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The Harvard Divinity School celebrated its graduates on Wednesday with its annual multireligious service, emphasizing pluralism at a moment when Harvard has advertised a heightened commitment to dialogue across religious difference.

The ceremony featured more than 30 graduates, who performed speeches of prayer, meditation, and worship across 14 different religious and spiritual traditions.

The service began with a procession of HDS’s 140 graduates, led by colorful ribbons and a banner decorated with the symbols of world religions. Divinity School Dean Marla F. Frederick — who took over the school in 2023 as the first woman in the position — provided a brief introduction, praising the ceremony as “pluralism in action.”

“Here at HDS, you will also hear an array of perspectives, some that may align with your personal worldview and some that may not,” Frederick said.

Refraining from discussing the political challenges Harvard has faced in the past year, Frederick’s welcome — and the ceremony as a whole — centered on emphasizing “peace.”

“We remain committed to the vision for a just world at peace, even when the work is incomplete, even when the work is difficult, and especially then,” Frederick said.

The Divinity School has been a hotbed for clashes over pro-Palestine advocacy and scholarship, but Wednesday’s ceremony remained largely quiet and apolitical. Aside from some graduates who sported keffiyehs, a traditional Palestinian scarf, there was no mention of Palestine during the ceremony — a contrast to last year’s, which began with a spoofed version of “Let It Shine” using the phrase “Free Palestine.”

In March, Frederick announced that HDS had suspended its Religion, Conflict, and Peace Initiative amid budget cuts and accusations that the program presented a biased view of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The suspension prompted more than 20 RCPI alumni to send a letter to Frederick and University President Alan M. Garber ’76, alleging that the University was failing to protect students’ free speech.

Other speakers delivered prayers from various cultural and religious traditions. Master of divinity candidate Taylon Lancaster gave an address titled “A Prayer from the Traditions of the African Diaspora.”

“We stand today praying to a God that can still answer prayers, which allows us all, especially those of African descent, to continue to walk in the legacy of struggle,” Lancaster said.

“Oh God, we pray for the audacity of Langston Hughes that we may hold fast to our dreams,” he added.

Becca Leviss, who is graduating with a master of theology degree, delivered a shehecheyanu, a traditional Jewish prayer used to celebrate special occasions.

“We’re living in a shehecheyanu moment, a time when the core of Jewish spirit is awakened not just through joy, but through the meeting points of pain and hope,” Leviss said. “It’s a moment marked by both grief and thankfulness.”

The ceremony concluded with a speech from graduating masters’ students Kelley Woehl and Khushi Choudhary.

“We came to HDS at different times with diverse backgrounds and unique motivations,” Woehl said. “Yet today, we stand together, bonded by a common commitment to education, service and exploration, alongside our laughter, longings and aspirations.”

HDS has held more than two decades of multireligious services to commemorate its students’ graduation. This year’s service arrives at a time when Harvard is considering ways to promote greater interfaith engagement. The University’s twin task forces on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias and anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian bias formed a joint subcommittee on pluralism in May 2024. In the groups’ final reports, released last month, the subcommittee recommended establishing a central hub for pluralism efforts on campus.

HDS graduates will receive their diplomas at a separate ceremony following Thursday’s University-wide commencement ceremony, which will be headlined by Abraham Verghese, a professor of biology at Stanford University and physician and novelist.

—Staff writer Akshaya Ravi can be reached at akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @akshayaravi22.