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 22, 2020
By Lauren Yanks ‘19 M.Div. Fifty-seven years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, a new generation gathered at the Lincoln Memorial...
October 15, 2020
By Clare Byrne ’22 M.A.R. Chloë Starr’s current research project, a book on the life of Christ in Chinese fiction, charts the multi-faceted ways Chinese novelists from the...
October 8, 2020
By Leah Silvieus ’21 M.A.R. Willie James Jennings’s theological education began in the living room of his childhood home, where he learned the art of Christian discipline...
September 26, 2020
By Elizabeth Ekman ’23 M.Div. When people ask what inspired him to minister to LGBTQ people and urge his church toward a more welcoming relationship with LGBTQ Catholics,...
August 17, 2020
August 17, 2020 Yale Divinity School Dean Greg Sterling issued the following statement today to the YDS campus community. ——— All of us were aghast when we...
July 29, 2020
July 29, 2020 Yale Divinity School Dean Greg Sterling made the following announcement to the YDS community today. —— Dear Colleagues,   I am pleased to let you...
July 27, 2020
By Eric Johnson for Carolina Alumni Review Elijah Heyward (‘07 M.A.R.) has long been fascinated by historical memory in the South — what we honor and what we choose to bury...
June 24, 2020
Yale Divinity School Dean Greg Sterling and five other presidents and deans of seminaries and divinity schools have issued a joint public statement decrying the lack of a...
June 19, 2020
June 19, 2020 Yale Divinity School Dean today released the following statement on Juneteenth and racism in America. —— Today is the 19th of June—Juneteenth. We...
June 13, 2020
Join Dean Greg Sterling and a panel of YDS faculty members at 5:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 18, for an exploration of the action needed to confront and undo racism in...
June 3, 2020
June 3, 2020 Yale Divinity School Dean Greg Sterling and Institute of Sacred Music Director Martin Jean made the following announcement today. —— We are pleased...
May 30, 2020
May 30, 2020   Yale Divinity School Dean Greg Sterling issued the following statement today:   ———   There are events that touch us profoundly. Anyone who...
April 3, 2020
By Pressley Peters Jennifer Boger ’71 M.A.R. and John “Jack” Boger ’71 M.Div. share a lifelong interest in equality, social justice, and education. Despite the depth of their...
March 9, 2020
By John Azumah Editor’s Note: John Azumah is Executive Director of the Sanneh Institute and Visiting Professor at YDS. Over the final days of February, Christian and Muslim...
February 25, 2020
In only her first few weeks at Yale Divinity School, Sarah Ambrose ’22 M.Div. made a daring personal commitment to reestablish the institution’s long-lost feminist...
February 5, 2020
Editor’s Note: On our social media and website, Yale Divinity School is honoring African American alumnae and alumni during Black History Month. As part of that effort,...

Pages

Contact

Office of the Dean

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging