Full title: "Public Courage and the Academy: Beyond the Binaries: Depolarizing our Politics and Bridging Our World"The Rev. Dr. Deborah Johnson explored the theme of depolarizing our politics and bridging our world. She invited us to move beyond societal binaries and to embrace a more inclusive and compassionate future.Rev. Dr. Deborah Johnson (she…

Full title: "Public Courage and the Academy: The Future of the Church and the Cosmopolitan Leaders It's Calling For"Join this online conversation featuring Bishop Yvette Flunder and the Rev. Eric Ovid Donaldson.Bishop Yvette Flunder (she/her) is an American womanist, preacher, pastor, activist, and singer from San Francisco, California. She is the …

This is the sixth event is a six-part series.This session was a discussion among presenters reflecting upon the insights shared throughout the series. In addition to identifying themes and throughlines among sessions, they returned to the overarching questions that framed this collaboration: What can an expansive understanding of religion provide i…

This book talk featured “Decolonizing Palestine: The Land, The People, The Bible” by Mitri Raheb.“Decolonizing Palestine” challenges the weaponization of biblical texts to support the current settler-colonial state of Israel. Raheb argues that some of the most important theological concepts–Israel, the land, election, and chosen people–must be deco…

The Yang Visiting Scholars in World Christianity program brings distinguished senior and junior scholars of world Christianity to Harvard Divinity School each year, opening up fresh perspectives, particularly from the global south. This discussion was led by David N. Hempton, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, and Alonzo L. McDonal…

Organized by the HDS student group, HDS Muslims, this event began after breaking fast; guests enjoyed an hour-long performance by a group of musicians who performed examples of traditional music from Ottoman Sufi Istanbul lodges. This event featured the Istanbul Meshk Ensemble, directed by A. Eylül Valçunkaya, Ph.D., a visiting researcher at CMES. …

The vast range of meditation practices in Buddhist traditions has stood the test of time. Still, we live in a culture that differs radically from Buddhist cultures of the past. Our minds and lives are fragmented, and people find even basic concentration challenging. In such circumstances, an approach grounded in inquiry at a deep level, together wi…

Saints, spiritual warriors, bodhisattvas, zaddikim—no matter how they are named in a given tradition, all share a profound altruistic wish to free others from suffering. Saints are not beings of stained glass or carved stone. “Each of us can be a new saint,” says Lama Rod Owens. “In our pain, our trauma, and all our complexity, we all can—and must—…

In this episode of the Hope Podcast, we sit down with Keisha Bush, a second-year MTS student. We discuss the importance of intention and the value of community.Learn more about religion and spiritual life at Harvard Divinity School here: hds.harvard.edu/community-life/re…nd-spiritual-lifeTranscript forthcoming.…

In this episode of the Hope Podcast, we sit down with Swami Sachidananda, a student fellow at HDS. We discuss his monastic journey and the power of a smile.Learn more about religion and spiritual life at Harvard Divinity School here: hds.harvard.edu/community-life/re…nd-spiritual-lifeTranscript forthcoming.…

In this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from Jamail Khan, a second-year MTS student at HDS. We discuss the importance of religious community for spiritual growth and the power of love and beauty in the face of hopelessness.Learn more about religion and spiritual life at Harvard Divinity School here: hds.harvard.edu/community-life/re…nd-spiritu…

Pop Apocalypse, hosted by Matthew J. Dillon, postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture.For episode 7, we welcome the writer and scholar Erik Davis to reflect on the journey that led to his new book, BLOTTE…

In this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from Michael Fuhrman, a second-year MDiv student at HDS. This conversation includes his religious position of non-position, religious sympathy, and the importance of writing for its own sake.Learn more about religion and spiritual life at Harvard Divinity School here: hds.harvard.edu/community-life/re…nd…

In this episode of the Hope Podcast, we hear from Ahmaad Edmund, a third-year MDiv student at HDS. He discusses his long-time commitment to the Baptist tradition, starting a basement church as a youngster, and finding hope in transit.Learn more about religion and spiritual life at Harvard Divinity School here: https://hds.harvard.edu/community-life…

This alumni webinar explored the role of chaplaincy in fostering resilience and navigating complex challenges. Representing different religious traditions and fields, HDS alumni—Celene Ibrahim, MDiv '11, Faculty and Muslim Chaplain at the Groton School; Naomi Tzril Saks, MDiv '10, Palliative Care Chaplain at University of California, San Francisco;…

This was the fifth event is a six-part series, Religion in Times of Earth Crisis.Can personhood be granted to mountains, lakes, and rivers? What does it mean to be met by another species? How do we extend our notion of power to include all life forms? And what does a different kind of power look like and feel like? Wild Mercy is in our hands. Pract…

