Response to "Harvard’s Crisis of Faith" by Lisa Miller, Newsweek Feb 22, 2010
As a graduate of Harvard with a Masters in Religion, I feel compelled to respond to this article. I am also an atheist who is against the organized practice of religion. I study religion because I find it fascinating from a phenomenological standpoint, and view it as another expression of human culture and identity. However, I also see it as the main force for hatred and ignorance in the world, and know that I must, in Ms. Miller’s words, “understand how religious belief and practice influence our world.” Part of what Ms. Miller describes is not consternation at Harvard over whether religion courses per se should be required or not, but rather stems from an overhaul of the entire Harvard Core Curriculum. Harvard has one of the oldest and most prestigious divinity schools in America, with groundbreaking centers for Women and Religion and World Religions, as well as professors who incorporate religious history into their own department (art, music, literature, cultural studies, etc). The Committee on the Study of Religion is not a freestanding department, but neither is Women’s Studies or Medieval Studies – by Ms. Miller’s own logic, that would mean Harvard is also sexist and anti-Middle Ages. It may surprise you to learn that there are many atheists, agnostics, and non-practicing students studying religion all over the world; while I am in the minority, I certainly am not the only one.
At HDS, I had the best professors in the world who challenged and expanded my mind in ways for which I will forever be grateful, even as I found most of the faculty there (and at College X, too) to be practicing or devout in their own religions. I studied the mystical experiences of Medieval women, and it never mattered to me whether their visions were ‘real’ or not (I suspect they were not) – I take their religious worldview as a given, as my personal belief did not need to conflict with academic and intellectual inquiry. I have found the same of every religion professor I have ever known, whatever side of the belief divide they are on. The tone of Ms. Miller’s writing is tired and unoriginal, rehashing sloppy debates about “faith versus reason” at a level a Dan Brown fan would understand, with some facile Harvard-bashing thrown in for good measure. Perhaps it’s just possible that faith can be part of academic discourse, while both respecting and keeping distance from personal faith practice.
At HDS, I had the best professors in the world who challenged and expanded my mind in ways for which I will forever be grateful, even as I found most of the faculty there (and at College X, too) to be practicing or devout in their own religions. I studied the mystical experiences of Medieval women, and it never mattered to me whether their visions were ‘real’ or not (I suspect they were not) – I take their religious worldview as a given, as my personal belief did not need to conflict with academic and intellectual inquiry. I have found the same of every religion professor I have ever known, whatever side of the belief divide they are on. The tone of Ms. Miller’s writing is tired and unoriginal, rehashing sloppy debates about “faith versus reason” at a level a Dan Brown fan would understand, with some facile Harvard-bashing thrown in for good measure. Perhaps it’s just possible that faith can be part of academic discourse, while both respecting and keeping distance from personal faith practice.
As for the Harvard bashing - just about everyone who implies Harvard isn't "all that" has a tear-stained rejection letter in the back of a drawer somewhere. Also, Ms. Miller totally does NOT understand how the system works there. There is NO bureaucratic division between the Divinity school and the rest of the University. All HDS students can take up to 50% of their classes anywhere in the University, which allowed me to study, work and teach in the Music department. Furthermore, HDS is part of the Boston Theological Institute, a consortium of about 10 schools throughout the Boston area, which also has porous cross registration, and a vigorous, diverse membership.
If the Catholic student mentioned in the article is whining that he couldn't bring up god in his classes, why did he not avail himself of HDS or BTU courses?!
