Welcome to the Divinity School
From its inception, the Divinity School has pursued William Rainey Harper's vision of an institution devoted to systematic research and inquiry into the manifold dimensions of religion. Today it is the institutional home to over thirty faculty teaching in constructive studies, historical studies, and religion and the human sciences; more than three hundred students pursuing the M.A., Ph.D., and M.Div. degrees; the major scholarly journals History of Religions and the Journal of Religion; and the Martin Marty Center, which promotes research projects, consultations, and dissertation seminars, with special attention to enhancing the fullest scholarly engagement with the wider public.
We enjoy extraordinarily rich relations with the wider University. Cross-disciplinary work has always been and continues to be the standard. Fully two-thirds of the current faculty hold appointments in other departments or schools of the University. It is the unusual student transcript that does not show substantial course work completed outside Swift Hall, and the rare Divinity course roster that does not include students from elsewhere in the University. Dissertation committees regularly include faculty whose appointments are in South Asian Languages and Civilizations, Philosophy, Law, or Classics. Students have the option of pursuing dual degree programs with the Schools of Social Service Administration, Public Policy, or Law. To enroll in this Divinity School is to enroll in this University.
Chicago reflects only one orthodoxy: that the rules of evidence and argument must discipline conversation, and that such rules are especially important when the topic is religion. Our faculty and students present a remarkable range of attitudes about religion as a force for good and for ill in the world. These attitudes bespeak the shared view that religion is one of our most fascinating and enduring windows into central truths about human life and being. The School aims to develop out of that conviction the richest possible conversation, and direct it to the central, complementary ends of scholarly excellence and moral engagement.
Sincere thanks for your interest in the Divinity School.
Cordially,