Plenary II: Plenary Chair: Dr. Melissa Wood Bartholomew, Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Lecturer on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Harvard Divinity SchoolPanelists: Sevonna Brown, National Director of Black Women’s Blueprint, Safer Childbirth Cities Initiative, Merck for Mothers, Dr. Henry Love, inaugural Obama Founda…

Plenary I: Plenary Chair: Dr. Tracey E. Hucks, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Africana Religious Studies, Harvard Divinity SchoolPanelists: Rev. Dr. Monica A. Coleman, John and Patricia Cochran Scholar for Inclusive Excellence and Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Delaware, Dr. Martin Summers, Professor of History and African and Af…

Full Title: Black Religion and Mental Health Symposium Keynote, "Black Freedom and the Racialization of Religious Excitement in American Psychiatry” by Dr. Judith WeisenfeldProfessor Ahmad Greene-Hayes (Harvard Divinity School) and Professor George Aumoithe (FAS, History and African and African American Studies) proposed this two-day interdisciplin…

This event was sponsored by the Women's Studies in Religion Program at Harvard Divinity School. This lecture, "More Babies and More Birth Control: American Jews and the Politics of Reproduction," was given by Samira K. Mehta, who is the Visiting Associate Professor of North American Religions. This event took place on February 29, 2024.For more inf…

Full title: Refuge in the Storm Webinar Series, Part III: Caring for Crisis Workers- Buddhist Approaches to Stress Management and Self-CareThis webinar is the third in a series offered by the Buddhist Ministry Initiative at Harvard Divinity School and featured a panel discussion of contributors to part III of Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in…

This was the fourth event in the six-part Religion in Times of Earth Crisis Series. Human-caused climate change already contributes to manifold global disasters. As the planet inevitably continues to warm, these disasters will be routine and unrelenting. Addressing the reality of loss must become a basic spiritual task of our climate present and fu…

Dr. Luis Eduardo is the Director of Wasiwaska, a research center in Brazil for the study of psychointegrator plants, visionary art and consciousness. Dr. Luna spoke about the ethnobotanical research at his Center, learning with and from the local communities and speaking with and to the plants. He also explored the relationship between his research…

This is the third event is a six-part series that took place live on Zoom discussing religion in times of earth crisis. Across the Indian Ocean world, communities have shared stories while encountering legacies of modern state-centrism, colonial capitalism, post-colonial environmental destruction, and religious reform. Muslim communities, among oth…

Full event title: Religion, Conflict, and Peace Book Series Spring 2024: The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance & End of Days Ethics, Tradition, and Power in IsraelThis joint book talk will feature “The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance” by Shaul Magid and “End of Days Ethics, Tradition, and Power in Israel” by Mikhael Manekin.“The…

This is the second event in a six-part series about religion in times of earth crisis. Two hundred years ago, the residents of metropolitan Boston faced a climate crisis. White settlers had destroyed the region’s pine forests, triggering dangerous disruptions to both water and carbon cycles. Activists responded by creating forest parks on previousl…

This is the first event is a six-part series that will take place live on Zoom and is free and open to the public. Environmental catastrophes can create a break in the experience of time, they can rupture the possibility of collective meaning. Yet, for communities shaped by colonialism and racism, this rupture can only be understood in relation to …

Join this author discussion about the book "Decolonizing Religion and the Practice of Peace." The book is an investigation of what consolidating religion as a technology of peacebuilding and development does to people's accounts of their religious and cultural traditions and why interreligious peacebuilding entrenches colonial legacies in the prese…

Pop Apocalypse, hosted by Matthew J. Dillon, postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture.For our sixth episode, we welcome the spirit channel, teacher, and playwright Paul Selig.We explore Selig’s early care…

We invite you to listen to the special evening celebrating the life and writings of Enheduana, also En-hedu-Ana; (c. twenty-third century B.C.E.) who is the first named author in human history. Enheduana, an Akkadian princess and daughter of King Sargon I, was appointed high priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sîn) in the holy city of Ur. Her poems an…

Peripheries Journal: A Journal of Word, Image, and Sound is celebrating the release of Issue 6. This 2024 edition includes work from Victoria Chang, Angie Estes, Aracelis Girmay, Joanna Klink, Sam Messer, Geoffrey Nutter, Sharon Olds, Alice Oswald, Rowan Ricardo Philips, Tracy K. Smith and many more. General pages are joined by a folio, “Anti-Lette…

Watch an interview with author Mike Jay about his two most recent books, "Psychonauts: drugs and the making of the modern mind," and "Mescaline: a global history of the first psychedelic." "Mike Jay has written widely on the history of science and medicine, with a specialist interest in the mind sciences, mental health and psychoactive drugs. Along…

Full title: LGBTQ+ Rights Under Attack - Session 2: Protecting Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: A Global PerspectiveThis is the second event in the three-part series “LGBTQ+ Rights Under Attack: The Weaponization of Religious Freedom and Free Speech." In this session, "Protecting Against Violence …

