The Religious Literacy Project (RLP) will be launched on Wednesday, May 27 during Harvard Commencement festivities and in conjunction with a ceremony recognizing the achievements of 17 Religious Studies and Education Certificate recipients.
The purpose of the RLP is "to promote and enhance the public understanding of religion" through providing a method for how to recognize and interpret the complex roles that religions play in contemporary and historical world affairs. This focus on method is what distinguishes the RLP from other initiatives and programs that provide information about religion. The RLP site houses resources describing the method itself as well as examples of how it is employed through country profiles, religion profiles, news items, faculty commentaries, and an education blog. The Religious Literacy Project also sponsors initiatives, including a workshop with an interfaith delegation from Nigeria focusing on religion, conflict resolution, and good governance; a five year teacher education seminar with public school history teachers in the greater Hartford, CT area; and the Religious Studies and Education Certificate program that is jointly sponsored by Harvard Divinity School and Harvard Extension School.
The RLP was conceived by Professor Diane L. Moore following the 2008 suspension of the nearly 40-year teacher education focused Program in Religious Studies and Education Krister Stendahl initiated when he was Dean in 1972. Moore wanted a venue to preserve the legacy of promoting the public understanding of religion that the teacher education program exemplified and that we here at HDS are uniquely situated to promote given our longstanding commitment to public education and our expertise in the world's religious traditions. The project was made possible by a generous donation from HDS alumnus H. Bruce McEver, MBA '69, MTS '11, and the ongoing support of CSWR Director Francis Clooney and Dean David Hempton.
—by Professor Diane L. Moore