Harvard Divinity School

Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election thanks in large part to overwhelming support from one particular group of folks: white evangelicals. And despite what seems to be weekly, if not daily controversy over the president’s public remarks or past behaviors, a poll from earlier this year found that 75 percent of white evangelicals still hold a positive opinion of Mr. Trump. Given what we know about evangelicals and their social positions centered on family values, and given what we know about Trump, a thrice-married casino mogul facing numerous allegations of adultery, sexual assault, and bigotry, where does this evangelical support for Trump come from? This is the Harvard Religion Beat*, a podcast examining religion’s underestimated and often misunderstood role in society. Here, we're speaking with Dudley Rose, Professor of Ministry Studies here at Harvard Divinity, and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. We wanted to get his insight into some of the historical and present-day factors that are behind evangelical support for Trump. We’ll also look forward a bit to 2020 and talk what the Democrats might need to do in order to appeal to Christian conservatives in the upcoming elections. The Rundown 00:26 - White evangelical support for Trump 01:53 - Intro to the pod and to my guest, Prof. Dudley Rose 02:25 - Evangelical oppression? 05:01 - Abortion as a redline 08:46 - Evangelicals "dream president" 10:47 - Jesus chatting w/ Trump 11:51 - Lesser of two evils? 14:56 - Democrats win over white evangelicals? 17:14 - "Evangelicals are people of hope, not fear" 18:06 - Golf clap + other ways to connect If you don’t already, please follow us on social and subscribe to our e-newsletter! And listen to our other pod “Ministry of Ideas!” https://hds.harvard.edu/news/connect https://www.ministryofideas.org/ *re-named from "Beyond Belief" in April 2019.

How did pious medieval Muslims experience health and disease? Rooted in the prophet’s experiences with medicine and healing, Muslim pietistic literature developed cosmologies in which physical suffering and medical interventions interacted with religious obligations and spiritual health. Ahmed Ragab discusses his recent publication, Piety and Patienthood in Medieval Islam. Ragab is Richard T. Watson Associate Professor of Science and Religion at Harvard Divinity School. Respondents: Mark Jordan, Richard Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Divinity, Harvard Divinity School Nancy Khalek, William A. Dyer Jr. Assistant Professor of the Humanities, Brown University Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Religion was fundamental to the development of both slavery and race in the Protestant Atlantic world. For slaveholders, Christianity was a sign of freedom, and most believed that slaves should not be eligible for conversion. Meanwhile, Protestant missionaries arrived in the plantation colonies in the 1670s and were appalled that most slave owners rejected the prospect of slave conversion. Over time, missionaries increasingly used the language of race to support their arguments for slave conversion. Enslaved Christians, meanwhile, developed an alternate vision of Protestantism that linked religious conversion to literacy and freedom. This lecture discusses the differing motivations of slave owners, missionaries, and enslaved populations since the 17th century in the Protestant Atlantic. Speaker: Katharine Gerbner is a McKnight Land-Grant Professor and Assistant Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Her research explores the religious dimensions of race, authority, and freedom in early America and the Atlantic world. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

This event features three unique voices from several different traditions and life experiences: Mary Ashu, a forest ranger from Cameroon; Prathima Muniyappa, a researcher at the MIT Media Lab exploring the use of space technology to advance issues of social justice; and Stacy Bare, a war veteran, National Geographic Adventurer, and co-founder of the Great Outdoors Lab. More event info here: https://goo.gl/6Pkk4Z Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

It is commonplace today to group the three monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—under the category of the “Abrahamic.” Scholars have investigated the roots, ancient and modern, for this category, and continue to debate its contemporary merits. Meanwhile, practitioners are doing significant work in the wider world under the aegis of the “Abrahamic.” This panel will explore the public practice of the Abrahamic Religions. Panelists will reflect on their work in light of this category, including its strengths and limitations. Chair: Charles Stang, Professor of Early Christian Thought, Harvard Divinity School; Director of the Center for the Study of World Religions Panelists: Huda Abuarquob, Regional Director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace Joseph Montville, Director of the Program on Healing Historical Memory, and chair of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University Stephanie Saldaña, The Abraham Path, founder of Mosaic Stories The RPP Colloquium Series is organized with generous support from the Reverend Karen Vickers Budney, MDiv ’91, and Mr. Albert J. Budney, Jr., MBA ’74, as well as the Once Here Foundation. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Anglican church leaders in sub-Saharan Africa have a vision of a malaria-free world. Join us for a panel discussion on the role of faith and learn how religious leaders and communities are working to end malaria for good. Panelists: The Right Rev. Andre Soares, bishop of the Diocese of Angola and vice-president of the Council of Christian Churches in Angola The Right Rev. David Njovu, bishop of the Diocese of Lusaka (Zambia) The Right Rev. Cleophas Lunga, bishop of the Diocese of Matebeleland (Zimbabwe) Moderators: Jacob Olupona, Professor of African Religious Traditions, Harvard Divinity School Dyann Wirth, Richard Pearson Strong Professor of Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Cornelia Holden, MDiv ’03 discusses her experiences as a spiritual innovator and founder of Mindful Warrior and the Core Leadership California at Ministry Colloquium. Cornelia works with large companies, universities, secondary schools and athletic teams to develop mental stability, resilience, presence and authenticity to empower them to make values-driven decisions regularly and under pressure. Her work is grounded in spiritual principles, experiential education in body-centered approaches to the mind and a deep commitment to equity and inclusion. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

By bringing together scholars from across Harvard, this panel discussed the importance of a critical, nuanced, and interdisciplinary understanding of refugee, asylum, and immigrant issues, while highlighting activist efforts. The discussion took place October 11, 2018. It was moderated by HDS's Francis Clooney, S.J., and organized by MTS '19 candidate Shannon Boley. More event info here: https://goo.gl/gpL6ys Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

Anna Sun, 2018–19 WSRP Visiting Associate Professor, delivers the lecture "Turning Ghosts into Ancestors: Ritual, Gender, and the Afterlife in Contemporary Urban China." Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.

On October 3, 2018, André Aciman, author of "Call Me by Your Name," and writer Benjamin Balint will discuss themes of exile and homecoming, of time, place, identity, and art across Aciman’s works of fiction and nonfiction. André Aciman is the author of Enigma Variations, Call Me by Your Name, Out of Egypt, and False Papers, and is the editor of The Proust Project (all published by FSG). He teaches comparative literature at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He lives with his wife and family in Manhattan. Benjamin Balint is a library fellow at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, and Die Zeit, and his translations from the Hebrew have appeared in the New Yorker. He is the author of Kafka’s Last Trial: The Case of a Literary Legacy and, with Merav Mack, Jerusalem: City of the Book (forthcoming). This event was hosted by the Center for Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School. Learn more about Harvard Divinity School and its mission to illuminate, engage, and serve at http://hds.harvard.edu/.