News Archive
Video: Paradoxology: the Art of Praising the Deity
Vasudha Narayanan discusses the role of paradox in the Vaishnava/Hindu traditions during the CSWR’s inaugural Hindu Way of Life Lecture. Read ‘ Paradoxology: the Art of Praising the Deity’ Listen iTunes SoundCloud
Video: 2016 Billings Preaching Prize
HDS students Liz Aeschlimann, Natalie Malter, David Price, and Tim Seery deliver sermons for the Billings Preaching Prize Competition during Noon Service on April 13, 2016. In addition, Melissa Coles, the Massachusetts Bible Society scripture reading...
New Ministries for Millennials
Millennials hungry for deep connection are creating new spiritual communities even as they turn away from organized religion, the authors of two new studies said recently at Harvard Divinity School. As a result, secular groups are discovering the value of...
Buddhism Confronting Racism
Patheos previews the upcoming "Buddhism and Race Conference" to be held at HDS on Friday, April 22.
'Amoris Laetitia' and Gay Marriage
Francis X. Clooney, S.J., director of the Center for the Study of World Religions, examines some of Pope Francis's recently-issued apostolic exhortation "On Love in the Family."
Video: The Future of Spiritual Community
HDS students Angie Thurston and Casper ter Kuile and HDS alumnus Derek van Bever discuss the growing numbers of the religiously unaffiliated in America. Read ‘ New Ministries for Millennials’ Listen iTunes SoundCloud
Video: Are Pope Francis and Donald Trump Changing Religion’s Role in American Politics?
Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne discusses religion's changing role in politics and the 2016 elections. Read ‘ Pope Francis, Trump, and Religion’s Role in American Politics’ Listen iTunes Soundcloud
Video: Keynote Address by Jill Abramson
Jill Abramson, AB ’76, lecturer at Harvard University and former executive editor of The New York Times delivers the keynote address at the 2016 Dean’s Leadership Forum. Read ‘ Jill Abramson on the ‘Calling’ of Journalism’ Listen iTunes SoundCloud
Dreams and Dreaming
Professor of the Comparative and Historical Study of Religion Kimberley C. Patton, who teaches the course "Dreams and Dreaming" at HDS, discusses the role dreams played in earlier, more religious cultures.
Divinity Dialogues: 2016 Gomes Honorees
The 2016 Peter J. Gomes STB '68 Memorial honorees speak for the final installment of this year’s Divinity Dialogues. The panelists were Cynthia L. G. Kane, MDiv '96, Lieutenant Commander in the Chaplain Corps of the United States Navy; Valarie K. Kaur...
First of Many
Preston Williams has often been first: the first tenured African American member of the Harvard Divinity School (HDS) faculty; the first African American president of the Society of Christian Ethics; the founding director of Harvard's W.E.B. DuBois...
Building a Discussion Around the Memorial Church
To better understand how deeply religion is intertwined with our daily lives, Diane Moore , director of the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School , asked an audience in Allston-Brighton to consider one of the most recognizable buildings on...
Recalling The Spirit of Sustainable Agriculture
On March 31 and April 1, 2016, scores of farmers, religious and spiritual leaders, activists, and scholars, gathered at Harvard Divinity School and engaged in robust discussions during The Spirit of Sustainable Agriculture conference. The aim of the...
Beyond ‘Us and Them’
When Valarie Kaur, MTS ’07, visited the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, after a white supremacist shot six people there in August of 2012, she found none of the recriminations and finger-pointing that characterized the politics of gun violence in the...
Video: Practical Reverence: Sacred Reciprocity in the Context of Sustainable Agriculture
On the second day of the " Spirit of Sustainable Agriculture" conference, speakers at the plenary panel were Michelle Velez, Lauren O’Brien, Hisham Moharram, Sebastian Kretschmer, Joan Armon, Chara Armon. Read ' Recalling The Spirit of Sustainable...
‘My Parish Is the World’
Betsee Parker's single-minded focus on service has been in evidence throughout her life, but perhaps never more so than on September 11, 2001. She and her late husband were in their apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan when the first plane hit...
Video: Jewish Tradition & Contemporary Life: Lessons from the Evolution of the JOFEE Movement
The opening keynote address of the " Spirit of Sustainable Agriculture" conference was delivered by Nigel Savage, president and CEO of Hazon. Read ' Recalling The Spirit of Sustainable Agriculture' Listen iTunes SoundCloud
With Portrait Unveiling, Gomes Makes Harvard History
The late HDS professor and Harvard chaplain Peter J. Gomes's portrait is the first of a person of color to hang in the storied Faculty Room in University Hall.
The Warrior’s Companion
The Rev. Cynthia Kane, MDiv ’96, says that her ministry is a lot like any other. She is a companion and guide to people with diverse backgrounds and experiences and helps them address questions of morality, faith, spirituality, and ethics. In many ways...
Video: Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Creation of a Media Phenomenon
Martin Luther did more than just serve as a catalyst for the Reformation. By nailing his 95 theses to the door of a Wittenberg, Germany, church in 1517, he became the world's first mass media figure and launched a new form of theological writing, argues...
Giving Love the Last Word
The Rev. Dr. Alton B. Pollard III, MDiv ’81, says that we are living through a "Kairos moment"—a time when people everywhere are called to a greater awareness of the humanity they share with one another. He sees it in the Black Lives Matter movement's...
Video: Transforming Racialized Divides in the US
Dr. Leah Gunning Francis and Rev. Dr. David Anderson Hooker offer insights from the African-European American experience on intergenerational transmission of racialized divides and recommend spiritual and practical approaches for reconciliation. Details...
Within the Cross
In the least-visited museum in Rome, Professor Stephanie Paulsell ponders the mystery of incarnation ahead of Good Friday.
Letter From Brussels
On March 22, 2016, explosions in the main airport and a metro station in Brussels killed 31 people and left 300 wounded. The Islamic State claimed responsibility. In the aftermath of the attacks, during three days of national mourning in Belgium, there...
Luther's Media Phenomenon
Martin Luther did more than just serve as a catalyst for the Reformation. By nailing his 95 theses to the door of a Wittenberg, Germany, church in 1517, he became the world's first mass media figure and launched a new form of theological writing, argues...
Video: Being Human in a Buddhist World
Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies and associate dean for faculty and academic affairs, discusses her recent publication, Being Human in a Buddhist World: An Intellectual History of Medicine in Early Modern Tibet. Listen iTunes SoundCloud
Humans of HDS: Navigating Theology with First Graders
HDS student David Waters didn't want to simply go to mass, "soak up the awesomeness," and leave. He wanted to give back. So now he's teaching theology to first graders at his Boston parish.
Video: The Spiritual Roots of Traditional Korean Music
This lecture and performance by visiting artists features musicologist Dr. Hilary Finchum-Sung, Seoul National University, and musicians Lee Tae-Baek, Yi Ji-Young, Won Wan-Chul, Lee Suk-Joo, and Lim Hyeun-Bin. This performance was co-sponsored by the...
Being Human in a Buddhist World
Ten years in the making, the most recent book by Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies, endeavors to "stand next to my colleagues from a Buddhist world," as she puts it, and "watch with empathy and care as they attempt to carve out a space...
Eagle Dance Display
Currently in the lobby of the CSWR, there is an Eagle Dance display in the exhibit case. Displays change every couple of weeks, so visitors are invited to come back frequently to see the newest exhibit!