of faculty and executive figures. The available material identifies Wm. Andrew Schwartz as Executive Director; Philip Clayton, Monica Coleman, and Roland Faber as Faculty Co-Directors; and Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, John B. Cobb Jr., and David Ray Griffin as emerita Faculty Co-Directors. The source material does not provide complete dates for each appointment. A 2022 publication, The Center for Process Studies: Conferences and Conversations, documented aspects of the center's history through photographs, letters, conference lists, and archival ephemera. CPS continues to function as a research, educational, publishing, and convening center for process-oriented scholarship and practice.

• 2022

  Historical volume published

  [1]Center for Process Studiesen.wikipedia.org

  The volume The Center for Process Studies: Conferences and Conversations presented archival photographs, correspondence, conference lists, and other material documenting the center's development.

• 1973

  Center established

  [1]Center for Process Studiesen.wikipedia.org

  John B. Cobb Jr. and David Ray Griffin founded the Center for Process Studies to explore the relevance of process thought to diverse fields of reflection and action.

An interdisciplinary center for process philosophy, process theology, and relational approaches to public and ecological challenges. CPS positions itself as a bridge among academic disciplines, religious traditions, cultures, and practical movements concerned with justice, sustainability, and the common good.

• Academic journal

  Process Studies

  CPS's principal scholarly journal, publishing research articles, book reviews, critical studies, and themed sections concerning process philosophy, process theology, and their applications across disciplines.

• Electronic scholarly publication

  Process Studies Supplement

  An electronic publication associated with Process Studies that provides space for articles and studies too extensive for the regular journal format.

• Newsletter and newsmagazine

  Process Perspectives

  A CPS newsmagazine featuring short thematic essays, reports on center-sponsored activities, and updates from affiliated process organizations around the world.

• Online educational magazine

  Creative Transformation

  A quarterly online magazine offered through Process & Faith, presenting accessible resources and reflections on practical applications of process-relational theology.

• Research library and archive

  CPS Library and Archives

  A specialized research collection containing books, dissertations, articles, bibliographies, audiovisual resources, and archival holdings related to Whiteheadian and Hartshornean process thought, including the Hartshorne Archive.

• Common Good International Film Festival

  International

  An annual film event presenting and discussing films that encourage social and personal responsibility, intercultural appreciation, concern for the earth, and commitment to the common good.

  Outcome. The available material describes it as an ongoing annual program but does not provide attendance, financial, or performance results.

  Source
• China Project

  China · United States

  A cross-cultural initiative translating process literature into Chinese, organizing conferences and a Process Academy, hosting visiting scholars, and supporting process-study institutions in China.

  Outcome. The reference material states that the project helped establish more than 23 Centers for Process Studies in China.

  Source
• Korea Project

  South Korea · United States

  A program connecting Eastern and Western process scholarship through translation, publication, conferences, and Korean-language educational programs.

  Source
• Latin America Project

  Latin America · Spain · Portugal

  A regional initiative exploring relationships between liberation theology and process thought while organizing conferences and translating relevant materials into Spanish and Portuguese.

  Source

• 1973

  Adoption of an interdisciplinary process-relational missionStrategy

  Background

  The founders created CPS to move process philosophy and theology beyond specialist discussion and examine its implications for science, culture, religion, public life, justice, and ecology.

  Action taken

  The center organized its work around research, publications, conferences, seminars, library resources, and applied projects spanning multiple disciplines and regions.

  Aftermath

  This interdisciplinary and international orientation remains the defining basis of CPS programs and partnerships.

  Source

1. 1Center for Process Studiesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Center for Process Studies official websitectr4process.org