Harvard Divinity School

The Annual Greeley Lecture for Peace and Social Justice was delivered by Kelly Brown Douglas and examined the social/political and theological implications of whiteness as an impediment to living God’s justice. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Is religion a cause of violent conflict or a catalyst for its transformation? Do faith leaders have a role at the international peacebuilding tables? Current international affairs highlight the power of religious ideologies—and their misappropriation—as a catalyst for social action. They have also prompted unprecedented interest in the role of religious leaders and ideologies to transform conflict...

Held on December 7–8, 2017, the Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative (RLPI) seeks to consider how religion is embedded in both constructive and antagonistic approaches to immigration, especially with respect to work undertaken by (or in collaboration with) governmental agencies. This panel continues this discussion in relation to Middle Tennessee. The panelists include Melissa Borja,...

Held on December 7–8, 2017, the Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative (RLPI) seeks to consider how religion is embedded in both constructive and antagonistic approaches to immigration, especially with respect to work undertaken by (or in collaboration with) governmental agencies. This panel continues this discussion in relation to the Arizona-Mexico Border. The panelists include Kristi...

Held on December 7–8, 2017, the Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative (RLPI) seeks to consider how religion is embedded in both constructive and antagonistic approaches to immigration, especially with respect to work undertaken by (or in collaboration with) governmental agencies. This panel continues this discussion in relation to the Greater Boston Area. The panelists include Celina B...

Held on December 7–8, 2017, the Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative (RLPI) seeks to consider how religion is embedded in both constructive and antagonistic approaches to immigration, especially with respect to work undertaken by (or in collaboration with) governmental agencies. This panel and the following remarks will close the symposium. The panelists include Michelle Boorstein, Ja...

Held on December 7–8, 2017, the Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative (RLPI) seeks to consider how religion is embedded in both constructive and antagonistic approaches to immigration, especially with respect to work undertaken by (or in collaboration with) governmental agencies. Shaun Casey, MDiv ’83, ThD ’98, gives the keynote address at the Religious Literacy and Government Symposiu...

From the Commission of Appraisal in 1936 to the Black Empowerment impulse of the 1960s, James Luther Adams was a significant shaper of Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist institutions. And as a social ethicist, he helped envision the new national and international institutions that emerged in the post-World War II period. Professor Dan McKanan’s lecture explores the way Adams translated his theol...

Journalist and author E.J. Dionne, William H. Bloomberg Visiting Professor, delivers the 2017 Horace De Y. Lentz Lecture.

The South Asian Religions Colloquium (SARC) seeks to share ongoing, current scholarly research on topics in South Asian religions with Harvard students and faculty as well as the wider Boston academic community. This event features speaker James Mallinson, Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Classical Indian Studies at the University of London. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission...

As part of the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, this panel reflects on the interaction between religion scholars and law enforcement officials over the past 25 years and what may be learned from that experience to inform interaction going forward. Panelists include Eileen Barker, London School of Economics and Political Science; Michael Barkun, Syracuse University; David T. Resch, Fede...

"Forests think." Eduardo Kohn, author of the book How Forests Think, discusses a kind of thinking, which he calls “sylvan," that is manifested by tropical forests and those that live with them. This mode of thought can provide an ethical orientation in these times of planetary human-driven ecological devastation that some call the “Anthropocene." He presents his work as “cosmic diplomacy." How For...

WSRP 2017–18 Research Associate Avital Davidovich-Eshed, PhD (Bar Ilan University), Visiting Lecturer in Women's Studies and Judaism, delivers her talk, "Enclosed Gardens Revealed: The Concept of Virginity in Medieval Jewish Culture." Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Journalist and author E.J. Dionne, William H. Bloomberg Visiting Professor, delivers the 2017 Horace De Y. Lentz Lecture. Dionne is a distinguished journalist and author, political commentator, and longtime op-ed columnist for The Washington Post. He is also a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a government professor at Georgetown University, and a frequent commentat...

At the 2017 Diversity and Explorations Program (DivEx), Davíd Carrasco presents his talk, "Gifts from Mexico: Revitalizing Life Through the Day of the Dead Celebration". He describes one of the gifts from Mexico and Mexican's is the idea of convivencia, which he defines as "living together in order to give life the upper hand over death." He discusses three examples of convivencia that he has expe...

As part of the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Speakers Series, Khenpo Sodargye speaks about developing inner peace. Khenpo Sodargye is the abbot and senior educator at the renowned Larung Buddhist Institute, the largest Buddhist academy of this kind in the world. Khenpo trained closely with Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche, one of the great luminaries of his generation. As a Tibetan lama, Buddhi...

Mark D. Jordan, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Christian Thought (HDS) and Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (Faculty of Arts and Sciences), discusses his recent publication, Teaching Bodies: Moral Formation in the Summa of Thomas Aquinas. James Keenan, S.J. (BC) and David Decosimo (BU) serve as respondents. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate,...

The world is currently facing the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, and little substantive aid is forthcoming from Wealthy Western countries, who often politicize refugees as national threats. This panel discusses storytelling, advocacy, and activism with the understanding that nothing can replace personal encounter in re-framing our understanding of this global crisis. Speakers: Ani...

As part of the ministry colloquium series Mohammad Darawshe speaks about the current challenges of and opportunities for building a shared society in Israel. He is the director of planning, equality and shared society at Givat Haviva, the Center for Shared Society in Israel. Mohammad is an Arab with an Israeli Passport—a Muslim, Palestinian citizen of the State of Israel. Like 20 percent of Israel...

Panelists Jennifer Graber, University of Texas at Austin; Heather Curtis, Tufts University; and Amy Howe, Brown University discuss carceral punishment in relation to religion and the historical roots of US incarceration. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Willie Jennings, Yale Divinity School, opened the Christianity, Race, and Mass Incarceration Conference as the keynote speaker. The conference gathers scholars of various disciplines, activists, organizers, and formerly incarcerated persons to study carceral punishment, especially as it relates to questions of Christian thought and practice, and to provoke awareness and activism around incarcerati...

Panelists Cornel West, Harvard Divinity School; Devin Singh, Dartmouth College; Michelle Sanchez, Harvard Divinity School; M. Shawn Copeland, Boston College; and Andre Willis, Brown University, discuss carceral punishment in relation to theology and humanities. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Panelists Glenn Martin, JustLeadershipUSA; Kaia Stern, Harvard University; Rahsaan Hall, Massachusetts ACLU; Bev Williams, Criminal Justice Reform Campaign, GBIO; and Karlene Griffiths Sekou, Founder and Principal Consultant at The Dignity Project International, discuss carceral punishment in relation to activist strategies and the study of religion. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and it...

Catherine Brekus, HDS Charles Warren Professor of the History of Religion in America, discusses her recent publication, Sarah Osborn’s Collected Writings. David Holland (HDS) and Margaret Bendroth serve as respondents. View the full transcript here: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2017/10/16/sarah-osborn-collected-writings Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, e...

This session of the fourth annual RPP Colloquium dinner series explores restorative justice, its spiritual dimensions, and the potential contributions of its approach to advancing sustainable peace in our communities and our world. The session features presentations by Fania Davis, J.D., PhD, Co-Executive Director, Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY); and sujatha baliga, J.D., Director, R...