Religion
House Committee Chairs Push Back as Administrators Weigh Housing Day on Good Friday
Harvard College administrators are considering placing Housing Day on the Friday after spring break this year, according to a House Committee chair, putting it on March 26 — the same day as the Christian holiday of Good Friday.
Harvard’s Mittal Institute Helped Book a Nine-Day Hindu Recitation at Sanders. Then Its Own Faculty Revolted.
For nine days in August, roughly 1,000 people a day filled Sanders Theatre for a Hindu devotional recitation that Indian outlets hailed as a landmark moment for Harvard. Behind the scenes, the Mittal Institute had spent weeks trying to get Harvard's name off it.
Harvard Rejects Jewish Alumni Group’s Call to Revoke Kristof Honor, Citing Free Speech
Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy M. Weinstein has refused to strip New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof of an endowed lecture honor, writing that withdrawing the invitation would call into question the Kennedy School’s “very commitment to free speech,” according to letters obtained by The Crimson.
Inside Harvard Chabad’s Path To Changing Cambridge’s Zoning
Emails and calendar records show Cambridge officials discussed a legislative path to help Harvard Chabad build its new Banks Street center months before a zoning amendment was publicly filed — and while the group’s legal fight with the city was still unfolding.
Scholars Tie Campus Anti-Israel Rhetoric to Christian Tropes at Harvard Symposium on Antisemitism
Scholars at a Harvard symposium last Thursday argued that left-wing campus hostility to Israel often carries an unacknowledged imprint of older Christian theological tropes about Jewish people, even when expressed in secular terms.
Harvard Muslim Chaplains Condemn HRC Post on Eid Celebration, Citing Harm to Muslim Students
Harvard’s Muslim chaplains condemned a Harvard Republican Club post criticizing an April 4 Eid al-Fitr celebration as “abhorrent” and “Islamophobic” in a Thursday night email to Muslim affiliates, marking the first public rebuke of the post from University employees.
One Year After Settlement, Harvard Has Not Released Required Antisemitism Report
Harvard has yet to publish a report on its handling of antisemitism complaints required under a January 2025 legal settlement, according to the group that brought the suit.
Hillel Debuts ‘People’s Plate’ Installation Highlighting Jewish Experiences at Harvard
Around 40 Harvard Hillel members, Harvard administrators, and Cambridge residents gathered Monday evening to celebrate the unveiling of “The People’s Plate,” a public art installation on the Science Center Plaza exploring diverse Jewish experiences.
Harvard Ramps Up Interfaith Programming Amid Effort to Strengthen Religious Literacy on Campus
Harvard has ramped up its interfaith programming in recent months, as administrators, chaplains, and faculty seek to strengthen religious literacy across campus amid growing political debate rooted in religious differences.
HDS Weighs New Clinical Pastoral Education Program as Hospital Placements Decline
The Harvard Divinity School is considering launching its own Clinical Pastoral Education program after hospital budget cuts sharply reduced training opportunities important for students pursuing chaplaincy.
Ten Stories That Shaped 2025
At Harvard, 2025 opened with a showdown — and never relented. Federal demands threatening the University’s funding and autonomy plunged Harvard into a sustained clash with the Trump administration. The pressure reshaped budgets, shuttered diversity offices, and cast international students’ visa status into doubt. Amid the turmoil, President Alan M. Garber ’76 secured a permanent extension at Harvard's helm. Here, The Crimson looks back at the 10 stories that shaped Harvard — and Cambridge — in 2025.
‘We Are A People Blessed With Hope’: Garber Addresses Affiliates During Annual Chabad Menorah Lighting
Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 stressed the importance of maintaining hope through crisis and believing in a “better future” amid a week marked by gun violence during a Monday night Hanukkah celebration organized by Harvard Chabad.
Harvard Hillel Places Orthodox Rabbi and Educator on Administrative Leave
Harvard Hillel’s Orthodox rabbi, Ethan S.H. Fried ’16, and his wife, Bella Fried, were placed on administrative leave Friday pending an investigation, according to messages obtained by The Crimson — a move that surprised many Orthodox Jewish students and leaves Hillel without a designated Orthodox rabbi.
Pew Research Center Notes Global Decline in Religiosity at Harvard Divinity School Talk
The associate director of the Pew Research Center discussed the global decline in religion at Harvard Divinity School on Monday.
Harvard’s Task Forces Are Still Waiting for Their Pluralism Hub
Six months after a joint subcommittee of Harvard’s task forces on antisemitism and anti-Arab bias recommended that Harvard establish a campus center for pluralism, the University has yet to enact their recommendation.
Author Erik Davis Discusses Role of ‘Psychedelic Jesus’ in Christian Movements at Harvard Divinity School Talk
Author Erik Davis scrutinized the current state of “spiritual warfare” between new, evolving sects of Christianity and the pervasiveness of the “Psychedelic Jesus” figure at a Harvard Divinity School talk on Monday.
Diana Eck, Harvard’s Leading Scholar of Religious Pluralism, Discusses ‘Pivot to Pluralism’ in Higher Education
Eck’s talk took up a topic that Harvard has embraced even as it shifts away from the language of diversity, equity, and inclusion. But Eck said she saw pluralism as a way to recognize and reckon with diversity, not to replace it.
Two Years After Oct. 7 Attacks, Harvard Jewish Groups Hold Vigil to Remember Victims
More than 100 people gathered in Science Center Plaza Sunday evening for a vigil to mourn those killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel nearly two years ago.
Harvard Hires New Faculty in Jewish Studies
Harvard is on track to add three tenured professors to its ranks in Jewish Studies to address a series of retirements and faculty vacancies that threatened the program’s future.
HDS Theologian Francis Schüssler Fiorenza Remembered for Intellect, Dedication to Social Justice
Francis Schüssler Fiorenza, a leading Roman Catholic theologian who taught at Harvard for nearly four decades, died in July at the age of 84.
Memorial Church Reduces Programming Amid University Budget Cuts
Memorial Church will limit its student programs and public events as a result of University-wide budget cuts, according to Memorial Church Pusey Minister Matthew Ichihashi Potts.
Provost John Manning Prays for Harvard’s Future at Memorial Church Service
Harvard Provost John F. Manning ’82 said the University still has “much work to do” in a rare public appearance on Friday at Memorial Church, where he discussed his own spiritual development at Harvard.
Harvard Will Open New Muslim, Hindu Prayer Spaces After Years of Uneven Access
For years, Harvard’s only dedicated spaces for Muslim and Hindu worship were in a dormitory basement. This fall, the University will open two new prayer spaces following April recommendations from two internal task forces to overhaul its approach to religious life on campus.
A Divinity School Program Became a Political Liability. In One Semester, Harvard Took It Apart.
When the Religion and Public Life program was swept up in raging debates over the Israel-Palestine conflict on campus, Harvard replaced its leader, pushed out its staff, and promised an overhaul.
Rabbi Getzel Davis To Lead New Presidential Initiative on Interfaith Engagement
Harvard announced a new presidential initiative on interfaith engagement on Wednesday, accepting recommendations from two University task forces on bias against Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian affiliates to increase pluralistic programming at the University.
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