Division of Campus Life
Chaplains and Religious Life

Programs

Learn more about the current groups, programs and projects affiliated with the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life (OCRL).

Bereavement Group

Bereavement Group meets Mondays at 7:30 pm in Room 411 of Page-Robinson. The first meeting of the spring semester will be February 3, 2025. 

Brown's Bereavement Group is an informal gathering that welcomes students from all programs who are seeking support to shoulder grief and loss. Neither clinical nor religious, this is a conversation-based gathering over tea and sweets for those with common experience. The group has met for more than 3 decades and is co-led by Rev. Delphain Demosthenes, Associate Chaplain of the University for the Protestant Community, and Dr. Mika MacInnis, ‘02, PhD ‘07. Participants come regularly or occasionally and may join at any point in the term. There is no RSVP or paperwork required.

See Today@Brown for updates. Email ocrl@brown.edu for questions or details.

Gratitude Group

Gratitude Group meets on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm in Page-Robinson Hall Room 411.

Come express your gratitude! Gratitude Group is a non-religious gathering that welcomes all students to explore the positive things in life, and share them. We hope to see you there! Facilitated by Associate Chaplain of the University for the Protestant Community Rev. Del Demosthenes.

Christian Mindfulness Meditation

Christian Mindfulness Meditation meets Tuesdays at 7:00 pm in Manning Chapel, beginning February 4, 2025.

Christian Mindfulness Meditation is a gathering that welcomes everyone regardless of faith background to explore contemplative practices in resonance with texts from the Christian and other spiritual traditions. All are welcome to share their own experience. 

Throughout 2024-25, we will practice sacred contemplation of the Beatitudes to grow in compassion and joy. 

Sponsored by the Office of the Chaplains & Religious Life, the group is co-led by Dr. Lia Antico, Ph.d., Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Brown Mindfulness Center, and Rev. Del Demosthenes, Associate Chaplain of the University for the Protestant Community.

See Today@Brown for updates. Email lia_antico@brown.edu for questions or details.

Thursday Night Interfaith Suppers

For more than 50 years, the Thursday Night Interfaith Supper program (TNS) has been one of the key interfaith initiatives of the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life—TNS has been a place for delicious food, inspiring speakers, respectful community, and invigorating conversation on matters of interfaith dialogue and spirituality. Open to students of all programs, those who attend represent the full breadth of the Brown community as well as a wide range of religious, faith, spiritual, and ethical perspectives.

Gathering on the Third Thursday Night of each month, the evening comprises dinner and conversation with invited speakers who discuss how the life of the spirit guides their professional and personal lives.

Suppers begin at 5:30 pm and end by 7:00 pm. If you have dietary restrictions, please be sure to use the monthly sign-up form in advance of the dinner.

Sign-up for our e-list to receive monthly reminders & more information about TNS.

Religious Literacy Project

Do you get nervous talking about religion? Feel frustrated with religious intolerance, but don’t know much about religious traditions outside of your own experience (or lack thereof)? Looking to learn more about religious traditions, but not sure where to begin?

Here's where the Brown Religious Literacy Project comes in! We are a non-credit course (without homework!) that meets weekly during the Spring Semester to engage with scholars and practitioners from the Providence community to explore five major religious traditions.

Discussion often centers on philosophical foundations, values and identity formation, and internal diversity in these traditions. Our hope is to clarify common misconceptions, affirm the importance of religious literacy at Brown and in the world, and illuminate the ways in which religion is embedded in our society. Moreover, we strive to be a welcoming space for healthy interfaith dialogue, community-building, and understanding of diverse beliefs, practices, and identities.

Student led and run. Sponsored by the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life.

How to Apply

Students, staff and faculty of all faith backgrounds (including none!) and all religious experiences (personal and/or academic) are encouraged to apply.

RLP applications are submitted online via a Google Form and are solicited in January for enrollment in the Spring. 

Example Course Schedule (Spring '22)

  • Week 1: Introduction, Welcome from Rev. Janet Cooper Nelson
  • Week 2: Hinduism: Academic Presentation by Prof. David Buchta
  • Week 3: Hinduism: Practitioner presentation by Swami Yogatmananda of the Vedanta Society of Providence
  • Week 4: Islam: Academic presentation by Aseel Azab, graduate student in Islam, Society and Culture.
  • Week 5: Islam: Practitioner conversation with Imam Amir Toft, Associate Chaplain of the University for the Muslim Community.
  • Week 6: Judaism: Academic presentation with Professor Paul Nahme, Dorot Assistant Professor of Judaic Studies, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies.
  • Week 7: Buddhism: Practitioner presentation, Gen Tsoglam from the Atisha Kadampa Buddhist Center, Providence RI
  • Week 8: Judaism: Practitioner conversation with Rabbi Josh Bolton, Executive Director of Brown-RiSD Hillel
  • Week 9: Christianity: Academic presenter, Professor Jae Han, Director of Graduate Admissions, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
  • Week 10: Christianity: Practitioner conversation with Rev. Delphain DemosthenesAssociate Chaplain of the University for the Protestant Community

Interfaith Leadership Awards

Nominations are solicited each spring by the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life for recipients in the following award categories.  These awards are selected for graduating seniors and honored at the Baccalaureate Service.

The Presidential James Manning Medal, the Interfaith Leadership Award and the Levi Adams Citation are awards that recognize commitment to interfaith study, practice and leadership on campus.

The Presidential James Manning Medal

The President James Manning Medal is awarded to a senior in the College whose pursuit of excellence in the study and practice of religion is exemplary. This award is given in honor of Brown’s first president, who exemplified the synthesis of intellectual precision and spiritual engagement. The academic study of religion enables students to become critical thinkers and move beyond personal piety into responsible leadership, achieving a balance between the particularity of respective faith traditions and a sense of community and global responsibility. 

The Kapstein Award For Interfaith Leadership

A generous award to the Brown University Chaplaincy from the Kapstein Foundation, administered through the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island, the Interfaith Leadership Award honors a senior in the College who has demonstrated interfaith leadership both on campus and beyond, within the confines of the academic year and/or during time away. This award acknowledges the energy, insight, imagination and service of a student in the realm of interreligious community building and programming. The Interfaith Leadership Award honors the late Reverend Charles A. Baldwin, Chaplain of the University, 1958-1988. 

The Levi Adams Citation

Inaugurated in 2001, the Levi Adams Citation honors a senior in the College for distinction and service in the leadership of a campus-based religious organization, project or initiative. This award is given in honor of Levi Adams, whose retirement from Brown in 1994 concluded a distinguished career during which he served on Brown’s faculty, as one of the deans of the medical school and vice president of government and community relations. Adams’s resilience, imagination and strength in his varied tasks were always grounded in deep spiritual convictions. Empowered by his example, this citation is made to honor such service.

Nominations

The nomination form will be posted in spring and due in April. For more information, contact ocrl@brown.edu.

Previous OCRL Programs