Full title: Book Launch and Discussion: Dr. Keith Edward Cantú, Like a Tree Universally Spread Sri Sabhapati Swami and ŚivarājayogaWatch this discussion with author and CSWR Research Affiliate Keith Cantu on his recently released book, "Like a Tree Universally Spread Sri Sabhapati Swami and Śivarājayoga." Cantu will be in conversation with three re…

Philosophers Prof. Christine Hauskeller and Dr. Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes presented a multi-perspectival hermeneutics of psychedelic-occasioned experiences. They discussed the question: How do we make sense of the myriad of experiences and extraordinary states of being that psychedelics can evoke through lenses ground from the discipline of Philosophy?…

As part of the Transcendence and Transformation initiative, the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School is proud to announce its first ever podcast. Pop Apocalypse, hosted by Matthew J. Dillon, postdoctoral fellow at the CSWR, explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture.For …

This webinar is the second in a series offered by the Buddhist Ministry Initiative at Harvard Divinity School. It featured a panel discussion of contributors to part II of Refuge in the Storm: Buddhist Voices in Crisis Care, edited by Nathan Jishin Michon. The panel included Kin Cheung (George) Lee and Lourdes Argüelles (Lopon Dorje Khandro), and w…

This discussion followed the screening of Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's extraordinary film "Wild Life". The film is a story of love, wildness, and restoration in Chile and Argentina, recording the life of Kris Tompkins through an epic decades-spanning love story as wild as the landscapes she dedicated her life to protect…

In this project, Elena Guzman explored the way Black women and non-binary people through the Caribbean and its diaspora use spiritual and ritual performance within African Diasporic Religions, including Santeria, Haitian Vodou, Puerto Rican Espiritismo, 21 Divisions, and Obeah, as a means to forge interstitial geographies of the African diaspora.El…

Full Title: From Ms. Marvel to the Smithsonian: A Conversation on Teaching Religious Literacy through Arts and Popular Culture with Dr. Hussein RashidIn this conversation, Dr. Rashid discussed his work and its uses in the classroom, with a particular focus on the Children’s Museum of Manhattan exhibit "America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and …

Full title: Psychedelics and the Future of Religion: Panel discussion on Race and Exoticism in Global Psychedelic Spirituality with Professors Lucia and SaldanhaDrawing from their respective perspectives and scholarship, Professors Lucia and Saldanha led a conversation around the racialized politics/ethics of the hallucinogenic experience (or disco…

Major religious traditions call on their adherents to respond to the causes of suffering, those who suffer, and the prevention of suffering. The ways we respond and serve can take many forms including activism and holding political office. How does spiritual practice support the difficult work of speaking truth to power as well as being in position…

As part of the Transcendence and Transformation initiative, the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School is proud to announce its first ever podcast. Pop Apocalypse explores the mystical and the mythic, the paranormal and the psychedelic in popular culture.The show features interviews with musicians, artists, and writers a…

This special event, jointly organized by CSWR and HDS Buddhist Ministry Initiative, aimed to commemorate Dhamma Chakra Day and delved into the enduring legacy of Dr. Ambedkar. His peaceful, egalitarian, grassroots movement has left an indelible mark on Indian society and politics. The event showcased three speakers whose research has deepened our u…

Through her channel, "Angela's Symposium," Dr. Puca pioneered an innovative approach to academia by utilizing popular social media platforms, aiming to bridge the gap between esoteric academic scholarship and the wider community. This talk explored the challenges and opportunities of digital scholarship, discuss the implications of bridging two wor…

This lecture was given by Jessica J. Fowler (University of Montana Western), who's an HDS Visiting Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and Catholicism on her work, "Illuminating the Empire: The Spanish Inquisition and the Spread of Global Heresy."This event took place October 11, 2023.For more information: https://hds.harvard.edu/View transcript…

Hear from Alejandra Oliva, MTS '19, Mexican-American writer, translator, and immigration-justice activist, speak about her work and her recent book, "Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration." Héctor Tobar, author of Translation Nation, described it as "a supremely intelligent account of a translator's journey into the Kafkaesque ma…

Full Title: Third Annual T&T Presentations Launch: Five New Researchers Present on their Scholarly WorkAt the beginning of the last three academic years, the HDS Center for the Study of World Religion's Transcendence and Transformation scholars come together to hear about the research of the year's new scholars. We are thrilled to introduce and sha…

Convened by Ahmad Greene-Hayes, Assistant Professor of African American Religious Studies at HDS, this colloquium bridged connections between the critical study of Black religion and studies of race, gender, and sexuality in critical theory and philosophy, among many other fields. The aim of this gathering was to support research and sustained dial…

Convened by Ahmad Greene-Hayes, Assistant Professor of African American Religious Studies at HDS, this colloquium bridged connections between the critical study of Black religion and studies of race, gender, and sexuality in critical theory and philosophy, among many other fields. The aim of this gathering was to support research and sustained dial…