Faith-based Groups

Faith-based student clubs help to continue the active spiritual formation of our students on the YDS campus. These spaces also enhance specific ritualistic and symbolic practices that may be associated with any one particular tradition of faith. Additionally, these clubs may also help to enhance the various perspectives of our community by drawing from and centering in worship particular to different backgrounds, cultures, or lived-in experiences of our community. Typical experiences range from weekly prayer groups, bible study groups, experimental worship services, and traditional services that help to ground the faith of our community further.

Cultural and Affinity Groups

Cultural clubs can have significant overlap with some affinity clubs. Yet, their programming may be more focused on cultural or regional-specific initiatives that help to celebrate and raise awareness of geographical and ancestral cultures present in our student community. Affinity clubs serve to support, empower, and create meaningful experiences for groups and communities across society. Allyship is often also an important component for some affinity clubs, presenting opportunities for people who don’t identify with said community, but also want to engage, advocate, and educate themselves on the issues such communities can face - these groups are open to all potential members, regardless of lived experience or background.

Common Interest Groups

Clubs in this category span a large range of collective interests and passions that often try to meet the conversations and work undertaken in your academics. Such examples of these clubs include activities such as presenting papers or practice speeches on student-led research projects, academic intersections of faith & Christianity and topics such as ecology, innovation, and social justice. Clubs in this category can also often provide space away from the academical nature of the school; offering space to enjoy, try something new, and to take a moment out of the theological world. Examples of these club activities include working in the Divinity Community Garden, learning and engaging in non-Christian practices of faith and theology, and even recreational activities such as crafts and sports.

Nurturing Every Sacred Thread (NEST): A Student Organization

Nurturing Every Sacred Thread  ("NEST") gives voice to community members that are non-Christian, Christian adjacent, Christian pluralist, of diasporic traditions, and spiritual seekers.

We create space for students at YDS and beyond to explore diverse approaches to ritual, seasonal celebrations, the transformation of joy and grief, and other contemplative practices continually shaped by the student community.

Through this shared meaning-making, NEST seeks to enrich YDS’s capacity for celebration, mourning, reconciliation, and reflection on our common experiences — across all spiritual traditions.

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Roman Catholic Student Fellowship

RCSF exists to bring the Catholic students, faculty, and staff of YDS together as a community to learn together, grow in our Catholic faith, and get involved in local community events and service opportunities.

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YDS Anglican Student Fellowship

YDS Anglican Student Fellowship is a community-building organization for all those Yale Divinity School students interested in Episcopal (and global Anglican Communion) fellowship, conversation, and community-building. We are an organization welcoming of, but not limited to, students who also participate in Berkeley activities!

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Reformed Students Group

The Reformed Student Group hosts weekly student-led worship services intended to make room for non-academic spiritual reflection and building meaningful community. Created by students in the Reformed Studies Program, the services are often led by students belonging to Reformed and Reformed-adjacent traditions and borrow from Presbyterian (PCUSA) liturgies. However, the services are broadly ecumenical and open to all. The Reformed Student Group provides a space to explore what it means to be Reformed in the 21st century.

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Lutheran Student Organization

Through worship, retreats, prayer, and informal gatherings, the Lutheran Student Organization (LSO) provides fellowship for all YDS students involved in Lutheran traditions and beyond. Functioning within YDS's Lutheran Studies Program, students plan Tuesday evening Vespers at Bethesda Lutheran Church and intermittently assist with Lutheran chapel services in Marquand. The LSO also sponsors guest speakers and discussion forums for issues pertinent to the YDS community.

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Unitarian Universalists Student Group

The Unitarian Universalists Student Group provides support, denominational fellowship, advocacy, and opportunities for education and theological reflection for Unitarian Universalist students at YDS, as well as Unitarian Universalist worship for the wider YDS community.

