University of Chicago Divinity School

10/15/2026

Congratulations to William Schultz, Assistant Professor of American Religion, on receiving The University of Chicago's 2026 Early Career Communicator Award. The award, part of the Academic Communicators Network Excellence Awards, honors early-career scholars who make their research accessible to the public.

Schultz’s first book, “Jesus Springs: Evangelical Capitalism and the Fate of an American City,” came out last fall. It looks at how evangelical organizations and business interests reshaped Colorado Springs. He generously shares his research and recently appeared on 99% Invisible and Colorado Matters, served as a source for NBC News, and wrote for the Christian Century.

Read the story: https://divinity.uchicago.edu/news/professor-william-schultz-honored-2026-academic-communicators-network-excellence-award

10/14/2026

Want to become a religious leader and wondering whether divinity school is the right next step? Next Tuesday, the University of Chicago Divinity School joins fellow members of the Association of Academic Divinity Schools for a free online evening on the Master of Divinity.

Admissions officers will explain how the degree works, what each school does differently, and what makes an application stand out. Then they’ll take your questions.

Tuesday, October 20, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Central. Register here: https://apply.utsnyc.edu/register/aadsmdivfall26

10/13/2026

Who gets to own land, and when does a ruler become a tyrant? In the sixteenth century, theologians at the University of Salamanca debated those questions as Spain built an empire in the Americas.

Next Tuesday, David Lantigua of the University of Notre Dame closes the Divinity School's Approaches to Catholic Studies Lecture Series with “Re-Reading Early Modern Spanish Catholic Sources on Property and Tyranny.” He’ll look at how those theologians defended the political agency of Catholic and non-Catholic peoples alike against claims by popes and emperors.

Tuesday, October 20, at 5 p.m. in the Swift Hall Third Floor Lecture Room.
Register here: events.uchicago.edu/event/approaches-to-catholic-studies-david-lantigua

10/12/2026

Can AI make art new? Patrick Jagoda takes up the question in this year’s Nuveen Lecture. He starts with negative theology and with Dada and Surrealist experiments, then asks what art made with, against, and for AI might add.

Join us Thursday, October 22, at 5:00 p.m. in Swift Hall, with a reception to follow. Register: https://events.uchicago.edu/event/2026-nuveen

10/09/2026

Think of the Div School grads you know. Is there one whose work in a field, a congregation, or a community deserves recognition?

Put that name forward for Alum of the Year. The form takes just a few minutes: the nominee’s name and a short note on their work. Letters of recommendation are welcome but not required.

Nominations received by November 15 will be considered for the 2027 award. Nominate here: https://ow.ly/LB1P50ZW8rs

10/09/2026

When church authorities in early modern Italy were faced with an exorcism, how did they decide what was real, and who had the authority to say so?

Stefania Tutino, Professor of History at UCLA, comes to Swift Hall on Monday to take up a contested case from Sorrento in the next lecture of our Approaches to Catholic Studies series.

Monday, October 12, 4:30 p.m., Swift Hall Third Floor Lecture Room. Register here: events.uchicago.edu/event/approaches-to-catholic-studies-stefaniatutino

10/02/2026

What is tradition, and how is it different from history? David Albertson, MDiv’03, PhD’08, takes it up through Hadewijch of Brabant, a thirteenth-century Flemish mystic and poet.

“Untimely Contemplations: Hadewijch, Catholic Tradition, and Anachronic Remaining” continues the Approaches to Catholic Studies Lecture Series at the Div School. Albertson is Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Southern California.

Tuesday, October 6, at 5 p.m. in the Swift Hall Third Floor Lecture Hall.

Learn more and register: https://events.uchicago.edu/event/273042-approaches-to-catholic-studies-lecture-series-david-a

10/01/2026

Did you catch Lydia Herndon on Jeopardy! on September 25? The Div School PhD student was the only player to get Final Jeopardy right, and the clue was pure Chicago: Cubs legend Ernie Banks and the poetry slam.

How do you prepare for ‘Jeopardy!’ while writing a dissertation? Lydia snapped her fingers to practice the buzzer and watched old episodes standing up, since contestants play on their feet.

Read the ‘Criteria’ Q&A: https://divinity.uchicago.edu/news/how-divinity-school-phd-student-lydia-herndon-solved-final-jeopardy

09/30/2026

Three friends finished their MDivs at the Div School in 2023. Today, one works in corporate strategy, one in nonprofit fundraising, and one leads a parish in Wilmette.

Over dinner near campus, Shradha Jain, Hayley Segall, and Shannon Smith Page started asking how anyone should measure the value of a degree in religious studies. Their answer, drawn from their own work, is now up at Interfaith America.

Read it here: https://www.interfaithamerica.org/article/why-religious-studies-matters-to-our-work/

09/29/2026

PhD student Lilia Ellis penned this piece for the Christian Century.

The 12th-century polymath’s worldview exposes the limits of our supposedly enlightened...