HOME / NEWS /

Harvard Religion Beat

Quardricos Driskell, MTS '08

Podcast: What Black History Month in 2021 Means for a Rising Spiritual and Ethical Movement

February 12, 2021

In February of 1926, Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-education historian, had a very specific goal in mind when he established what was then called Negro History Week. He hoped, as time went along, that Black history would be recognized as so entrenched in American history that calendars wouldn’t indicate when society should celebrate Black history.

Flash forward to 1970, when Black History Month as we know it today was first celebrated at Kent State University, then 16 years later, in 1986, when the U.S. Congress officially recognized Black History Month as the law of the land,...

Read more about Podcast: What Black History Month in 2021 Means for a Rising Spiritual and Ethical Movement
Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021. / Photo: Creative Commons, Gage Skidmore

Podcast: How Joe Biden’s Faith Will Shape His Presidency

January 19, 2021

In an October 2020 op-ed for the Christian Post, Joe Biden wrote: “My Catholic faith drilled into me a core truth—that every person on earth is equal in rights and dignity, because we are all beloved children of God.” As president, he continued, “These are the principles that will shape all that I do, and my faith will continue to serve as my anchor, as it has my entire life.”... Read more about Podcast: How Joe Biden’s Faith Will Shape His Presidency

Chris Berlin, second from right, leads a group meditation in Emerson Chapel.

Podcast: Mainstream Meditation and the Million-Dollar Mindfulness Boom

August 13, 2019

Today, mindfulness meditation can be found everywhere from schools to prisons to sports teams.

The trendy fitness apparel company Lululemon is now advertising mindful clothing for men. There’s also Mindful Meats, Mindful Mints, and Sherwin-Williams sells a paint color they call Mindful Gray. There’s even Mindful Mayo, which you can buy at your local Whole Foods for $5.99.... Read more about Podcast: Mainstream Meditation and the Million-Dollar Mindfulness Boom

11 people were killed in a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October 2018

Podcast: Why Hate Crimes Are on the Rise

April 23, 2019

Hate crimes committed on the basis of religious identity have surged 23 percent, the biggest annual increase since 9/11.

And while many have placed blame at the foot of political leaders and specifically President Trump for emboldening anti-Semites and white supremacists—very fine people, he’s called them—there’s another, equally troubling side to the story—one that calls into question the validity of the FBI’s own hate crime statistics and gives us more questions than answers.... Read more about Podcast: Why Hate Crimes Are on the Rise