Engaging ‘the Messy World of Politics’

October 4, 2016
Allison Harrington
MTS candidate Allison Harrington. Photo: Courtesy of Allison Harrington.

This summer, thanks to several generous gifts in support of Dean David N. Hempton’s campaign initiatives, HDS continued its ongoing effort to provide students with financial support so that they can serve communities locally and abroad through organizations unable to offer paid summer experiences.

The Dean’s Summer Internship Awards are $5,000 stipends that enable several MTS students to make positive contributions through internships with nonprofit or public service organizations, and then take those experiences with them back into the classroom in the fall.

Below, one of the award recipients, Allison Harrington, explains in her own words how the stipend allowed her to work for the Eleison Group in Washington, D.C., and the impact her internship is having on the 2016 presidential race and herself. Previously, Ashlynn Rickord, a fellow award recipient, wrote about her work with the Waltham Historical Commission in Waltham, Massachusetts. 

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This summer, I was a fellow at the Eleison Group in Washington, D.C., a consulting firm that helps political, non-profit, business, and government entities connect with America's faith communities.

The firm focuses on targeted, values-driven messaging to win over moderates and independents, and mobilize progressives. In the context of the 2016 presidential race, this meant articulating the Democratic platform through a faith framework that would resonate with values-driven Christian communities. I relished the opportunity to peel myself away from the 24-hour news coverage of this disquieting election, and take action by entering into the messy world of politics.

In my position as a summer fellow, I managed our social media accounts and substantially improved my “meme”-making skills.

I contributed blog posts to our “Faith Voters for Hillary” and “Faithful Democrats” blogs on Patheos. I also researched and wrote memos on white Evangelical voting patterns and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s statements on religion.

Together with the two other interns, I carried out a Christian radio buy in several states to expand Obamacare. We worked with non-profits doing targeted email campaigns, as well as getting faith-based social issues, like poverty and torture, on the agenda for the Democratic National Convention. It was rewarding to see the sentiments we had talked about in the office appear in speeches at the DNC (like Hillary Clinton’s Methodist calling card “Do all the good you can”).

I was grateful for the Harvard Divinity School education under my belt. My concentration in religions of the Americas provided me with insight into America’s complex faith landscape, which in turn helped me effectively communicate this summer.

In my time at HDS, I have mostly studied the value systems of liberal Christianity. In my position at Eleison I had to switch gears, instead paying close attention to politically moderate/conservative Christian communities. In this setting I had to be intentional about my language in a new way. Where at HDS I craft complicated sentences in order to communicate a particular scholarly position, this summer I worked within the normative frames of our political culture. I welcomed the challenge of communicating to a wider audience, just as I enjoy the specificity and deconstructive impulse of academia.

Through my bosses at the Eleison Group I was able to meet many fascinating people who work at the fertile intersection of faith and politics. Everyone has a different story, and there were more than a few divinity school graduates! I had the opportunity to expand my network, and learn valuable lessons about pursuing a career in Washington, D.C. I will hopefully return to nation’s capital after graduation and continue doing this type of work.

This fellowship affirmed for me the importance of the scholarship done at Harvard Divinity School. Across the world, diverse sets of people hold convictions grounded in faith. At HDS, we are able to explore the various ways in which this shapes the world, and our understanding of it. This summer, I learned more about the way American civil institutions engage religious communities. I am excited to return to my studies after experiencing life in a political battleground. I have a renewed desire to ask questions and find some answers, as well.

—Allison Harrington is a master of theological studies degree candidate at HDS