Human Rights

Jean Vanier

Jean Vanier: The Broken and the Oppressed

May 7, 2019

On November 6, 1988, the Catholic philosopher, theologian, and humanitarian Jean Vanier delivered Harvard Divinity School’s inaugural Harold M. Wit Lecture on Living a Spiritual Life in a Contemporary Age. His topic for the first of two talks was “The Broken and the Oppressed.”

Vanier’s lectures became the basis for one of his best loved books, From Brokenness to Community. Following are some excerpts from his address, reprinted from the Harvard Gazette.... Read more about Jean Vanier: The Broken and the Oppressed

Professor Mayra Rivera Rivera

Where Ideas, Tensions Converge

September 27, 2018
"Fostering a sense of belonging requires context that allows students and faculty to be their authentic selves," says HDS Professor Mayra Rivera, chair of Harvard’s Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, Rights. "We strive to keep that principle front and center in our work."
David Hysong

Idealism in Action

December 7, 2017

David Hysong, MDiv ’15, finished his master’s degree in intellectual history in 2011 and found himself with a year’s lag time before he planned to enter the U.S. Navy. He was young, good looking, and smart. Most people in his position would probably have kicked back, gotten a job to pay the bills, and had some fun. But David Hysong is not “most people.”

... Read more about Idealism in Action

Humanitarian action

Religious Literacy: Critical for Both Secular and Faith-Inspired Humanitarian INGOs

March 31, 2017

Both secular and faith-inspired international humanitarian organizations would benefit from a higher level of religious literacy to understand the religious dimensions of the contexts in which they work, concludes a new report by researchers from Oxfam and the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School.... Read more about Religious Literacy: Critical for Both Secular and Faith-Inspired Humanitarian INGOs

Tara Gingerich

A Shift in Humanitarian Crisis Response

January 12, 2017

What is the role of religious literacy in humanitarian action? Humanitarian practitioners and leading scholars involved in humanitarian efforts will discuss this question and others during the Symposium on Religious Literacy in Humanitarian Action. The event, sponsored by the Religious Literacy Project, will take place Jan. 19 and 20 at Harvard Divinity School. It is free and open to the public.

Tara Gingerich, senior humanitarian...

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Children in Aleppo

Children First

December 21, 2016

There is a sacredness in tears," wrote Washington Irving, ". . . they speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues." Perhaps the greatest question of our age is whether or not the world's grown-ups will ever notice the tears of the world's children.... Read more about Children First

Rev. Karen Tse

'It Can Be Done'

October 14, 2016

Karen Tse had a vision. As a second-year student at HDS in the late 1990s, she imagined founding an organization that would end the use of torture by law enforcement around the world.... Read more about 'It Can Be Done'

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