The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

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Margaret Clendenen is a rising senior at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, where she is double majoring in Sociology and Religious Studies.

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Jonathan is a rising senior at Harvard College, where he concentrates in the Comparative Study of Religion with a focus on the Modern West. Originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, he has done anthropological work on mosque controversies in Greece and Boston, and is particularly interested in how American religious groups use entertainment and popular media to promote their messages.

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Josh is currently pursuing a Master of Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School, where he is focusing on comparative theology to learn across religious boundaries while remaining faithful to his home tradition of Christianity. Originally from Las Vegas, he received a B.A. in Philosophy, with minors in Communication Studies and English, from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. During his first year at Harvard, Josh researched the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries, and the Boston branch of Soka Gakkai International. He plans to write a thesis comparing Sufi practices in Tehran, Iran, with the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.

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Claire is a rising senior at Wellesley College, where she is a double major in Sociology and Religion, with a concentration in Buddhist Studies.

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Sohini is a rising sophomore at Wellesley College where she is planning on double majoring in South Asia Studies and Theater Studies. As a South Asia Studies major, Sohini plans to focus on studying religious conflict and religious pluralism in South Asia.

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Abhishek is a recent graduate from Clark University, where he earned a degree in Sociology and Government & International Relations. While at Clark his senior independent study was titled, "Religious nationalism as a tool for identity formation in India: Deconstructing pluralism and demonizing 'the other'" which was based on an ethnography of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). His current academic interests include religion and youth, the intersection between religion and politics in South Asia, and inter-religious dialogue.

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Jason Smith is a recent graduate from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, where he double majored in Religion and Philosophy and received a Concentration in Linguistic Studies. He is particularly interested in Roman Catholic Theology and the Church's post-Vatican II approach to interreligious dialogue. His senior project was entitled "Contemporary Catholic Theology: An Analysis of Inclusivism and Interreligious Dialogue." His current interests include the study of Christian and Jewish communities in Boston and engagement in interreligious dialogue.

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Megan is a rising senior at Tufts University majoring in Religion with a concentration in Women and Religion. She is also earning minors in Drama and Africa in the New World.

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Julia is a rising senior at Harvard College, concentrating in the Comparative Study of Religion with a focus on Buddhism and Christianity. A native of Waltham, MA, she is interested in studying these traditions in the American context. She hopes to consider the intersection of religion and American public life for her thesis in the fall.

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Kamille is a rising senior at Harvard College, where she is seeking a B.A. in the Comparative Study of Religion. Within the Comparative Study of Religion, she is primarily focused on the intersection between Islam and the West. Kamille is particularly interested in the way that identities engage and interact to forge new identities within religious as well as cultural contexts. A Memphis native, Kamille spends much of her time during that academic year working with Earthen Vessels, a Catholic non-profit organization based in Cambridge. She also works with the Harvard Model United Nations conferences for college and high school students.