Conferences and Seminars

Harvard Divinity School and the members of its faculty organize and host occasional conferences, symposia, and speaker series, often in collaboration with other faculties of the University.

Begun in 2006, the Business across Religious Traditions seminars have brought together professionals who share an interest in the relationships between religion and business, exploring the challenges and opportunities of globalism and pluralism in the twenty-first century.

In June 2011, HDS hosted the Seminar on Debates about Religion and Sexuality. Intended for advanced doctoral students, recent recipients of the doctorate, and writers working outside the academy who are hoping to change the terms of current debates about religion and sexuality, this seminar aims to help participants write their first large project (such as a dissertation or a book) while encouraging them to collaborate with others in the field.

The Women's Studies in Religion Program hosts annual gender and religion conferences, and the Center for the Study of World Religions has, over the years, organized a variety of conferences, panels, and symposia.

HDS conferences and series from recent years have included:

  • When Worlds Collide: The Study of Religion in an Age of Science, a series of four science and religion events at HDS in 2007.
  • Theorizing Race and Ethnicity in Religion, a speaker series, supported by the HDS Dean's Office and the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity, Harvard University, that was part of the 2007-08 Religion and Society doctoral colloquium, to "bring rising scholars, whose work theorizes race and ethnicity in theology and the study of religion" to HDS.
  • William James and Josiah Royce a Century Later: Pragmatism and Idealism in Dialogue, a conference held in 2007 to assess the interactions, contributions, and continuing resonance of two major American philosophers and Harvard professors. Speakers included John Clendenning, Harvey Cormier, Mathias Girel, Peter Hare, Jacquelyn Kegley, James T. Kloppenberg, Felicitas Kraemer, David Lamberth, John Lachs, John J. McDermott, Frank Oppenheim, Hilary Putnam, Robert Richardson, Sandra Rosenthal, Linda Simon, Chris Skowronski, Ignas Skrupskelis, Cornel West, and others.
  • Finding Our Way, two conferences exploring new directions for progressive churches in the wake of significant and steady decline. Hosted by the HDS Office of Ministry Studies, featured speakers in 2007 were Marcus Borg, Brian D. McLaren, and Diana Butler Bass, and in 2010, Krista Tippett, host of American Public Media's Speaking of Faith, engaged HDS faculty and students, ministers, and laypeople in a constructive conversation about the contemporary religious landscape and its implications for both churches and education for ministry.
  • Solutions: Emerging Trends in Community Transformation involved two working conferences, hosted by the Office of Ministry Studies in 2007 and 2008, with the goal of developing grassroots projects for revitalizing urban communities.