Harvard Chaplains Host Interfaith Event

The 36 Harvard Chaplains sponsored an all-day event yesterday celebrating Harvard’s religious diversity and exploring the role of religion on campus. The series of events featured panelists, performances, lectures, and a fast-breaking for Ramadan in the evening.

According to Harvard’s Humanist Chaplain Gregory M. Epstein, the Chaplains decided to sponsor the events to share with the campus the sense of camaraderie that they had developed with one another.

“We hardly ever celebrate religious pluralism and demonstrate respect and understanding for all other faiths,” Epstein said. “It sets us up to have a good year of collaboration and cooperation.”

Most of the events featured discussions by individuals from a variety of faiths.

“The goal is to have a celebration of religious, spiritual, and community diversity here, and the Harvard Chaplains are a symbol of this diverse collection,” Epstein said.

According to Benjamin J. King, Episcopalian chaplain at Harvard, “We range from atheists to Zoroastrians. We shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it.”

Jessamin H. Birdsall ’10, an audience member, called the discussions “enlightening.”

“Oftentimes in a secular university, issues of faith get pushed to the side,” Birdsall added. “I’m really excited to see Harvard recognizing faith in this setting.”

The day also featured Washington Post journalist Sally Quinn as the keynote speaker. Along with Jon Meacham—the editor of Newsweek—Quinn co-founded the blog “On Faith,” which is a forum for discussion of religious issues for the two media outlets. Both journalists moderated the opening panel, which featured undergraduates of different faiths.

The day’s title, “On Faith at Harvard,” took its name from the blog.

“This is a fantastic event that can be a model for something ongoing,” said Matthew P. Cavedon ’11, Interfaith Council dialogue chair.

“It was really exciting to hear everyone’s personal journeys as Mormons, Muslims, Jews, and Christians,” said Mihiri U. Tillakaratne ’09, who is Buddhist and was a member of the undergraduate panel with Meacham and Quinn.

“The panel was valuable,” Birdsall said. “It was enlightening to listen to the panelists share their spiritual backgrounds with each other.”

During the key-note address, Quinn described her transition from feeling “contempt and disdain for any kind of religious person” to now no longer calling herself an atheist.

“Religion touches everything in our lives. You can’t be a truly informed person unless you understand religion,” Quinn said.

Rachel A. Esplin ’10, a Mormon and undergraduate panelist, said she looks forward to similar conversations in the future.

“I think it’s an excellent idea, and I hope to see more of this type of thing around campus,” Esplin said. “It gives us a chance to define our own faiths.”

—Staff writer Brittany M. Llewellyn at bllewell@fas.harvard.edu.