Churches for Me, Basements for Thee: Inequity in Harvard’s Religious Spaces

In a way I never would have expected, religion has played a deeply important part of my life at Harvard.

My freshman year, I took a remarkable class — GENED 1069: Faith and Authenticity: Religion, Existentialism, and the Human Condition. At the intersection of Judeo-Christian studies and continental philosophy, the class forced me to engage with religion in a serious way, which I hadn’t for many years. Since then, questions of freedom, faith, and purpose have stuck in my brain.

These questions have lingered as I have further explored religious life on campus with my girlfriend Neha.

Neha grew up Hindu, occasionally going to one of the numerous, gorgeous temples scattered throughout her home state of New Jersey. At home, temple is a place of comfort, to which she has turned for spiritual and personal advice during difficult times. More importantly, it has served her and her family as a place of community, where they can gather with other South Asian people.

At Harvard, though, Neha has often felt disillusioned with, and uncomfortable in, Hindu religious spaces — specifically Canaday basement, which houses Harvard Hindu students association Dharma. She feels the space is cramped and dilapidated, and that being shoved into the basement of a freshman dorm has suppressed what should otherwise be a thriving religious community.

Religious faith is, of course, personal, but it is also communal. The clear inequity in the resources available to those of minority faiths at Harvard isn’t just unfortunate in that it makes worship uncomfortable — it also stunts the development of meaningful communities.

Conversations with Neha inspired me to join her at a meeting of Dharma for aarti, a Hindu worship ritual. Neha led me by the hand to the basement of Canaday, infamously Harvard’s ugliest freshman dorm, to a room smaller than many classrooms at Harvard. South Asian students — maybe around 50 — crowded in until it was full to bursting.

Despite the temperate weather outside, the room was unbearably hot, and the mass of people made it difficult to move around, to stand, and especially to sit, as everyone does for a minute of meditative reflection during aarti. (Sitting is made even harder by the mice that have been known to scurry around the premises.)

Neha has told me that she often returns from aarti frustrated, and that frustration keeps her from attending as often as she otherwise might. It’s not difficult to see why. Even with the lively group gathered there, standing in the basement, it’s hard not to feel as though Harvard has treated its Hindu students as an afterthought. After attending aarti once, I couldn’t help but think about how much Hindu students, especially those working hard to run Dharma, could benefit from access to a proper prayer space.

On the walk back from Dharma, Neha told me about how she learned “Om Jai Lakshmi Mata” — a Hindi song dedicated to the goddess Lakshmi — from her grandmother, and how she remembers her mom singing it, and what a beautiful voice her mom has. She was, and still is, upset that something so meaningful to her is now so inaccessible.

My experience exploring Catholicism at Harvard has been a totally different story. I’ve had the chance to attend mass at St. Paul’s, the gigantic, beautiful Catholic church on Bow Street. The Harvard Catholic community, though relatively small, is strong.

The Harvard Catholic Center, meanwhile, has guest talks from popular bishops from around the country, weekend retreats for Catholic students, and guest lectures on topics like Philosophy and Theology. That’s not to mention that our services are led by actual, professional clergy.

It is almost comically depressing to compare the worship spaces available to me and other Christians with those afforded to Hindu students, or, for that matter, almost any student who doesn’t take Christ to be their lord and savior.

Last Saturday, Harvard saw the first South Asian convocation, at which more than 200 students and faculty members gathered in Epworth Church to celebrate South Asian students. Held by Harvard’s South Asian Student Association, the event was social and community-driven. Students dressed up in kurtas and sarees and lehengas to celebrate each other.

Look around. Harvard has a lot of South Asian students. Like everyone else, many of those students value celebrating their culture, whether it be through social events, religious services, or holiday celebrations. A robust foundation for doing so requires improved physical spaces and concrete financial support from the institution.

If Harvard really cares about diversity, as it absolutely should, they must take religious life for all students seriously.

Vander O.B. Ritchie ’26, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a History and Philosophy concentrator in Leverett House.