RELIGIOUS LITERACY AND THE PROFESSIONS INITIATIVE

The Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative (RLPI) works collaboratively with 12 experienced professionals who represent expertise across a range of vocations and issues related to just peace. These fellows co-teach the course “Religious Literacy and the Professions” and mentor students. In working with Certificate in Religion and Public Life (CRPL) students pursuing vocations in professional fields, RLPI helps them develop the knowledge, skills, and networks to leverage their Master of Theological Studies (MTS) and Master of Divinity (MDiv) degrees in a professional context.

RLPI also facilitates events and trainings to advance the public understanding of religion in service of just peace.

In Fall 2022, we welcomed our new RPL Government Fellow, the Rev. Naomi Washington-Leaphart. Washington-Leaphart brought her experiences as director for faith-based and interfaith affairs for the city of Philadelphia, as a member of the interfaith advisory boards to the Department of Homeland Security and the nongovernmental organization Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and as the former faith work director for the National LGBTQ Task Force.

We also welcomed two additional fellows: John Camardella, MRPL ’22, and Ans Irfan, MRPL ’22, to support our work engaging professionals in education and public health, respectively. Camardella, RPL’s Education Program Fellow, developed and delivered religious literacy training workshops in public school districts in Illinois for both teachers and school administrators. Irfan, RPL’s Religion and Public Health Fellow, helped develop an online course to provide religious literacy for public health professionals, which will be piloted in summer 2023.

From day one, I was impressed with the depth of thought and reflection with which RPL students engaged the class material. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from students at RPL, both in and out of the classroom. I’ve enjoyed witnessing their passion and am eager to see where their careers take them. I was unsure what to expect going into the program, but I am leaving with lifelong friendships and a better understanding of how the tenets of religious literacy permeate our everyday life. My goal, now, is to bring a religious literacy lens to my work at the law school. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this community!

Philip L. Torrey is the first Immigrant Rights Fellow for the Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative of Religion and Public Life. Torrey is the director of the Harvard Law School Crimmigration Clinic, managing attorney of the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School.