Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

Diversity tableBy history, intention, and design, the Yale Divinity School community embraces a wide range of Christian traditions. Committed to serving church and world, it also welcomes people of various religious and nonreligious traditions, drawing wide the circle to include myriad perspectives.

Seeking to foster the knowledge and love of God through critical engagement with the traditions of the Christian churches, the Divinity School upholds the value of broad inclusivity and diversity in our academic, worship, and communal life.

Action & Impact: Read stories

We celebrate the fullness of race and color; denominational, political, theological, and cultural difference; the range of expressions of sexual and gender identity; and the varied voices that come with age, life experience, national and community service, and socioeconomic status.

In ecumenical conversation and in the space created that crosses traditionally entrenched positions, profound educational value is gained and diverse perspectives are presented.

To this end, we foster inclusivity and diversity through our academic, social, and spiritual practices. At the core of our intention is the deliberate encouragement of conversation across the lines of difference; attention to offering access to all aspects of our common life; consistent sensitivity to the uniqueness of each person’s background; and particular attentiveness to our words in speech, writing, prayer, and praise.

We value the worth and dignity of every member of the Divinity School community, as we build an environment where inclusivity and diversity are central and consistently affirmed.

Action & Impact

October 29, 2023
By Leah Silvieus ’21 M.A.R. The path that led Bo kyung Blenda Im ’12 M.A.R. to Yale Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music—first as a student, then as a fellow,...
June 19, 2023
Announcement by Dean Greg Sterling June 19, 2023 ------ Now that the 2022-23 academic year has reached its conclusion, I would like to celebrate a number of accomplishments...
May 22, 2023
In the new episode of the YDS “Quadcast,” Kyama Mugambi discusses how Christianity in Africa is changing the global religious landscape. Mugambi, Assistant Professor of World...
April 28, 2023
By Leah Silvieus ‘21 M.A.R. Boston’s Old North Church is most known for its role in the beginning of the American Revolution. It was there that church sexton Robert Newman...
April 5, 2023
Yale Divinity School Professor Willie James Jennings will give Oxford University’s Bampton Lectures for 2023—the first African American tapped for the 243-year-old lecture...
March 14, 2023
By Timothy Cahill ’16 M.A.R. In 2017, the Rev. Dr. Rena Joyce Weller Karefa-Smart ’45 B.D. was presented with the Lux et Veritas Award, one of Yale Divinity School’s most...
December 19, 2022
December 19, 2022 Yale Divinity School today announced the establishment of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, which will pursue teaching, practice, research,...
November 26, 2022
Braxton Shelley, Associate Professor of Music, Sacred Music, and Divinity at YDS and the Institute of Sacred Music, has won four prizes for his 2021 book Healing for the Soul...
October 7, 2022
In the new episode of the YDS “Quadcast,” author and America magazine correspondent Michael O’Loughlin ’09 M.A.R. discusses his book Hidden Mercy, the challenges of being an...
September 29, 2022
A new scholarship named in honor of retired professor Peter Hawkins will support YDS students interested in studying religion and literature. The scholarship is funded by a...
September 22, 2022
By Lauren Yanks '19 M.Div. Born and raised in Haiti, Jean-Fritz Guerrier ’18 M.Div. enjoyed a childhood surrounded by loved ones. “A famous Haitian proverb says that your...
September 13, 2022
In the new episode of the YDS “Quadcast,” Jamil Drake, Assistant Professor of African American Religious History, discusses a healthy role for religion in U.S. politics and...
September 8, 2022
Editor’s Note: During the year of our Bicentennial, YDS hopes to publish alumni/ae stories from their time at YDS, such as this piece by Robert Tiller. If you would...
August 31, 2022
New students, new faculty and staff members, and the beginning of Yale Divinity School’s new century—with a keynote address by Yale President Peter Salovey to mark the moment...
August 31, 2022
August 31, 2022   YDS Dean Greg Sterling made the following announcement today to the YDS community.   ——   Dear Colleagues,   As I announced at our Opening...
August 5, 2022
Yale Divinity School is the site of a new project aimed at accelerating innovation in young adult ministry and connecting congregations with emerging adults who are spiritual...
July 26, 2022
By Leah Silvieus ’21 M.A.R. Jason Craige Harris ’12 M.A.R. and Mercy Herrera ’13 M.A.R. met at YDS through a mutual friend. When she asked him out, he turned her down on...

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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging