News Archive
Past and Present Context in Religious Education
"Religion is a lived thing. It is practiced as it is understood and adhered to by its adherents and its followers. And that means it is always changing and evolving. So two communities within the same branch may practice their religion very differently,"...
Saying the Mexican Names
The following essay was written by Davíd Carrasco, Neil L. Rudenstine Professor of the Study of Latin America, to mark the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, where a gunman killed 23 people and injured 23 others. When I was seven...
Faith in Protest as Young People Find Fervor on the Street
In its “How We Gather” study, Harvard Divinity School researchers documented wide-ranging spiritual communities for the young ranging from Afro Flow Yoga and dinner churches to public meditation groups.
My Spiritual Path Through the COVID-19 Darkness
"The soft supplication to the Buddhist goddess of healing, Tara, filled my hours, along with Sufi music and gentle sounds of Sikh prayers on the one divine. Words of the 13 th-century Persian mystic Rumi, 'Keep silent because the world of silence is a...
Yearning for God in a World of Troubles
"The larger the problems are around us, the deeper we must go if we are to be spiritually alive, able to manifest God’s healing power in a world that seems anything but holy," writes Professor Francis X. Clooney, S.J.
Does the New Testament Support Christian Zionism?
"Seeking a basis for reconciliation between Jews and Christians has been a much-pursued enterprise over the past few centuries. For the most part, the quest has been founded upon a mutual willingness to dilute religious conviction or bracket it altogether...
A Big Election Amid Pandemic in a Riven Land
“I am very, very, very worried about November,” said E.J. Dionne, Visiting Professor in Religion and Political Culture at Harvard Divinity School. “I don’t think we’re doing enough to get ready for Election Day.”
From Seminar to Online Journal, 'Freedom School' Celebrates Contemporary Black Creators
The original "freedom schools" offered a free, progressive education to Black students in the Civil Rights era-South. At Harvard, HDS alum Najha Zigbi-Johnson and Lesedi Graveline, MTS '21, reimagine what an Ivy League education could look like.
Reflections on Activism, Organizing, and Angela Davis
On the HDS Admissions blog, student Eboni Nash, MTS '21, writes about her recent conversation with abolitionist and activist Professor Angela Davis.
New Alum Book Offers Pathways to Transform Mental and Emotional Health
Holly Lebowitz Rossi, MTS '99, is a freelance writer and editor who has covered religion, health, yoga, and parenting for more for two decades. Below, HDS student Emily Farnsworth speaks with Rossi about her new book, The Yoga Effect: A Proven Program for...
HDS’s 2020 Summer Reading List
Summer has always been a time to catch up on that ever-growing reading list, whether it be for work, for pleasure, or, this summer, for knowledge and strength in these uncertain times. Below, members of the HDS community shared what they’re reading. Eboni...
Lessons from James Baldwin on Betrayal and Hope
Author Eddie Glaude and HDS Professor Cornel West discuss a new book against backdrop of racial upheaval.
Theorizing Bodies in Religious Studies
"Decolonial scholarship on the body entails not just adding a new category of analysis; it requires a shift in approach," writes Professor Mayra Rivera.
Finding Resilience in Rituals
HDS alum and Ministry Innovation Fellow Casper ter Kuile discusses his new book, which explores how we can find meaning and well-being in our daily rituals (sitting down for dinner with family, morning yoga) and in adopting new ones.
What It's like to Help Families Say Goodbye
"COVID-19 brutalizes bodies, but it also disempowers families who are unable to see their loved ones, sit at their bedsides and hold their hands," writes Bridget Power, MDiv '19, a chaplain resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Juneteenth in a Time of Reckoning
Harvard students and faculty members, including HDS Professor Todne Thomas, reflect on what Juneteenth means to them, amid the national reckoning with racism sparked by the police killing of George Floyd.
Professor Cornel West Co-Hosts New Podcast
HDS Professor Cornel West co-hosts the new podcast The Tight Rope, a weekly podcast that takes time to welcome listeners and guests as thought collaborators with West and co-host Brown University Professor Tricia Rose.
A Reading List on Issues of Race
Professor Todne Thomas and other Harvard faculty discuss the books they recommend for those who want to learn more about the issues and to expand their understanding of systemic racism, white privilege, and the long legacies of slavery and white supremacy...
Exploring Divinity School during COVID-19
If you’re thinking about coming to divinity school, you might be wondering how to decide where to apply when you can’t visit campus. The HDS Office of Admissions has developed resources to help you explore HDS!
Donald Trump, the Bible, and White Supremacy
The following opinion piece was written by Catherine A. Brekus, Charles Warren Professor of the History of Religion in America. On June 1, 2020, a group of peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C. was tear-gassed so that Donald Trump could be photographed...
Paulsell, Madigan Named Faculty Deans
“I know that each of them will bring remarkable compassion, thoughtfulness, and enthusiasm to our House communities," said Rakesh Khurana, Danoff Dean of Harvard College, in announcing the appointments.
The Trinity: God-with-Us in a World of Woe
From a homily by Professor Francis X. Clooney, S.J.: "We need a God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a God who acts through and in and despite us, in a world in dire need."
Cesari on COVID-19 and Religion
HDS visiting professor Jocelyne Cesari asks: Will COVID-19 lead to increased nationalist exclusionary and defensive attitudes among the religious, or might it be the cure that leads to radical social reorientation with a new emphasis on collective...
Melissa Wood Bartholomew Named Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging
A message from David N. Hempton, Dean of Harvard Divinity School I write with great pleasure to announce that Melissa Wood Bartholomew, MDiv ’15, will join HDS as the School’s new Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB) on July 6, 2020...
Reading 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' Under Lockdown
Professor Davíd Carrasco discusses "the greatest revelation in the Spanish language since Don Quixote," in The New Yorker magazine's series "Books for the Midnight Hour."
Fall 2020 Semester Plans
Harvard Divinity School has been closely monitoring the course of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Since moving to online instruction in March 2020, HDS, along with the rest of Harvard University, has been considering how best to fulfill its educational...
A Message from Dean Hempton: 'Let's Not Be Found Wanting'
I know you share with me a deep anger and sadness after one of the worst weeks in our country’s recent history, possibly THE worst. There are now over 100,000 deaths from the Covid-19 virus, mostly the elderly, the incarcerated, “essential” workers, the...
Reflecting on My Last Year at HDS
Tessa Steinert Evoy, MTS ‘20, and a graduate assistant in the Office of Admissions, reflects on the memories of HDS that will stay with her long after graduation.
Video: 2020 Virtual Diploma Awarding Ceremony
This online event to honor and recognize the HDS Class of 2020 took place May 28 and featured remarks from Dean David N. Hempton, the HDS Class of 2020 Student Speaker Ashley Lipscomb, a reading of the graduates names, and the sharing of well wishes...
'Be the One'
Ashley Lipscomb, MDiv '20, was selected by her student colleagues as the class speaker for HDS Commencement 2020. The following remarks were delivered by Lipscomb during the Virtual Diploma Awarding Ceremony on May 28. ♦♦♦ "Continue" by Maya Angelou My...
