Harvard Pluralism Projects Diana Eck retires after decades of research, promoting dialogue

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2 years ago

May 10, 2024

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(RNS) — Diana Eck, for decades, has been the academician-activist who has delved into the world’s religions and encouraged others to discover and learn about the faiths of their neighbors.

Now, 49 years after she arrived as an instructor at Harvard University, the professor of comparative religion finds herself answering the same question she posed to her “Ritual and the Life Cycle” class on its last day in late April.

“What is the hardest thing that you’ve ever encountered and how did you face it?” Eck, 78, asked the class.

Weeks later, in an interview with Religion News Service, she realized it was a good question for her to answer as well.

“I think the hardest thing has been the realization that though we have — I have and my students have — been very involved in trying to lift up the ways in which people in our society are coming together — in interfaith initiatives, interfaith councils, interfaith projects, literally all across America,” she said, “but to realize that despite our vision of how important this is, there are many people today who are still very surprised that all of these strangers are here with us, and, basically, would like them all to go home.”

RELATED: Harvard religion professor Diana Eck on pluralism’s changes, challenges

After founding the Pluralism Project at Harvard University — through which Eck, her part-time staff and scores of student researchers mapped “the new religious landscape in America” — she realizes that “unfortunately, a lot of people are still waking up to this in some way.”

Professor Diana Eck, center, stands surrounded with students from one of her religion classes near the end of the spring 2024 semester. (Photo courtesy of Harvard Divinity School)

But she hasn’t given up and remains convinced that exploring and engaging across faith lines helps individuals, communities and democracy.

Since 1991, her project has moved from discovering religious communities, such as a Hindu temple meeting in a Friendly’s restaurant, to creating a CD-ROM used in school systems, to having a website whose home page links to information about 17 religious traditions — from Afro-Caribbean to Zoroastrian.

Eck, with dual expertise in Indian studies and comparative religion, invited students to visit the Boston-area temples, gurdwaras and mosques near Harvard but also those in their hometowns. At first, the terminology for those religious communities, many of them birthed in the wake of the 1965 Immigration Act, was little known.

Jonathan Ebel, who graduated in the ‘90s after attending Eck’s “World Religions in New England” class and is now a professor of religion at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, embarked on a project in Chicago under her direction through a Pluralism Project grant.

“I was the one who had to open up the Yellow Pages and look under C for churches because it turned out that’s where almost all of these places were listed — Buddhist temples and Hindu temples and mosques and Sikh gurdwaras,” he recalled in an interview.

The Dalai Lama, from left, speaks with Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies, and others inside Loeb House at Harvard University on Sept. 15, 2003, in Cambridge, Mass. (Staff Photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard University News Office)

Current and former faculty, interfaith leaders and former students of Eck — via the classroom or through her books — speak of her work as changing the trajectory of their academic life or careers.

“Diana was superb at bringing her vision for a better comprehension of the vast religious diversity of the USA together with the diverse array of talent in our university students to build a long lasting research and idea base from which she could realize the project’s goals in very tangible ways,” said William Graham, a former graduate-student colleague who later was dean of Harvard Divinity School.

After studying practices used at Harvard Business School, Eck and her team built a case for the viability of religious pluralism — using the “case study” method, with examples that now fill the project’s website.

One of the first was what she considered a “failure,” where a Muslim organization’s attempt to buy a church that was for sale was met with negative reaction by hundreds of residents at a city council meeting in the Chicago suburb of Palos Heights. But a few years later, another initiative led to the building of an “Islamic house of prayer” in another suburb, Orland Park, with a unanimous council vote.

Emile Lester, author of books about teaching religions in public schools, said the project’s resources have been received well among possible critics. The University of Mary Washington political science professor cited a conservative evangelical teacher who, despite preconceptions, “thought that it was completely legitimate as a subject for public school.”

Professor Diana Eck, far left, talks with panelists during an event. (Photo courtesy of Ellie Pierce)

Though much of her work is based on research, Eck, who also is a professor at Harvard Divinity School, also has taught and learned through relationships.

Eck invited women from a range of faiths to gather at Harvard in 1983 and again in 2003 for a conference with the theme “Women, Religion and Social Change.”

She also brought women leaders of U.S. religious communities to the Harvard Club in New York shortly after 9/11 to find solace and develop strategies together for re-creating their initiatives that were disrupted by the terrorist attack and the ensuing backlash against Muslims, Sikhs and other faiths with which many Americans were still unfamiliar.

“We can speak honestly about what it is that is happening in our own community,” said Eck of the post-9/11 gathering of women in New York. “That’s not something that scholars are going to be able to penetrate very immediately.”

