At the October meeting of the World Congress of Families, Dr. Patrick Fagan unveiled MARRIpedia, a newly-launched online social science encyclopedia of all matters related to family, marriage, religion, and sexuality. MARRIpedia synthesizes and translates the work of myriad social scientists into concise, issue-specific entries that are intelligible to the lay reader.
As research continues to emerge on the intricate relationships of family and religion within society, MARRIpedia will continuously synthesize that research into pertinent entries. The numerous cross-links illustrate the overlap of family, religion, and a vast array of issues — such as education, the economy, poverty, crime, and abuse.
The purpose of MARRIpedia is to let the data do the talking. We hope to facilitate societal change by delivering the power of robust social science findings to the actors in families, churches, schools, and other “people-forming” institutions. Thus informed, citizens can effect changes for the good. Visit MARRIpedia now at www.marripedia.org, and join MARRI and the Family Research Council as Dr. Fagan delivers an encore of his presentation at the World Congress of Families.
Patrick F. Fagan, Ph.D., is Director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI), a social science institute studying the impact of marriage, family and religion on children, adults and society in general. A native of Ireland, Fagan began as a grade school teacher in Cork, Ireland before becoming a psychologist practicing in Canada. In the mid 1980’s Fagan moved from clinical work into public policy to focus on family issues. He began at the Free Congress Foundation, later worked with Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, and thereafter served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Family and Community Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President George H.W. Bush. Fagan served as the Senior Fellow in family and culture issues at the Heritage Foundation for 13 years before moving to the Family Research Council and founding MARRI in 2008.
