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...That the next non-ordained president did not arrive until 1869 indicates the complicated history out of which Memorial Church emerged. Historian Bernard Bailyn discussed these conflicting views of Harvard’s foundation, concluding that “Harvard was founded as an institution from which the leadership of church, state, and trade was expected to emerge, and that leadership, like the community as a whole, was expected to remain deeply and correctly Christian.” Thus, at the very least, it seems clear that Harvard was never simply the Puritan stronghold that a Protestant church...
...centrality of Memorial Church stems, instead, from the early 1920s, when university president—and renowned bigot—A. Lawrence Lowell first promoted the controversial idea of a new chapel as a memorial to graduates who had died fighting in World War I. Fervent protest quickly flared up in response. A 1921 editorial in The New York Times read that “a memorial to men of different sects shouldn’t be religious” and a 1931 editorial in The Crimson eloquently concluded, “To railroad through the University a War Memorial...
...Since then, Harvard has tried to address this troubled past. In 1958, Memorial Church opened its doors to all religions. The first non-Christian service happened eight years later, for Rosh Hashanah—many Reform Jews still attend services there. Muslim students have used its facilities for prayer, too, although this has changed since they acquired a prayer space in a prime location, the basement of Canaday Hall...
...Harvard attempted to institutionalize religious diversity in 1974, when the Stendahl Committee recommended that a troika consisting of a Protestant minister, Roman Catholic priest, and Jewish rabbi replace the single minister of Memorial Church. President Bok rejected the proposal, claiming that it limited, rather than broadened, the university’s religious functions. He also changed “Preacher to the University” to “Minister in Memorial Church” to better contextualize the Protestant chaplaincy within the broader Harvard community...
...Claiming that Protestant Memorial Church is simply another outlet for religious life at Harvard—akin to the Harvard Hillel or the Catholic Student Center at St. Paul’s Church—is unrealistic. Memorial Church is favored not only because of its place in the center of Harvard Yard, but also because of Reverend Gomes’s presence at major university events. Although Gomes has done an exemplary job of negotiating this role in the past 30 years and building Memorial Church to the dynamic institution it is today, it is time for the church...