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Yale Progressive Christian Students

The mission of our organization is (1) to provide an interdenominational Christian community that accepts, recognizes, and supports theological diversity, and fosters spiritual growth in its members, (2) to empower individuals by creating an encouraging environment that combats oppression and restrictions based on gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, ability, socioeconomic status, or personal beliefs, and (3) to provide opportunities for students to discuss matters of faith, and combine faith with action in order to promote compassion, justice, and inclusion. We hope to be authentic, connected, and engaged in and with the Yale and New Haven community.

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Tota Scriptura: A YDS Student Organization

Our mission is to create a space at Yale Divinity School where students can be formed in historic Christian faith and practice through shared study, worship, and fellowship.

This group is committed to grounding students in the authority of Scripture, the confession of the historic creeds, and the cultivation of spiritual disciplines that shape both academic life and vocational ministry. By fostering a community of prayer, theological reflection, and mutual encouragement, the group equips emerging leaders to remain rooted in the historic Christian tradition while engaging faithfully with the challenges of contemporary culture.

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Yale Black Seminarians

Yale Black Seminarians is a faith-based, student-led organization committed to enhancing the lives of black students at Yale Divinity School. The mission of the Yale Black Seminarians serves the entire Yale Divinity School community with a committed focus on mobilizing the presence of black students through advocacy, faith, and the pursuit of justice. Activities have included the Fall Revival, the Martin Luther King Day Worship Service, the Angel Tree Project at Christmas, and the Parks-King Lecture in the Spring. As an integral part of the YDS Community, the Yale Black Seminarians remain committed to diversity among both students and faculty.

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YDS Asian Students Association

Asian Students Association (ASA) provides a place for fellowship in the sharing of an ethnic bond and common faith. ASA is an inclusive space and community for students of Asian heritage, whether domestic or international students, along with fellow YDS students that are interested in advocacy of Asian/American issues. Frequent meetings roundtable discussions on current Asian/American theological issues, academic forums for the advancement of Asian American theology, and fellowship gatherings.

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DivOut: A Student Organization

DivOut is a space for the LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff of Yale Divinity School to join together in community. We are committed to care for one another, to seek justice, and to work for the full inclusion of all people, especially queer people, within spiritual communities. We recognize that the fight for queer liberation must be centered around ideals of intersectionality and we are committed to collective liberation. DivOut holds social, educational, and spiritual events throughout the school year with these values in mind. We continue to remember that YDS, as a historically Christian space, has not always been welcoming to queer members of its community and continues to hold room for growth. We aim to put continued pressure on the leaders of this institution to ensure that YDS is a safe and welcoming space for all students, faculty, and staff.

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Yale Divinity School Korean Students Association (YDSKSA)

The Yale Divinity School Korean Students Association (YDSKSA) includes individuals at YDS who identify themselves as Korean, Korean-American, or Korean-related, and who are also engaging in or practicing their lives within a global context. This organization advocates for the development and preservation of its cultural identities through various activities. Our gatherings provide a secure environment for sharing personal experiences related to integrating Korean culture and heritage into both religious and academic settings at Yale Divinity School and beyond.

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La Comunidad: A Student Organization

La Comunidad, the YDS Latinx/e Student Group, is dedicated to creating spaces for Latinx voices and bodies at YDS to gather and build a community of solidarity and support. La Comunidad also seeks to provide resources to promote theological and cultural education for an entire YDS student body preparing for service to the church and the world. La Comunidad hopes to foster comunidad Latina: an open, welcoming place to learn, struggle, and celebrate.

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YDS Womens Center

The YDSWC is a community welcoming of all people and focuses specifically on issues surrounding those who identify in various ways with womanhood. The YDSWC commits to creating a brave space on campus where women and allies can gather to share resources, knowledge, and stories, and advocate for women's rights.

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YDS International Students Association

The International Students Association (ISA) at Yale Divinity School exists to support and advocate for the interests of international students. Our mission is to provide a platform for cultural exchange, fellowship, and mutual support among students from diverse backgrounds.

