News Archive
WSRP Announces 2016–17 Research Associates
Their research spans history, religions, and academic fields, and next year, five new Research Associates will join the Women's Studies in Religion Program at HDS to work on book-length projects. The diverse topics range from queer theory and...
At the Intersection of Sexuality and Spirituality
Since he arrived at Harvard Divinity School two years ago as an MTS degree candidate, it has been Danny Ballon's mission to prove that "gay" and "Christian" are not antithetical. And while HDS has long been an LGBTQ-friendly community, Ballon is...
Video: Electric Santería
Associate Professor of African American Religions Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús discusses her recent publication, Electric Santería: Racial and Sexual Assemblages of Transnational Religion.
Video: From the Mountains into the Cities
Donald Baker explores the transition of Korean Buddhism from marginalization to mainstream during the twentieth century.
Video: Towards a Liturgical Turn in Comparative Theology?
Marianne Moyaert explores the opportunities, challenges, and problems with liturgy in comparative theology. Read the article
Panel Showcases HDS's New edX Course
Professors of the Divinity School's new edX scriptures course shared an array of teaching strategies and resources from each of the six course modules at an introductory panel in Andover Hall on March 1.
Video: World Religions Through Their Scriptures
In conjunction with HDS's new online course, "World Religions Through Their Scriptures," professors from across Harvard discuss the texts of the world's major religions. Read the article
Fantastic Five
The recipients of the 2016 Peter J. Gomes STB '68 Memorial Honors transcend categories. From a Yale Law School graduate who uses storytelling to fight hate crimes against Muslims and Sikhs, to a naval officer who advocates for peace, this year's group...
Creating a Safe Space
On a November evening in Maine, MTS candidate Sara Otero was awoken from her afternoon nap by the sound of women singing. She made her way down the stairs of Snowbird Lodge in darkness to find the living room awash in warm candlelight. A fire was...
Peter Machinist on Retirement, Biblical Studies, and Jewish Identity
This past fall, after 24 years, Peter Machinist retired from full-time teaching as the Hancock Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages at Harvard University, serving as faculty both in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations department and...
Video: Kingdom of Bureaucracy
Associate Professor of New Testament Giovanni Bazzana discusses his recent publication, Kingdom and Bureaucracy: The Political Theology of Village Scribes in the Sayings Gospel Q.
New Music From Ancient Instruments
Professor Davíd Carrasco discusses ocarinas, Mesoamerican flute-like instruments dating back as far as 4,500 years, which are now on display at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.
Trump, South Carolina, and Evangelicals
On February 20, Donald Trump resoundingly won the South Carolina Republican primary and reinforced his position as the leading GOP candidate for president. Exit polling showed that evangelicals accounted for 72 percent of the vote (up from 65 percent four...
Kingdom of Bureaucracy
Giovanni Bazzana , Associate Professor of New Testament at HDS, answers questions about his new book, Kingdom of Bureaucracy: The Political Theology of Village Scribes in the Sayings Gospel Q, ahead of a talk at the CSWR on Tuesday, February 23.
Video: Buddhist Responses to Climate Change
Climate change is a stark reminder of our thoroughgoing interconnectedness. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi and Dr. Julie A. Nelson explore Buddhist resources that can help us to care for the earth and all of its inhabitants, and how these resources can be brought to...
Activism as Spiritual Practice
On the last day of his retreat in upstate New York, newly minted Buddhist Lama Rod Owens was ready to celebrate. Friends and family gathered for the occasion, anxiously awaiting their first glimpse of Owens in over three years. A feast was laid out...
The Role of Islam in ISIS
Jocelyne Cesari, Visiting Professor of Religion and Politics, discussed the politicization of Islam by the Islamic State at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies on February 16.
A Religion Course for the Internet Age
Harvard Divinity School Senior Lecturer Diane Moore has modest goals for her upcoming online course, " World Religions Through Their Scripture." She merely wants to increase religious understanding, open up crucial dialogues, and change the world—or at...
Video: Discovering Your Authentic Leadership
Bill George, Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School and author of Discover Your True North: Becoming an Authentic Leader discusses business and religion.
The Story Behind a Centuries-old Rift
Nearly 1,000 years ago, the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity split. Despite decades of attempts there has yet to be reconciliation. But, on Friday, Pope Francis will visit with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church in a historic meeting...
Sudireddy Joins Campaign Leadership Team
As a founder, CEO, or senior executive of many different companies, Ram Sudireddy is used to taking the lead. So it's no surprise that the member of Harvard Divinity School's Dean's Council is now stepping into the role of co-chair of the Campaign for HDS...
Sudden Impact
Only two years after its launch in April 2014, the Campaign for HDS is already having an impact on every aspect of the School's mission. New professorships enable HDS to extend its expertise in the study of the world's religious traditions and the ways...
Building Peace through Religious Understanding
When Karen Vickers and Albert Budney went with their high school senior class to the 1964 World's Fair in New York City, they were impressed by its theme of "Peace through Understanding"—so much so that 25 years later, after the couple had married, the...
Obama, Islam, and the American Religious Landscape
On Wednesday, February 3, President Barack Obama visited the Islamic Society of Baltimore, which was his first visit to a mosque in the U.S. while serving as president. During his visit, Obama said that "An attack on one faith is an attack on all our...
Light Beyond Violence
When he first encountered the work of Cormac McCarthy as a college student in the mid-'90s, Assistant Professor of Ministry Studies Matthew Potts became spellbound by the novelist, whose dark and violent narratives have led readers deep into history (...
Hate Draws A Forceful Response
On Aug. 5, 2012, a white supremacist walked into a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisc., and started shooting. The story of that horror, and the healing that came after, is the focus of a short documentary, "Waking in Oak Creek."
Examining the Mysteries, and Myths, of the Veil
This past fall, Susanna Drake taught a seminar on one of the most contentious religious objects in the world today: the veil. Drake, an associate professor at Macalester College who received her MTS from HDS and is back this year as a Research Associate...
The Importance of Understanding the Sociology of Religion
Warren Goldstein is a sociologist of religion teaching at HDS. While his research aims to develop a critical sociology of religion as a "new paradigm" in the sociology of religion, he is more broadly interested in the development of a critical paradigm in...
Serving Others a Job, and a Passion
While transporting patients on a recent volunteer mission in El Salvador, José López encountered a woman on her own at the makeshift clinic where he was working. He noticed the bandage she was wearing and asked her what happened. "She said that her...
New Fellow Focuses on Diversity, Inclusion
Natasha DuMerville joined HDS in August as the School's first diversity and inclusion administrative fellow. Harvard University's Administrative Fellowship Program is operated out of the Office of the Assistant to the President, Institutional Diversity...
