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A soldier stands guard at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan on December 8, 2013. REUTERS/Mark Wilson/Pool. THOUGH NONVIOLEN

Could the U.S. Government Take Nonviolence Seriously?

September 3, 2021
“Baked into the international system and into diplomacy, especially in the West, is a great deal of simplistic and often biased thinking about religion,” said Susan Hayward, associate director of the religious literacy and the professions initiative at HDS.
Diane L. Moore

Toward a 'Religiously Literate' World

August 16, 2021
HDS is launching its first new master’s degree program in more than 50 years, the master of religion and public life. Coupled with a similarly named certificate program—the anchors of the of the Religion and Public Life initiative—HDS has embarked upon a comprehensive program of training professionals for practice in other realms.
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Religion and Public Life Announces 2021-22 Fellows

June 14, 2021
Religion and Public Life at Harvard Divinity School announced its 2021-22 fellows. This inaugural cohort of expert practitioners bring deep expertise and social justice commitments to a range of professions (government, education, journalism, organizing, and media and entertainment) and issues (racial justice, climate change, immigration advocacy, and Native and Indigenous rights).
alestinian children play in front of their destroyed homes in Beit Hanoun town following the Israel airstrikes in Gaza in mid-May 2021.SOPA Images

As Palestinians Rebuild Following the Latest War Between Israel and Hamas, Housing Will Take Center Stage

June 3, 2021
Gazan architect Salem al Qudwa, 2020-21 Fellow in Conflict and Peace at HDS, and contributor to a new book called Open Gaza: Architectures of Hope, has developed a green, flexible, and affordable model for self-built homes in Gaza. They are designed to be constructed on sand and rubble, and can create a “nurturing and safe environment for women and children, and to empower communities.”
A man prays in front of the United States Capitol during on January 6, 2021. Photo by Getty Images

White Christian Nationalists Want More Than Just Political Power

January 15, 2021
"For white Christian nationalists, taking back the country is about more than just political power. They see themselves as faithful patriots fulfilling the American Founders’ covenant with God to maintain a righteous Christian nation," writes Lauren R. Kerby, religious literacy specialist for HDS's Religion and Public Life program.
Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stands during a service at the International Church of Las Vegas in Las Vegas on Oct. 30, 2016.

White Evangelical Support for Trump Goes beyond His Policies, Supporters and Historians Say

November 2, 2020
"I think 'Make America Great Again' is broader than just an evangelical attitude. But it is, in many ways, tailor-made for them—they hear that and they absolutely hear, 'We need to make America Christian, the way it used to be when it was run by White conservative Christians,'" says Lauren Kerby, Religious Literacy Specialist for Religion and Public Life at Harvard Divinity School.

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