ISA facilitates events, activities, and programs that promote cross-cultural understanding and enrich the YDS community through the sharing of global perspectives. Additionally, ISA serves as a resource for guidance and information on the unique challenges international students face., helping them to thrive academically, socially, and spiritually at Yale.

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Divinnovation [on hiatus]

Divinnovation is an organization that offers an interdisciplinary space where students can explore and collaborate at the intersections of theology, social entrepreneurship, law, business, and other non-traditional ministries. We foster innovation through relationship building, practical skill development, and community entrepreneurial events. Divinnovation maintains a partnership with the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY). The organization seeks to develop alumni and cross-campus ecosystems to support the faith-based projects and social impact work of future leaders emerging from YDS.

Death & Dying Club: A student Organization

Death & Dying Club is a space for open dialogue exploring death, dying, grief, ritual, and burial practices. We hope to foster a community where all can reflect on how considering our mortality informs what we do daily with our wild and precious lives. By way of sharing meals and conversation, engaging in creative practices, and hearing from guest speakers, we hope to learn together what it means to live and die well.

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Divinity Drama: A Student Organization

To provide an organizational framework for students putting on theatrical productions. To facilitate theological discussion through the lens of dramatic arts - interpreting and re-interpreting Christian ideas.

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GCRE | Graduate Conference in Religion and Ecology

Hosted at Yale University, the Graduate Conference in Religion and Ecology reflects a desire to provide a space for students to engage in dynamic, interdisciplinary conversations across curricular boundaries, and strives to connect ethos with ethics, and ethics to applicable practicality.

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YDS Student Musicians Collective

As a club, we aim: (1) to gather and discuss about music during weekly lunches, and (2) to host music performance opportunities (lunchtime salon concerts) to share our musical talents with the YDS community at large. We distinguish ourselves from performing in liturgical contexts, such as one would find in Marquand.

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Effervescence: YDS Student Journal of Religion

Effervescence aims to provide Yale Divinity School students with an opportunity to learn more about the editing and publishing process and explore the rich diversity of religion-related topics, regardless of prior journal experience or level of disciplinary knowledge. As a student-led, peer-reviewed journal, we are open to receiving papers written by graduate students from institutions across the globe, not just at YDS. By bringing together students from a diverse range of backgrounds and interests, we hope to create a sense of academic community and advance our shared mission of the critical study of religion.

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YDS Paracleats Student Soccer Team

The Yale Divinity School Paracleats are an intramural soccer in the Yale University Intramural League. People of all enthusiasm and abilities are welcome! It does not matter if you played in college or have never kicked a soccer ball, we can find a place for you and want you on the team.

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YDS DivFarm Student Group

The DivFarm serves as a space to foster growth food for students and local community, spiritual growth, and growth of community. We provide space for students and with local community members to plant and maintain their plots. It does this through personal plots for local individuals, community programming events, sustainability education, worship and mindfulness events, and as a managed space that people are free to visit and enjoy. We advocate for sustainability, environmental justice, food sovereignty, and lifelong experiential learning.

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Yale Civitas [on hiatus]

The Yale Civitas Society is dedicated to fostering rigorous discussion, scholarship, and engagement at the intersection of political theory, theology, and ethics. Our mission is to create an inclusive space for Yale affiliates to explore the complex relationship between faith, morality, and public life.

We aim to provide a platform for respectful dialogue on how theological traditions intersect with contemporary political, social, and ethical issues. By encouraging critical examination of these topics, we strive to promote interdisciplinary engagement, drawing together individuals from diverse academic, religious, and political backgrounds. Our goal is to cultivate a community where members can deepen their understanding of how theology informs public life, develop skills in reasoned debate, and engage in ethical reflection.

Yale Divinity Student Government

The purpose of the Student Government shall be the following:

To act as the legislative assembly of the student body of Yale Divinity School (the "Divinity School" or "YDS").

