World Religions Center Celebrates 25th Birthday

As the Center for the Study of World Religions commemorates its 25th birthday this year, officials say it is thriving but could benefit greatly from increased funding.

The center, established with an anonymous contribution of $500,000, was conceived as an academic community for the study of comparative religion.

Its activities revolve around a residential building at 42 Francis Ave., which includes 20 apartments for member and their families. The center brings visiting religious scholars who are on leave from other universities to Harvard, organizes conferences, dinners and in-house colloquia to draw attention to and observe major festivals of all religious traditions.

"More of our members would like to live here than we have room for," said John Carman, the center's director who is also the Parkman Professor of Divinity. "We would like to increase the number of visiting professors and get funds to endow teaching positions."

Since the original contribution was received in 1958, the Center's endowment has grown to $7 million thanks primarily to the gifts of two friends of the original donor, Carman said. "However, we have suffered from the heavy inflation of recent years," he said.

The center is administered by the Divinity School but relies on its own endowment for its operating funds.

The center began a year-long birthday party last month with the first in a series of speeches.

"Religion is one of the most important dimensions of human existence," Cardinal Francis Arinze told an Oct. 24 gathering at the Divinity School.

Arinze, who is the president of a Vatican ministry that handles church relations with other religions, praised the center's work.