Harvard Divinity School

Professor Davíd Carrasco, Neil L. Rudenstine Professor for the Study of Latin America delivered the 2019 Convocation address "Toni Morrison Stories: Goodness and Mercy and Mexico," on September 5, 2019. Wampanoag elder Ramona Peters welcomed students to the location on the ancestral lands of the Massachuset, Nipmuc, and Wampanoag people. Actress, poet, songwriter, and educator Alexandria Danielle King performed and HDS Professor Cornel West provided a blessing. Jazz pianist Danilo Pérez performed an original tribute to Morrison. Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2019/09/05/video-convocation-2019-toni-morrison-stories Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Today, mindfulness meditation courses can be found everywhere from schools to prisons to sports teams. The trendy fitness apparel company Lululemon is now advertising mindful clothing for men. There’s also Mindful Meats, Mindful Mints, and Sherwin-Williams sells a paint color they call Mindful Gray. There’s even Mindful Mayo, which you can buy at your local Whole Foods for $5.99. So why has mindfulness meditation suddenly become so popular? Well, for starters, recent studies show benefits against an array of conditions both physical and mental, including helping to counter stress, chronic pain, and other ailments such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. But are there possible downsides to mindfulness being fully embraced by capitalists? As David Gelles writes in the New York Times, “With so many mindful goods and services for sale, it can be easy to forget that mindfulness is a quality of being, not a piece of merchandise.” This is the Harvard Religion Beat, a podcast examining

Following the award ceremony on May 2, 2019 for the Peter J. Gomes STB '68 Memorial Honors, the alumni honorees spoke on the topic of “spiritual innovation.” The panelists were: Erik Martínez Resly, MDiv ’12, founder and co-director of The Sanctuaries in Washington D.C. Salma Kazmi, MTS ’09, founding executive director of the Boston Islamic Seminary, former associate director of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, and co-founder of the Center for Jewish-Muslim Relations Varun Soni, MTS ’99, dean of religious life at the University of Southern California (USC) and the first Hindu to serve as the chief religious or spiritual leader of an American university. Vanessa Zoltan, MDiv ’15, a humanist chaplain, and CEO and founder of the feminist production company Not Sorry Productions, who with collaborator Casper ter Kuile, created “Harry Potter and Sacred Text” Kerry Maloney, the School’s chaplain, director of the HDS Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, and an instructor in ministry studies.

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. Sherwin Bitsui is the author of three collections of poetry: Dissolve, Flood Song, and Shapeshift. He is Diné of the Todí¬ch’ii’nii (Bitter Water Clan), born for the Tlizí¬laaní¬ (Many Goats Clan), and has received the Whiting Award, the American Book Award, and the PEN Book Award. Full transcript here: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2019/03/07/song-thinking-outwardly Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Award-winning American poet Susan Howe visited Harvard Divinity School on April 24 to speak about the binding together of freedom and law, spontaneity and habit, as occasions for awakening a reader to the exaltation of spirit in process. Crossing the guarded borders between image and word, individual and community, history and the present, poetry provides an opening to the transcendent order that chance makes possible. Susan Howe's collection of poems, That This, won the Bollingen Prize in 2011. In 2017 she received the Robert Frost award for distinguished lifetime achievement in American poetry. Full transcript here: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2019/04/24/concordance-susan-howe Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

How is our lived experience of religion and spirituality changing? Where are the boundaries of religion being tested and transformed? How will scholars and practitioners define and understand religion in the future? A multi-generational panel conversation of scholars and practitioners explored the shifting structures of religious practice and identity, and shared insights about the emerging landscape of spiritual community. Panelists: Dr. Nancy Ammerman, Boston University Dr. Christopher White, Vassar University Dr. Anna Sun, Harvard Divinity School and Kenyon College Casper Ter Kuile, Harvard Divinity School Angie Thurston, Harvard Divinity School Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/. Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2019/04/23/video-lived-religion-spirituality-2019

