RPL Annual Report 2022-23 Introduction

Headshot of Dr. Diane Moore

Dear Friends of Religion and Public Life,

Rounding a corner on Religion and Public Life’s second academic year, we are hitting our stride, gaining strength and distance in what bell hooks called the “practice of freedom.” We continue to advance critical and creative engagement in
the work of moving beyond boundaries to imagine new possibilities for advancing a just world at peace.

At RPL, we believe the practice of freedom requires critical engagement with the power religion holds in public life—both its harmful consequences and its imaginative possibilities. Our methods are firmly grounded in theory, but they are intended for practice, both within and far beyond the traditional reaches of divinity school education. This includes sites of conflict and deep structural injustice, as well as in professional fields, including education, journalism, government, organizing, humanitarian action, culture and media, law, and public health, providing leadership for the tumultuous decades to come.

Already, we see impact. We see it in MDiv and MTS graduates entering a wide range of vocations, equipped with language and tools from their Certificate in Religion and Public Life (CRPL) to translate religion to the public sphere. We see it in Master of Religion and Public Life (MRPL) graduates and RPL fellows working to shift their fields toward a deeper understanding of the power of religion. We see it in our collaborations within and beyond Harvard. We see it in the hunger we witness among broader global publics who are actively engaging our resources, public conversation series, and professional and lifelong learning opportunities.

Guided by the vision and commitments articulated in our Strategic Plan, this report reflects our progress on core priorities:

  • Strengthen RPL Foundations
  • Build the RPL Community
  • Influence the Public Realm
  • Build a Sustainable Program

With the welcome arrival of summer, RPL’s work will continue. This work includes leading the fourth “Narratives of Displacement and Belonging” immersive travel experience to Israel/Palestine; supporting 24 students in RPL domestic and international internships; offering opportunities in our Professional and Lifelong Learning program to high school educators and public health professionals; and preparing for the incoming MRPL class as well as the MTS and MDiv students pursuing the CRPL.

As we conclude the year, we find ourselves moved by the power of the application of religious literacy in context. As faculty, fellows, students and engaged practitioners, we are steeped in the process of just peacebuilding, contributing to an active learning laboratory of action, reflection, and reengagement in deep collaboration. Is just peace possible in our lifetimes? It is an ambition we hold close to our hearts, knowing it is not a destination but a process. Paulo Freire describes this as the work of developing “critical consciousness”—the engaged process of personal and shared transformation required to shift conditions of society toward lasting peace and justice.

Thank you for joining us in the ongoing journey to build critical consciousness toward the “practice of freedom.” Thank you for helping us imagine and build beyond the probable toward the possible.

Diane L. Moore
Associate Dean, Religion and Public Life
July 2023

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