News Archive
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...
Campaign Spotlight: Andover Hall
When complete, the renewed Andover Hall will transform the ways that students and scholars engage the world and each other. Learn more about the School's effort to support the comprehensive revitalization of the center of the HDS campus and mission.
Preeminent New Testament Scholar Helmut Koester Passes Away at 89
Helmut Koester, John H. Morison Professor of New Testament Studies and Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History Emeritus, died on New Year’s Day, 2016, at age 89. Koester was a leading scholar in the history of Christianity, New Testament exegesis and...
Zionism, Christian History, and the Pope
Professor Kevin Madigan writes about Francis' recent comments on Israel and Zionism in an op-ed piece.
Jesus in the Quran
The fifth and final post on the Quran by Francis X. Clooney, S.J., HDS professor and director of the Center for the Study of World Religions
Maryam, Mother of Jesus, in the Quran
Professor Francis X. Clooney, S.J., the director of the Center for the Study of World Religions, continues exploring "The Study Quran," this time on the theme of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
Examining Stories about Religion in America
Asked how HDS professors Catherine Brekus and David Holland came to co-teach "Narratives of American Religion: The Canon and Its Revisions," Brekus said the decision to collaborate was made quickly. "David said, 'That sounds like a fun course,' and I said...
Navigating the December Dilemmas
The month of December heralds an annual explosion of religious symbolism across public America, typically centered on Christmas decorations. While the celebration of Christmas has never been a simple issue in America (the Puritans famously banned...
Video: Seasons of Light
Enjoy the sights, sounds, and readings from the beloved annual service honoring the interplay of holy darkness and light in the world's religious traditions. Photos and video by Brian Tortora.
Clooney: How Are We to Understand Violence in the Quran?
HDS Professor Frank Clooney's third installment in America Magazine on the Study Quran.
For Lynne Gerber, Activism and Academia Are a Perfect Match
Lynne Gerber never imagined that she would become an avid consumer of Focus on the Family Christian radio. "I grew up in New York in a very Jewish community," Gerber said. "We understood what Catholics were, but Protestants were a whole entire other thing...
Jon Levenson on Law and Love
The love of God is perhaps the most essential element in Judaism—but also one of the most confounding. In biblical and rabbinic literature, the obligation to love God appears as a formal commandment. Yet most people today think of love as a feeling. How...
Video: The Pastor and the Imam from Nigeria
Former rival youth militia leaders Pastor Dr. James Movel Wuye and Imam Dr. Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa share their two-decade journey from vengeance to forgiveness and pragmatic conflict transformation and mitigation.
HDS's Frank Clooney on Trump, Islam, and Ignorance
HDS professor Francis Clooney, S.J. writes in American Magazine that Donald Trump's latest call to exclusion is not only deeply offensive to Muslims, it is an abomination to people of other faith traditions as well.
Susan Holman, MTS '91, Wins Grawemeyer Award in Religion
The HDS alumna won the 2016 Grawemeyer Award for her book Beholden: Religion, Global Health, and Human Rights.
Amid Global Violence, It's Time to Take Religion Seriously
HDS visiting professor Jocelyne Cesari writes in the Huffington Post on the growing threat ISIS poses and why introducing religious actors into policy making is sorely needed.
HDS Alumna Robin Coste Lewis Wins National Book Award
This year's National Book Award for Poetry went to poet Robin Coste Lewis, MTS '97, for her book "Voyage of the Sable Venus."
The Anchor: Experiential Learning at HDS
In 2013, Harvard Divinity School student Amanda Napior spent the summer working at the Berkshire County House of Correction (BCHC). "I taught an American religious history course and a course on creative writing for personal development. I also started a...
Agents of Healing
Earlier this fall, an HDS custodian saw that the lights were off in room 118 of Andover Hall and, expecting the classroom to be empty, entered to retrieve the trash bin. To his surprise, the space was not empty. Half a dozen students and their teacher sat...
Growing HDS Initiative Builds Toward Peace
What led rival youth militia leaders to come together as peacebuilding partners? How do you negotiate peace when religious identities are at stake? What are Muslim experiences of conflict and peace and how do they mirror those of other communities? These...
Amidst Conflict, Israeli Bilingual School Unites Communities
In six elementary schools across Israel, the sounds of children speaking both Hebrew and Arabic can be heard throughout the halls. These schools, called Yad B'Yad—a phrase that means "hand in hand" in both Hebrew and Arabic—have, in many ways, a simple...
Drawing Parallels Between The Paris Attacks and The Boston Bombings
Visiting Professor of Religion and Politics Jocelyne Cesari speaks with NPR following the November 13 attacks in Paris.
A Scholar-Activist Comes Full Circle at HDS
It's hard to pin Albert Raboteau down. Before earning his doctorate in religious history, he studied English literature and theology. Now, as a visiting professor at HDS, he's teaching a seminar on the intersection of literature and spirituality. He's...
Video: Cormac McCarthy and the Signs of Sacrament
Matthew L. Potts, Assistant Professor of Ministry Studies at HDS, discusses his recent book, Cormac McCarthy and the Signs of Sacrament: Literature, Theology, and the Moral of Stories. Amy Hollywood, Elizabeth H. Monrad Professor of Christian Studies at...
Video: Happy Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving around the corner, HDS students, faculty, and staff share what they are grateful for.
Raising Eyebrows: Reflecting on a Year at HDS
When I told colleagues at Oxfam that I needed time off to go to Harvard Divinity School, they responded with raised eyebrows. After all, I'm a senior executive in a large global organization that rarely, if ever, talks about religion and spirituality...
Bringing Death Out of the Shadow
"We spend a lot of time in denial that we are going to die. With all the choices that we make, how many would we revise and do differently if we were aware that we are mortal?" That question was posed earlier this fall at the Waking Up to Dying Project's...
Video: Paul in Rome?
J. Albert Harrill provides a critical reassessment of the apostle's life in its historical context.
Video: Crossfit as Church?!
Growing numbers of people are finding meaningful community in places outside of church. Learn how the CEO of CrossFit, Greg Glassman, thinks of his work as church, perhaps even religion.
