Hidden Spaces: Emerson Chapel
In Emerson Chapel, where Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered his groundbreaking 1838 Commencement address to the Harvard Divinity School (HDS), a small group of students sat quietly on yoga mats and hassocks. Beneath a marble tablet inscribed with words from Emerson’s controversial speech, in which he challenged mainstream Christianity by exhorting students to “cast behind you all conformity, and acquaint men at first hand with Deity,” instructor Chris Berlin advised the weekly Wednesday meditation group to ignore thoughts or distractions, and “simply ride the waves of your breath.” When Emerson gave his famous address, he discussed the failures of what he called “historical Christianity” and argued instead for an idealistic view of human reason and goodness. At a time when Harvard was considered the center of Unitarian thought, Emerson’s speech was harshly criticized; the press called it “utterly distasteful.” Emerson would not be invited to speak there again for several decades. Emerson was...