History

Since its founding in the late 1950s, the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) has been at the forefront of promoting the sympathetic study and understanding of world religions. It has supported academic inquiry and international understanding in this field through its residential community, its involvement with the study of religion at Harvard, its research efforts and funding, and its public programs and publications.

Formative Years

A generous gift to Harvard Divinity School (HDS) from a group of anonymous donors brought the Center for the Study of World Religions into being. The 1957 gift was intended to "help Harvard University maintain graduate and undergraduate courses in the religions of the world, to train teachers in this field, to give ministers a sympathetic appreciation of other religions, and to stimulate undergraduate interest in the religions of the world."

The Center began with the appointment of Robert H. L. Slater, a scholar of Buddhism, as its first director. Within two years of Slater's arrival, construction of the CSWR building at 42 Francis Avenue was complete. The building offered doctoral students and visiting scholars, many from outside the United States, the chance to enrich their studies of the world's religious traditions by daily interaction with one another. Among the distinguished scholars who were part of the CSWR community during these years (see complete list) were Diana Eck, William A. Graham, and Anne Monius, all of whom went on to become tenured professors at Harvard Divinity School. 

Guided by Slater (1958-64) and the two directors who followed—Wilfred Cantwell Smith (1964-73), a scholar of Islam,  and John B. Carman (1973-89), a scholar of Hinduism—the CSWR also played a major role in the shaping of the study of religion at Harvard University and throughout the world. CSWR directors and other staff members taught courses in comparative religion and world religions, supervised graduate students, and shaped the religion curriculum. Their advocacy helped create an undergraduate honors concentration in the comparative study of religion as well as PhD and ThD programs that incorporate comparative perspectives. 

The CSWR also reached out beyond Harvard through conferences, colloquia, international programs, and publications. The Studies in World Religions book series was one such effort; in collaboration with Scholars Press, it published six monographs by CSWR-affiliated scholars between 1979 and 1983.

Research Emphasis

Under the directorship of Lawrence E. Sullivan (1990-2003), an expert on the religions of South America and central Africa, the CSWR embraced a new focus: to promote and initiate world-class research programs. Several major, multi-year research initiatives brought scholars from around the globe together at the CSWR and elsewhere to work on diverse issues at the intersection of religion and the sciences, politics, art, law, and economics. The Religion, Health, and Healing Initiative; the Religion and the Arts Initiative; the Religions of the World and Ecology project; and the Religion and Globalization Initiative were such endeavors, involving hundreds of scholars and practitioners. This era of the CSWR also brought a new emphasis on the religions of indigenous peoples.

Another innovation was the creation of a widely publicized competitive fellowship program offering research support to undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars; graduate students and postdoctoral fellows had the option of residence at the Center. The resident community became more centered on the work of senior scholars, who brought a rich diversity of national and cultural backgrounds and professional interests.

The CSWR's outreach efforts during these years included lecture series, which explored specific themes in depth throughout the year, and two book series: Religions of the World, and Religions of the World and Ecology, both distributed by Harvard University Press.

Reorientation and Renewal

Led by Donald Swearer (director, 2004-present), a scholar of Buddhism, the CSWR has refocused on its mission to support study, research, and teaching of world religions within the Harvard community, while at the same time working to sustain international connections and collaboration. Replacing the competitive fellows program are two initiatives that support research by Harvard faculty. The International Research Associate/Visiting Faculty program, begun in 2006-07, brings an international scholar to the CSWR to collaborate with a Harvard faculty member in research and teaching, while a competitive grants program, started in 2004-05, offers monetary support for faculty research.

The residential community has continued to bring doctoral students and visiting scholars together at 42 Francis Avenue, with the World Religions Café series providing opportunities for them to discuss their research and studies. An annual program theme has shaped the selection of lectures, films, and conferences, forming a vigorous calendar of public events. Our 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 pictorial retrospectives offer overviews of these academic years.

The CSWR also continues its role as an advocate for the teaching of religion from a global perspective at Harvard. With a large and growing number of full-time faculty appointments in world religions at Harvard Divinity School alone, in 2005-06 the CSWR initiated an informal discussion group for HDS and other Harvard faculty to explore issues in the research and teaching of religion from diverse academic and methodological points of view.

At the time of the Center's founding, Harvard Divinity School was primarily a Christian seminary. Its current orientation toward the study of world religions can be seen as a measure of the CSWR's success.

Notes

Much of this history is drawn from Community and Colloquy: The Center for the Study of World Religions, 1958-2003, by John B. Carman and Kathryn Dodgson (Cambridge, Mass.: The Center for the Study of World Religions, 2006). Please see this volume for a more comprehensive account.