As Eck, the longest-serving woman professor at Harvard, is retiring, she has witnessed one of the most religiously driven global conflicts playing out on campus that is threatening interfaith relations and pluralism in real time.

A supporter of the pro-Palestinian protests by Harvard students, she acknowledged the deaths of Israelis and Jews in the Israel-Hamas war but focused on the deaths of the thousands of children in Gaza.

A student protester against the war in Gaza walks past tents and banners in an encampment in Harvard Yard, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“When I look at the tents that have been in Harvard Yard, I think the most dramatic part of it —and the part that I believe the students care most about — is a long canvas that stretches basically from the gate of the university all the way to the administration building, on which students have written over the last months, the names and ages of the people who have been killed in Gaza,” she said.

And as a longtime member of the United Methodist Church, she celebrated as its General Conference made numerous historic steps for full inclusion of LGBTQ people in early May.

“It’s about time,” said Eck, a lesbian who married her wife, minister and psychologist Dorothy Austin, in 2004 in Harvard’s Memorial Church. “Thanks be to God. It was great to see that happen.”

Eck has modeled how a person can be a member of one faith but be supportive of people of other faiths, in and outside their houses of worship.

Her longtime friend and former student Ali Asani, whose Kenyan Muslim parents Eck once joined in prayer, called on his colleague to join him on a new task force at Harvard he is co-chairing that seeks to combat anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias.

Despite her plan to officially retire as of July 1, he said she has held listening sessions and he expects her to have a role in pending recommendations.

“I said: ‘You’re still part of the university; we’re not going to let you go,’” recalled Asani, a professor of Islamic religion and cultures. “We need you. We need you now more than ever.”

Eck, who noted that Harvard also created a task force on antisemitism earlier this year, also has encouraged people beyond the campus as they sought new ways to foster interreligious understanding.

Among her progeny are Eboo Patel, who once sat on her patio to discuss what would become Interfaith Youth Core, known for engaging college students in interfaith service projects, and is now Interfaith America, distributing grants to other cross-faith initiatives. Another is Simran Jeet Singh, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program. Both contributed to “Pilgrimage, Place, and Pluralism,” a volume published earlier this year to pay tribute to Eck, with Patel describing his mentor as “perhaps the single most influential figure in American interfaith work in the 1990s.”

Paul Raushenbush, from left, then editor for the Huffington Post, Professor Diana Eck and Simran Jeet Singh stand together for a portrait, circa 2018. (Photo courtesy of Simran Jeet Singh)

“Professor Eck’s sustained efforts demonstrate how academics can utilize their expertise — from a place of care and compassion — to help make our world a better place,” said Singh, who is a columnist for RNS.

Eck said she hopes the Pluralism Project, which has been a model for affiliates and organizations across the country, will continue to foster dialogue and engagement, even as she hopes to spend more time at home and pursue writing projects.

“I think we’ve kind of got the ball rolling, and we will try to keep what is on our website up to date,” she said. “People can use it, utilize it, build on it, teach from it, and all that stuff until we become that utopian pluralist culture.”

RELATED: White House’s Melissa Rogers affirms religious diversity as interfaith group expands

Entertainment

Spotify Wrapped: How does it work – and who are this year’s top artists?

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3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

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Spotify Wrapped: How does it work - and who are this year's top artists?

The hotly anticipated Spotify Wrapped is revealing our top tracks, artists and albums for 2025.

But how does the streaming service calculate personalised summaries of users’ listening habits and rank the UK’s hottest artists?

Here’s a look at how your data is used.

The platform describes the annual statistics as “a chance to look back on your year in sound”.

It says data is captured between January and mid-November on every account, although it mostly excludes anything streamed in private mode. (Don’t worry, your passion for the Spice Girls can be kept secret.)

Wrapped presents personalised listening statistics, which Spotify calls the “real story of your year of listening”, alongside global figures for comparison.

The streaming service says Minutes Listened reflects the actual time spent listening to audio on the platform.

Once a user streams at least 30 tracks, Spotify generates a list of Your Top Songs. Similarly, Your Top Artists ranks artists based on total minutes listening to a particular performer.

Other metrics identify the top genres users have played, as well as podcasts and audiobooks ranked by total minutes listened. And if you’ve listened to at least 70% of tracks on a record, you’ll see top albums too.

Spotify also creates Your Listening Age, a guesstimate of your age based on the era of the music “you feel most connected to”.

The streaming service says the statistic is calculated using a five-year span of music which users engaged with more than other listeners of a similar age.

Swift vs Bunny

Pop superstar Taylor Swift has been named the UK’s most-streamed artist on Spotify for the third year in a row.