In November of 2018, the FBI released its report on hate crimes in the U.S. for 2017. It wasn’t good news. Hate crimes on the basis of religious identity surged 23 percent, the biggest annual increase since 2001, the year of the 9/11 terror attacks. And one of the most startling statistics is that the number of hate crimes targeting Jewish people increased 37 percent from the previous year. So, why are hate crimes on the rise? Many have placed blame at the foot of political leaders and specifically President Trump for emboldening anti-Semites and white supremacists—very fine people, he’s called them—but yet, there’s another, equally troubling side to the story—one that calls into question the validity of the FBI’s own hate crime statistics and gives us more questions than answers. I’m Jonathan Beasley, and this is the Harvard Religion Beat, a podcast examining religion’s underestimated and often misunderstood role in society. The Rundown 00:01 - Phone call and defacing of synagogue library 01:19 - Vio

How do you measure and govern for happiness? Harvard Divinity School hosted an international conference on April 13, 2019, inspired by the Gross National Happiness policies of the Kingdom of Bhutan. During this conference, academics, practitioners, politicians, corporate leaders and spiritual leaders sought answers to the question of universal happiness. The closing included the following: Documentary on Portraits of Bhutan gg by Robert X. Fogarty and Ben Reece of Dear World, USA Bhutanese Cultural Program by The Bhutanese Community from New York City Thangka and Buddhist Paintings by Joseph T. La. Torre Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/files/hds/files/conference-wrap.pdf?m=1600910952 Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

How do you measure and govern for happiness? Harvard Divinity School hosted an international conference on April 13, 2019, inspired by the Gross National Happiness policies of the Kingdom of Bhutan. During this conference, academics, practitioners, politicians, corporate leaders and spiritual leaders sought answers to the question of universal happiness. This panel's topic was the Happiness Movement: Mobilizing Individuals, Communities and Hacking Happiness from Artificial to Heartificial Intelligence. Panelists included Mr. John C. Havens, Prof. Rhonda Phillips, Mr. Namgyal Lhendup, Mr. Arnaud Collery, and Professor Neil Gershenfeld. Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/files/hds/files/panel-two.pdf?m=1600910905 Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

How do you measure and govern for happiness? Harvard Divinity School hosted an international conference on April 13, 2019, inspired by the Gross National Happiness policies of the Kingdom of Bhutan. During this conference, academics, practitioners, politicians, corporate leaders and spiritual leaders sought answers to the question of universal happiness. This panel's topic was Scaling Happiness and Health: Translating Science to Application. Panelists included Kasisomayajula “Vish” Viswanath, Dr. Alejandro Adler, Eric Coles, and Kaka. Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/files/hds/files/panel-three.pdf?m=1600910930 Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

How do you measure and govern for happiness? Harvard Divinity School hosted an international conference on April 13, 2019, inspired by the Gross National Happiness policies of the Kingdom of Bhutan. During this conference, academics, practitioners, politicians, corporate leaders and spiritual leaders sought answers to the question of universal happiness. The event was kicked off with a Keynote Address by Her Excellency, Doma Tshering, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations, New York. Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/files/hds/files/keynote.pdf?m=1600910847 Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

How do you measure and govern for happiness? Harvard Divinity School hosted an international conference on April 13, 2019, inspired by the Gross National Happiness policies of the Kingdom of Bhutan. During this conference, academics, practitioners, politicians, corporate leaders and spiritual leaders sought answers to the question of universal happiness. This panel covered the Bhutanese statecraft on Economics and the Spirit of GNH. Panelists included Dasho Karma Tshiteem, Professor Sophus Reinert, Professor Wolfgang Drechsler, and Professor John Helliwell. Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/files/hds/files/panel-one.pdf?m=1600910876 Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

This monthly public series, convened by Dean David N. Hempton of HDS, brings together a cross-disciplinary RPP Working Group of faculty, experts, students, and alumni from across Harvard University and the local area to explore topics and cases in religions and the practice of peace. This meeting concerned indigenous guardianship and culture with intersections of nature and peace. Speakers • Margarita Mora, Director of Partnerships, Nia Tero • Indira S. Raimberdy, Executive Director, Peace Building Center Moderator • Professor Dan McKanan, Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Senior Lecturer in Divinity, Harvard Divinity School For more info, please see: https://tinyurl.com/y4g89cxo https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2019/04/11/video-indigenous-guardianship-nature-peace Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

