Terrence L. Johnson Begins Tenure as Director of Religion and Public Life
In his new role leading RPL, Johnson aims to broaden the program’s reach by convening conversations across faith traditions, political ideologies, and institutional sectors.
As of July 1, Terrence L. Johnson, MDiv ’00, has assumed the role of director of Religion and Public Life (RPL) at Harvard Divinity School (HDS), a program that promotes the public understanding of religion.
“I’m deeply honored to lead Religion and Public Life at this pivotal moment,” said Johnson. “This is a unique opportunity to bring rigorous scholarship, moral imagination, and difficult but necessary conversations from a range of perspectives to address the challenges of our time.”
RPL engages pressing ethical, social, and political issues through an interdisciplinary lens, fostering collaboration among scholars, practitioners, and students. The program explores how religion shapes—and is shaped by—public life, both locally and globally.
“As RPL director, Professor Johnson will build upon RPL’s mission while steering it into its exciting new chapter,” said HDS Dean Marla F. Frederick. “We are incredibly fortunate to have him leading RPL at this time in the program’s evolution, and I am deeply grateful for his vision, energy, and commitment to shaping its future.”
Johnson is the Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies at HDS and a Professor of African and African American Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. A teacher, author, and public intellectual, Johnson’s scholarship challenges conventional narratives and opens imaginative possibilities for addressing the urgent moral challenges of our time. His interdisciplinary work weaves together African American religious thought, political theory, and American history to reimagine justice, democracy, and the role of religion in public discourse.
He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Blacks and Jews in America: An Invitation to Dialogue (2022, with Jacques Berlinerblau), winner of the 2023 Outstanding Book Award from the Association for Ethnic Studies, and We Testify with Our Lives: How Religion Transformed Radical Thought from Black Power to Black Lives Matter (2021). His forthcoming book, Torn Asunder: Race and Religion in the Shadow of Law and Justice, is under contract with Columbia University Press. He is also co-writing a book on ethics and law with M. Cathleen Kaveny, tentatively titled Christian Ethics and the Trump Court.
During the 2024–25 academic year, Johnson served as an inaugural Steven M. Polan Fellow in Constitutional Law and History at the Brennan Center for Justice.
In his new role leading RPL, Johnson aims to broaden the program’s reach by convening conversations across faith traditions, political ideologies, and institutional sectors. Through public programming, research, and other initiatives, RPL will equip current and future leaders to engage the world’s most pressing questions.
“Religion and Public Life is uniquely positioned to lead in shaping ethical public discourse,” Johnson said. “RPL has a vital role to play in helping us understand the moment we’re in—and in cultivating the moral imagination we need to build a more just and compassionate future.”
Banner photo: Terrence Johnson in conversation at HDS in 2023. Photo by Justin Knight.