The Divine Body will bring together artists, scholars, and clergy in a multidisciplinary exploration of Western images of God and the ways in which these images continue to shape our ideas about the body, sexuality, gender, and spiritual transcendence. By means of different media, the project will explore and challenge conventional views of the divine and human, aiming to encourage discussion about how ancient religious images and beliefs continue to reverberate through modern secular life.

The first articulation of this project will take place in October 2005 in New York City at Columbia University School of the Arts, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Union Theological Seminary. It will involve a multi-venue Art Exhibition, Public Symposium, and performances (see Schedule of Events).

After initiating The Divine Body in New York City, we hope to take the project to a variety of locations both nationally and internationally. By combining work by artists from a variety of backgrounds in a number of different venues, we hope to show the many ways in which religious expression takes form in diverse cultural settings. The project seeks to address these troubling times of religious extremism and fundamentalism by broadening the scope of understanding of religious traditions and conventions that can, all too often, appear irreconcilably linked to the current political climate. By highlighting religious diversity and providing an open, creative forum for the discussion of religious difference, we hope to help dispel the myth of religious homogeneity, both past and present.