2025 Conference Abstracts and Biographies
Building upon themes from past conferences, our 2025 Conference: Spirituality and the Arts examined the dynamic relationship between alternative spirituality and artistic practice. Grounding questions explored how emerging, alternative, and Indigenous spiritualities find expression through visual, musical, performing, and literary arts. We also wove in past conference themes by engaging spiritual and artistic practices that intersect with broader social dynamics, such as power, coloniality, and ecological concerns.
Scroll down on this page to read the abstracts and biographies of this year's conference presenters. When you click on the title of your chosen abstract, it will take you to a page with both the abstract and biography for that presentation. If you are having difficulty finding a specific presentation abstract or biography, please utilize the "search" tool at the top right of this website to conduct a thorough search. Once you’ve begun your search, you may wish to select a filter for the 2025 conference.
2025 Conference Abstracts and Biographies
Sams, Harriet. 2025. “A Sense of the Divine at Complex Human Heritage Sites: Earth-Based Spirituality, Cultural Heritage, and Challenging Landscape Legacies.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Sams, Harriet. 2025. “A Sense of the Divine at Complex Human Heritage Sites: Earth-Based Spirituality, Cultural Heritage, and Challenging Landscape Legacies.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Smit, Stephanie. 2025. “A Soul’s Journey.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Smit, Stephanie. 2025. “A Soul’s Journey.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Howe, Laura Paulsen. 2025. “Aboriginal Australian Art and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Howe, Laura Paulsen. 2025. “Aboriginal Australian Art and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Goldberg, Philip. 2025. “ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: How The Beatles Transformed the Spiritual Landscape.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Goldberg, Philip. 2025. “ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: How The Beatles Transformed the Spiritual Landscape.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Ortiz, Paula, and Anne Dorothy Harley. 2025. “Activating Inner and Collective Resonance: Participative Sound Baths As Artistic and Spiritual Practices.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Ortiz, Paula, and Anne Dorothy Harley. 2025. “Activating Inner and Collective Resonance: Participative Sound Baths As Artistic and Spiritual Practices.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
MacDonald, Melissa, and Kean Haunt. 2025. “Adoring the Unknown: Laboratory Theatre As Worship.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
MacDonald, Melissa, and Kean Haunt. 2025. “Adoring the Unknown: Laboratory Theatre As Worship.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Gellizeau, Simone Small. 2025. “Adorning the Spirit: Reclaiming the Divine Image through Afrocentric Aesthetics.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Gellizeau, Simone Small. 2025. “Adorning the Spirit: Reclaiming the Divine Image through Afrocentric Aesthetics.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Gardner, Theresa. 2025. “African-American Spirituals and Social Transformation Through Relational Transcendence.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Gardner, Theresa. 2025. “African-American Spirituals and Social Transformation Through Relational Transcendence.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Borges, Katiushka. 2025. “ANCESTRAL HEARTBEAT.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Borges, Katiushka. 2025. “ANCESTRAL HEARTBEAT.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Dao, Swan. 2025. “Applied Theatre: Making Sense of Spiritual Experience.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Dao, Swan. 2025. “Applied Theatre: Making Sense of Spiritual Experience.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Williams, Keith, and Lucy Sollitt. 2025. “Approaches to Interspecies Communication: Between the Synthetic Sacred and the Technological Bypass.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Williams, Keith, and Lucy Sollitt. 2025. “Approaches to Interspecies Communication: Between the Synthetic Sacred and the Technological Bypass.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Tarwater, Bonnie. 2025. “Art Ministry As Prayer at Church for Our Common Home.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.
Tarwater, Bonnie. 2025. “Art Ministry As Prayer at Church for Our Common Home.” in Spirituality and the Arts. Harvard Divinity School: Program for the Evolution of Spirituality.