Harvard Divinity School

As the nights grow longer and the days shorter, share in a virtual celebration of Seasons of Light, Harvard Divinity School's beloved annual multireligious service honoring the interplay of holy darkness and light in the world’s religious traditions. Performances include choral and instrumental music, readings by HDS students, the ritual kindling of many flames, and communal prayers and songs. Explore these offerings to the season in part or as a whole.

Seasons of Light is hosted by Harvard Divinity School's Office of Religious and Spiritual Life under the direction of Christopher Hossfeld, Director of Music and Ritual, and Kerry A. Maloney, Chaplain and Director of Religious and Spiritual Life.

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2022/12/8/audio-seasons-light

Christianity in Iraq is on the brink of erasure. Once home to some of the world’s oldest Christian sites and communities, Iraq and the greater Levant has witnessed an onslaught of instability and violence targeting minority religions. Despite these challenges, leaders of Iraq’s Christian community have risen to become a voice for persecuted religious groups across the region. Archbishop Bashar Warda is a face of these efforts, and his remarks will draw upon both his experience in Iraq, and of the Gospel in defending Christianity and religious freedom today.

This event took place on November 17, 2022

Learn more: https://hds.harvard.edu/

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2023/1/13/video-christianity-iraq-challenges-and-hopes

This lecture, given by Visiting Associate Professor of African American Religions and Women's Studies in Religion Program 2022-23 Research Associate Kinitra D. Brooks, has to do with conjure feminism and Dona Kimpa Vita.

This event took place on November 17, 2022

Learn more: https://wsrp.hds.harvard.edu/home

Full transcript: https://wsrp.hds.harvard.edu/news/2023/1/5/video-thou-shalt-not-suffer-witch-live

The 2022 Ministry Colloquium at HDS, "Spirituality, Mental Health, and Science," featured a talk from Dr. Lisa Miller, author of The Awakened Brain and Professor of Psychology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. In this lecture she explored the relationship between spirituality and physical well being.

This event took place on November 9, 2022

Learn more: hds.harvard.edu

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2023/1/2/video-spirituality-mental-health-and-science

Professor Terrence L. Johnson facilitated a conversation with Professor Anthony Pinn, Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religion at Rice University, who is a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Divinity School for the academic year 2022-23, focused on Professor Pinn’s most recent book, The Interplay of Things. In The Interplay of Things, Pinn theorizes religion as a technology for interrogating human experiences and the boundaries between people and other things. Rather than considering religion in terms of institutions, doctrines, and creeds, Pinn shows how religion exposes the openness and porousness of all things and how they are always involved in processes of exchange and interplay.

This event took place on November 7, 2022

Learn more: https://hds.harvard.edu/

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2023/1/2/video-art-and-religion-technology

Join Dr. David Yaden and Dr. Michael Ferguson, world experts in the sciences of psychedelics and spirituality, as they discuss Dr. Yaden's new book, "The Varieties of Spiritual Experience." Inspired by the history, philosophy, and methodology of William James's classic text "The Varieties of Religious Experience," this new volume is a twenty-first-century response to timeless questions about humankind's spiritual nature. "The Varieties of Spiritual Experience" introduces a rich array of original empirical data collected and analyzed by Dr. Yaden and his colleagues, thus enriching the book's treatment of spirituality with a uniquely evidence-based series of perspectives.

This event took place on November 3, 2022

Learn more: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/home

Full transcript: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/video-varieties-spiritual-experience-21st-century-research-and-perspectives

Francis X. Clooney, S. J., Parkman Professor of Divinity and Professor of Comparative Theology, talks about his journey from New York City to Kathmandu, "thinking big" in his teaching and courses, and why HDS is an exciting place for comparative theology and Hindu studies.

Faculty Focus is a special podcast series from Harvard Divinity School where we speak with HDS professors about their courses and research interests.

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2022/11/21/faculty-focus-crossing-religious-boundaries-catholic-priest-hindu-scholar-francis-clooney

You can also watch a video of Professor Clooney discussing his favorite book, "Gitanjali," which is a collection of poems by Rabindranath Tagore. (https://youtu.be/Dp-XwI6WznI?si=Ud_yNimgAmFaKwM-) In the video, Clooney talks about the personal significance of the book, reads selected poems, and touches on why they are particularly meaningful.

Learn more about HDS: hds.harvard.edu/

Music track: "Old Dog New Tricks"; Extreme Music Limited

Dr. Giovanna Parmigiani discusses affect theater with her guests Prof. Cristiana Giordano (UC Davis) and Prof. Greg Pierotti (University of Arizona), and how it can transform academic research. They talk about the role of affects, emotions, and collaborative practices in academic and non-academic processes of meaning-making.

This event occured on November 2, 2022

Learn more: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/home

Full transcript: https://cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2022/12/30/video-affect-theater-and-collaborative-meaning-making

This fall, Harvard Divinity School celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Buddhist Ministry Initiative (BMI). In honor of this anniversary, the community engaged in discussions of Buddhist ministry in the context of HDS. In this video, Dr. Monica Sanford closes the celebration by asking Janet Gyatso what she wants to see in the future for the BMI.

This event took place on October 27, 2022

Learn more: hds.harvard.edu

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2023/1/16/video-bmi-10th-anniversary-closing-remarks

This fall, Harvard Divinity School celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Buddhist Ministry Initiative (BMI). In honor of this anniversary, the community engaged in discussions of Buddhist ministry in the context of HDS.

This event took place on October 27, 2022

Learn more: hds.harvard.edu

Full transcript: https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2023/1/12/audio-bmi-10th-anniversary-celebration-ven-priya-rakkhit-sraman