To serve as the primary representative of the student body before the faculty and administration of the Divinity School.

To act on behalf of the students and their interests on issues of YDS policy and community concern.

To advocate for the interests of the Divinity School students within the broader Yale University community.

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Common Ground [on hiatus]

Common Ground is a student group at YDS that invites anyone and everyone to the shared work of caring for the Earth, our common ground. Description: Common Ground is a faith-based, student-led group that aims to build community around caring for and celebrating our communal home. Through platforms of community building, education, and advocacy, Common Ground will provide a space for people to come together to respond to and reckon with environmental issues, giving particular attention to the climate emergency. We seek to deepen our relationships to one another and the ground we share through exploring reparative work rooted in faith, community, diversity, and celebration. At the same time, we acknowledge the fraught and beautiful complexity of "shared ground," and thus commit to grappling with and addressing the ongoing legacies of colonization, patriarchy, and racism. We are guided and inspired by scientific and traditional knowledge, including the practices of indigenous peoples who have stewarded these lands for millennia, which now comprise the city of New Haven, and the many saints, mystics, and practitioners of different faiths who have called on us to love and care for our one earth home. Additionally, we aim to provide environmental visibility to issues on campus, holding YDS accountable to our unique calling as an institution: to put faith and scholarship into action for the common good of all persons, beings, and ecosystems. Activities include potlucks, volunteer opportunities, Earth-based ceremonies, environmental education, supporting other groups, rallies, petitions, nonviolent direct action, etc.

DivineAbilities [on hiatus]

Our goal is to create a space of fellowship and support for people with disabilities, physical disabilities, mental illnesses, chronic illnesses, temporary disabilities, and learning disabilities. We advocate on behalf of current and future disabled students through policy change and institutional compliance with said policy at YDS and Yale. We recognize that many with disabilities and chronic illnesses do not feel like they have a place within religious institutions or have had pain surrounding their experiences. We want to provide justice and reconciliation for disabled people who have experienced systemic discrimination within faith communities. We strive to have courageous conversations about equity and the allocation of resources toward eliminating barriers at Yale. We offer opportunities for allies to utilize their privilege to work toward alleviating the labor, pain, and stress involved in fighting for disability equity. Lastly, we work with faculty to create academic programming that centers and uplifts disabilities and its intersections.

YDS SAGES: Second Career Students

This group will provide peer support and advocacy for those entering divinity school having already spent considerable time in prior occupations, professional careers, parenting or other family support, or other life experiences.

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YDS Knitting & Crochet Group [on hiatus]

The YDS Knitting Club is a fun and friendly group for all knitting enthusiasts at Yale Divinity School. Whether you're a pro or just starting out, join us to knit, chat, and unwind. Come make new friends and create beautiful, cozy items together!

Visual Arts Circle [on hiatus]

The Visual Arts Circle has three objectives centered around the religious arts. First, to provide a space for practicing artists (and art enthusiasts) to share their work and receive feedback. Second, to engage with art scholarship and facilitate museum and gallery visits. Third, to grow an artistic community and create collaborative works of art.

Contemplatives at Yale Divinity [on hiatus]

Our mission is to hold a contemplative space of prayer and practice for the Yale Divinity School community. We gather to open ourselves to receive and consent to God’s loving presence through the disciplines of the Christian contemplative tradition. We take an inter-spiritual approach of learning from and engaging with the wisdom traditions of other religions. Contemplatives at YDS is a community of prayer where all are welcome. Through weekly practice and special events, we seek to equip emerging leaders with contemplative tools for ministry inside and outside of YDS.

Unapologetically Jewish [on hiatus]

The mission of Unapologetically Jewish is to foster unity amongst people who value peace, love and respect for all people but especially Jewish People. Anyone who is anti-anti Semitism is welcome to join and learn more about Jewish people, the Jewish religion, Jewish spiritual, cultural, and social heritage.