"If you embrace a complex, rich and dynamic understanding of religion, you'll never exhaust the incredible array of religious expressions it's possible to study," says Diane Moore, director of the Religious Literacy Project at HDS.
Starting July 16, the U.S. Department of State will host its 3-day Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. The event “brings together leaders from around the world to discuss the challenges facing religious freedom, identify means to address religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, and promote greater respect and preservation of religious liberty for all.” Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Vice President Michael Pence, and U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi are all expected to speak.
In Navajo worldview, thought creates the world, which is then spoken into being. This process places sacred value on the power of language. Sherwin Bitsui’s poetry attempts to connect Diné thought to a changed world by translating the present through an encoding rooted in his culture and language. In this excerpt from his talk at Harvard Divinity School, he offered insight into how Navajo thought and language can inform a poetics, thus opening possibilities for poetry.... Read more about Video: The Song Within Thinking Outwardly: Navajo Thought and Poetry
Thanks to the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School, which guides teachers in incorporating a constitutionally sound approach to presenting the interplay between culture and religion, students are developing better understanding of how the multiple facets of religion influence human experience.
"Teaching about religion through the isolated lens of rituals, beliefs, and practices is problematic," writes Diane Moore, director of the Religious Literacy Project at HDS.
Prospect High School social studies teacher John Camardella is wading into the intellectual unknown, all for the benefit of his students. The Illinois native and veteran educator recently threw out the playbook and, with the help of HDS's Religious Literacy project, completely redesigned the curriculum of his world religions elective.
Zachary Davis, MTS ’19, a producer at HarvardX and host of the podcast “Ministry of Ideas,” would like to change how we understand religion’s place in the twenty-first century. An initiative of the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard Divinity School, “Ministry of Ideas” has garnered the acclaim of outlets such as BuzzFeed and The Guardian.
Religion is a powerful influence on human affairs, nowhere more visibly than in its capacity to help both ignite and resolve conflict. Now a new collaboration between Harvard Divinity School and Harvard Kennedy School will enable scholars to study the role that religious communities play in violent conflict—and in promoting sustainable peace.... Read more about HDS/HKS Initiative Will Study Religion, Conflict, and Peace
Held on December 7–8, 2017, the Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative (RLPI) explored the complicated roles religions play in our nation’s multi-faceted debate over immigration, and how understanding those roles may help government agencies better foster the constructive and humane integration of immigrants and refugees into our communities.... Read more about Video: Religious Literacy and Government Symposium