The ongoing destruction of Earth’s natural systems is the result of decisions, made daily, by billions of people. These decisions are voluntary and involuntary at once, collective and personal. The question must be asked: what is driving our actions? How do we reignite and reimagine a spiritual relationship with this beautiful planet we call home? From traditions around the world, and from within ourselves, how might we create different narratives that honor nature and acknowledge the sacred? Two indigenous leaders—Nainoa Thompson and Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq (Uncle)—have both been identified by their communities as messengers who are sharing their wisdom with us as we try to heal this broken world together, and they will guide us through these challenging questions as they reflect on their traditions and spiritual practices. Storytelling is a form of bearing witness to change as we contemplate what it means to be responsible citizens in the Anthropocene. Full transcript here: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/new

Damaris S. Parsitau, 2018-19 WSRP Visiting Associate Professor, delivers the lecture “The Kingdom of Holy Women: Pentecostalism, Sex and Women’s Bodies in an African Church,” which is based on five years of ethnographic research carried out at the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness, a new and controversial Pentecostal church based in Kenya. Her book-in-progress explores the Ministry’s aims to control, discipline and objectify women’s bodies as sites of tensions and erotic desires that make women responsible for the sins of others and their supposed failure to enter the anticipated Kingdom of God. Full transcript here: https://wsrp.hds.harvard.edu/news/2019/04/03/video-kingdom-holy-women-african-church Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at hds.harvard.edu/.

This talk contradicts the longstanding reading of Emerson as invested in idealism and instead charts his obsession with matter both organic and inorganic, organized and unorganized. By attending to his interest in sciences of life, Branka Arsić reconstructs the geological and botanical theories that led him to formulate a genuinely vitalist ontology; and by outlining his vitalism through readings of both early and late essays and lectures, Arsić will ultimately be asking what the ethical and political consequences of his vitalism are. Branka Arsić specializes in literatures of the 19th century Americas and their scientific, philosophical, and religious contexts. She is the author, most recently, of Bird Relics: Grief and Vitalism in Thoreau (Harvard University Press, 2016). Full transcript here: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2019/04/03/video-all-one-stuff-emersons-materialism Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at hds.harvard.edu/.

The Harvard Divinity School Buddhist Community (HBC) hosted the Fifth Annual Buddhism and Race Conference: Centering Intersectionalities, on March 8, 2019 at Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA. During this conference, scholars, sangha leaders, activists, and students from diverse backgrounds joined together to engage in conversations about issues at the intersection of Buddhism, race, and beyond. This panel discussed the intersections of Buddhism, Race, and Multiple Religious Belongings. Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/files/hds/files/buddhism-panel-2.pdf Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Dr. Alaa Murabit discusses the promotion of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), at Harvard Divinity School, highlighting the intersection between women's leadership, religion, and sustainable development. She presents unique examples of women's religious leadership to advance human rights, societal development, and peacebuilding and explores the importance of leveraging religious scholarship. Speaker: Dr. Alaa Murabit, UN High-Level Commissioner and SDG Global Advocate Moderator and Discussant: Professor Jocelyne Cesari, T. J. Dermot Dunphy Visiting Professor of Religion, Violence, and Peacebuilding for 2018-19 at Harvard Divinity School For more info: https://tinyurl.com/y5jc894g Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2019/03/14/video-promoting-the-un-sustainable-development-goals Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Presented as a rational, scientific, and practical religion, modern Buddhism appears to have all the answers. Even the secular forms of mindfulness promise ever-increasing practitioners that Buddhist meditation will provide the solutions to all their mental, emotional, and spiritual issues. But is there a problem with all of this? In his new book, "A Critique of Western Buddhism: Ruins of the Buddhist Real," scholar Glenn Wallis argues that there is, and that Buddhism as we know it "must be ruined." On March 11, 2019, Wallis was in conversation with HDS professor Charles Hallisey at the Center for the Study of World Religions. Glenn Wallis holds a Ph.D. in Buddhist studies from Harvard University's Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies. He is the founder and director of Incite Seminars, in Philadelphia. Charles Hallisey is the Yehan Numata Senior Lecturer on Buddhist Literatures at Harvard Divinity School. His research centers on Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, Pali language and li

On March 1, 2019, Harvard Divinity School hosted its third annual Black Religion, Spirituality, and Culture Conference. The theme was Blackness at the Margins. The day featured many panel discussions, including this one. The revolutionary artist Nina Simone once said, “It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times.” What does it mean to create art that reveals and speaks to the contemporary social, cultural, intellectual, and political times? The panel addresses many facets of the role of art in these times. Full transcript here: https://hds.harvard.edu/files/hds/files/brcs-panel-3.pdf Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at www.hds.harvard.edu.