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The Initiative on Religion and Politics at Yale seeks to foster thoughtful activism, enrich scholarly discourse, and deepen public conversation on the place of religion in public life, both nationally and internationally. Located at Yale Divinity School, the Initiative is guided by a coordinating committee of faculty and students from a variety of disciplines and religious affiliations. It draws on the strengths of intellectuals across and beyond Yale University, and of religious leaders in New Haven and around the world.
Together, we seek to enact our vision of a progressive faith in the following ways:
First, to foster the formation of religious leaders with prophetic vision and a passion for social justice. We wish to enliven in students and scholars a "social imagination"--an appreciation of both the political dynamics of religious life and the religious dynamics of public life, as well as a drive to engage the world as progressive religious leaders. While we are located in a Christian divinity school, we recognize that a just global future requires thoughtful inter-religious dialogue and we seek to engage people from diverse faith traditions as well as people who do not identify with any faith tradition.
Second, to create a progressive think tank, an intellectual space in which scholars can pay sustained attention to the complex interaction of religion and politics in contemporary societies. The Initiative is therefore a site where scholars from a broad range of disciplines, perspectives, and locales can explore together the roles of religion in public life. A particular effort will be made to include voices that are not regularly invited into such conversations, as we strive to clearly articulate the ways in which theological discourses are relevant to contemporary social and political concerns.
Third, to speak forcefully in the public sphere about the social and political issues of the day. As a body, we are not partisan in the sense of being aligned with any political party or organization. Yet we recognize the profound power of politics-broadly conceived as the processes by which societies govern themselves, allocate goods and services, formulate public policies, and pursue the common good--to both help and harm. Thus we aim to be a prophetic voice in the public sphere, directly addressing concerns of inequality and injustice in the many areas of common life where religion and politics meet.