Spring series at HDS explores ‘love’ across difference

This spring semester, the Harvard Divinity School community explored the ways love is understood and practiced across different faith traditions.

Building on the conversations that took place during the 2023-24 HDS Common Read organized by the HDS Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIB), the Office of DIB continued the discussion through the spring series titled, “Love Through a Multifaith Lens.” The series explored love in three different religions: Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam. Two faculty members approached the topic from different perspectives to highlight the internal diversity within each tradition. Each session was co-facilitated through a restorative approach by staff and student members of the Office of DIB.

“Now more than ever, we recognize the importance of love to keep us grounded in our humanity and in the humanity of others, and to affirm our interconnectedness to each other and to the natural world,” said Melissa Wood Bartholomew, associate dean for diversity, inclusion, and belonging and lecturer at HDS. “Through this intentional multifaith lens, we are not only learning about love’s power to help us engage across difference but also to advance human flourishing as we cultivate our connection to each other.”