But she dropped out of the top spot in the global rankings, coming second to Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, who secured more than 19.8 billion streams. Third was The Weeknd, followed by Drake and Billie Eilish.

Bad Bunny’s LP Debi Tirar Mas Fotos was the most listened-to album worldwide.

Spotify revealed Drake was the UK’s second most-listened to artist, followed by Sabrina Carpenter in third, The Weeknd in fourth, and Billie Eilish in fifth.

Despite being the most listened-to artist, Swift failed to break into the UK’s top five most listened-to songs and albums of the year.

Alex Warren’s Ordinary was the most-streamed song, and Short ‘N’ Sweet, released by Carpenter last year, the top album.

Business

Stronger reforms called for over baby formula crisis

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3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

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Stronger reforms called for over baby formula crisis

The UK government is being urged to take even stronger action to tackle the ongoing crisis of families unable to afford baby formula milk.

The prime minister backed limited reforms to the market to help parents save money but will not yet support more radical changes.

Sir Keir Starmer confirmed support for better public health messaging to inform parents that cheaper brands are nutritionally equivalent when compared with the most expensive.

A ban on spending store loyalty points on baby formula will also be lifted.

They were among recommendations made by the Competition and Markets Authority which investigated the baby formula industry and described the price rises in recent years as unjustifiable.

In the House of Commons the prime minister said: “For too long parents have been pushed into spending more on infant formula.

“They were told they’re paying for better quality and left hundreds of pounds out of pocket.

“I can announce today that we’re changing that. We will take action to give parents and carers the confidence to access infant formula at more affordable prices, with clearer guidance for retailers on helping new parents use loyalty points and vouchers together.”

It comes two-and-a-half years after a Sky News investigation revealed the extreme measures families were taking to feed their babies.

Parents described how they had resorted to stealing to feed their infants, some were watering down formula milk or substituting it for condensed milk.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service described the situation in 2023 as a “national scandal”.

Campaigners told Sky News the UK government needed to go further to address the crisis.

Co-founder of Feed UK Erin Williams told Sky News: “It is progress, they promised to look at this enormous nationwide problem and they have.

“At the moment women are still not routinely getting important information before giving birth – this should be given proactively to everybody and that will be a big win.

“The prime minister though needs to be tougher on the baby formula companies.

“Their marketing claims, their unjustified pricing – it’s stacked against families who just need to feed their babies safely.”

The UK government stopped short of accepting all of the recommendations made by the CMA.

More radical ideas such as a price cap on baby formula are not being considered.

Charities have also told Sky News the situations some families find themselves in have not eased.

Founder of the Hartlepool Baby Bank, Emilie De Bruijn, told Sky News the demand they see from desperate families is “constant and unmanageable”.

She said: “Parents are really feeling the pinch right now, and demands on baby banks are rising and it can feel quite relentless.

“We are pleased to see the extension of the National Breastfeeding Helpline alongside measures such as allowing parents to use points and vouchers.

“It is important that parents are supported to feed their children in whatever way they want and we hope that steps will continue to be taken to reduce the cost of formula and increase understanding that all brands are nutritionally the same.”

Business

Hundreds of UK moderators have left TikTok – sparking safety fears, whistleblowers reveal

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3 hours ago

December 4, 2025

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Hundreds of UK moderators have left TikTok - sparking safety fears, whistleblowers reveal

Hundreds of UK online safety workers at TikTok have already signed agreements to leave the company, whistleblowers have told Sky News, despite the firm stressing to MPs that the cuts were “still proposals only”.

More than 400 online safety workers have agreed to leave the social media company, with only five left in consultation, Sky News understands.

“[The workers have] signed a mutual termination agreement, a legally binding contract,” said John Chadfield, national officer for the Communication Workers’ Union.

“They’ve handed laptops in, they’ve handed passes in, they’ve been told not to come to the office. That’s no longer a proposal, that’s a foregone conclusion. That’s a plan that’s been executed.”

In August, TikTok announced a round of mass layoffs to its Trust and Safety teams.

“Everyone in Trust and Safety” was emailed, said Lucy, a moderator speaking on condition of anonymity for legal reasons.

After a mandatory 45-day consultation period, the teams were then sent “mutual termination agreements” to sign by 31 October.

Sky News has seen correspondence from TikTok to the employees telling them to sign by that date.

“We had to sign it before the 31st if we wanted the better deal,” said Lucy, who had worked for TikTok for years.

“If we signed it afterwards, that diminished the benefits that we get.”

Despite hundreds of moderators signing the termination contracts by 31 October, Ali Law, TikTok’s director of public policy and government affairs for northern Europe, said to MPs in a letter on 7 November: “It is important to stress the cuts remain proposals only.”

“We continue to engage directly with potentially affected team members,” he said in a letter to Dame Chi Onwurah, chair of the science, innovation and technology committee.

After signing the termination contracts, the employees say they were asked to hand in their laptops and had access to their work systems revoked. They were put on gardening leave until 30 December.

“We really felt like we were doing something good,” said Saskia, a moderator also speaking under anonymity.

“You felt like you had a purpose, and now, you’re the first one to get let go.”

A TikTok worker not affected by the job cuts confirmed to Sky News that all of the affected Trust and Safety employees “are now logged out of the system”.

“Workers and the wider public are rightly concerned about these job cuts that impact safety online,” said the TUC’s general secretary, Paul Nowak.

“But TikTok seem to be obscuring the reality of job cuts to MPs. TikTok need to come clean and clarify how many vital content moderators’ roles have gone.

“The select committee must do everything to get to the bottom of the social media giant’s claims, the wider issues of AI moderation, and ensure that other workers in the UK don’t lose their jobs to untested, unsafe and unregulated AI systems.”

What TikTok has said about the job cuts

In an interview with Sky News on 18 November, Mr Law again called the cuts “proposals”.

When asked if the cuts were in fact a plan that had already been executed, Mr Law said there was “limited amounts” he could directly comment on.

TikTok told us: “It is entirely right that we follow UK employment law, including when consultations remained ongoing for some employees and roles were still under proposal for removal.

“We have been open and transparent about the changes that were proposed, including in detailed public letters to the committee, and it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise.”

The three whistleblowers Sky News spoke to said they were concerned TikTok users would be put at risk by the cuts.

The company said it will increase the role of AI in its moderation, while maintaining some human safety workers, but one whistleblower said she didn’t think the AI was “ready”.

“People are getting new ideas and new trends are coming. AI cannot get this,” said Anna, a former moderator.

“Even now, with the things that it’s supposed to be ready to do, I don’t think it’s ready.”

Lucy also said she thought the cuts would put users at risk.

“There are a lot of nuances in the language. AI cannot understand all the nuances,” she said.

“AI cannot differentiate some ironic comment or versus a real threat or bullying or of a lot of things that have to do with user safety, mainly of children and teenagers.”

TikTok has been asked by MPs for evidence that its safety rates – which are currently some of the best in the industry – will not worsen after these cuts.

The select committee says it has not produced that evidence, although TikTok insists safety will improve.

“[In its letter to MPs] TikTok refers to evidence showing that their proposed staffing cuts and changes will improve content moderation and fact-checking – but at no point do they present any credible data on this to us,” said Dame Chi earlier this month.

“It’s alarming that they aren’t offering us transparency over this information. Without it, how can we have any confidence whether these changes will safeguard users?”

TikTok’s use of AI in moderation

In an exclusive interview with Sky News earlier this month, Mr Law said the new moderation model would mean TikTok can “approach moderation with a higher level of speed and consistency”.

He said: “Because, when you’re doing this from a human moderation perspective, there are trade-offs.

“If you want something to be as accurate as possible, you need to give the human moderator as much time as possible to make the right decision, and so you’re trading off speed and accuracy in a way that might prove harmful to people in terms of being able to see that content.

“You don’t have that with the deployment of AI.”

As well as increasing the role of AI in moderation, TikTok is reportedly offshoring jobs to agencies in other countries.

Sky News has spoken to multiple workers who confirmed they’d seen their jobs being advertised in other countries through third-party agencies, and has independently seen moderator job adverts in places like Lisbon.

“AI is a fantastic fig leaf. It’s a fig leaf for greed,” said Mr Chadfield. “In TikTok’s case, there’s a fundamental wish to not be an employer of a significant amount of staff.

“As the platform has grown, as it has grown to hundreds of millions of users, they have realised that the overhead to maintain a professional trust and safety division means hundreds of thousands of staff employed by TikTok.

“But they don’t want that. They see themselves as, you know, ‘We want specialists in the roles employed directly by TikTok and we’ll offshore and outsource the rest’.”

Mr Law told Sky News that TikTok is always focused “on outcomes”.

He said: “Our focus is on making sure the platform is as safe as possible.

“And we will make deployments of the most advanced technology in order to achieve that, working with the many thousands of trust and safety professionals that we will have at TikTok around the world on an ongoing basis.”

Asked specifically about the safety concerns raised by the whistleblowers, TikTok said: “As we have laid out in detail, this reorganisation of our global operating model for Trust and Safety will ensure we maximize effectiveness and speed in our moderation processes.

“We will continue to use a combination of technology and human teams to keep our users safe, and today over 85% of the content removed for violating our rules is identified and taken down by automated technologies.”

*All moderator names have been changed for legal reasons.