TRAININGs
Sacred Writes: Public Scholarship on Religion, hosted by Northeastern University, is designed to address a gap between disciplinary expertise and effective communication strategies. Scholars of religion and theology are in a unique position to provide crucial textual, cultural, and historical context for pressing current issues like health care legislation, climate change, and immigration reform. But most of us lack the training to do that sort of work.
Our in-depth, cohort-based training program provides scholars with opportunities to acquire skills, identify resources, and build the communities of support necessary to produce public scholarship on religion. Since our founding in 2018, we have equipped 300 scholars to do this work, resulting in the creation of more than 700 pieces of public scholarship. You can read about the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025 training cohorts, and see examples of their work here.
Our curriculum asks you to reflect on scholarly “vocation” and purpose, as well as practice concrete skills. There are eight units: Why Go Public?; Risks, Rewards and Responsibilities; Rethinking Your Expertise; Communicating with the Public; Social Media; Op-Eds and Explainers; Interviews; and Next Steps. Each includes a 45-minute training podcast and slide deck, discussion questions, and applied learning exercises designed to be completed in small groups. Estimated total time commitment for the training, including both asynchronous learning and scheduled group meetings, is approximately forty hours, spread over three months. Sacred Writes provides all training fellows with a $500 stipend.
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Applications have just closed for our Fall Semester virtual public scholarship training for 12 scholars focused on religion, gender, and sexuality, funded by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. The training will run from September 8th to November 3rd, 2026, with 8 training calls scheduled for Tuesday afternoons, 12-1pm ET with Sacred Writes Associate Director Brook Wilensky-Lanford. Applications are due August 25th for notification by September 1st. Here is the application form and our FAQ page.
Please note there will be THREE MORE training cohorts coming this year via the Carpenter Foundation. We will announce application deadlines for each a month or so ahead of the start date, please stay tuned.
January Intensive 2027: Zoom meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12-1pm EST. (Jan. 5, 7,12,14,19, 21, 26, 28) A four-week accelerated version of our online training. Time commitment: two one-hour Zoom meetings per week; plus additional month one-on-one mentorship with Brook.
Spring 2027 Training, Zoom meetings Tuesday from 12-1pm EST. (Feb. 16, 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6th) Two-month online training designed for academics during their teaching semesters. Eight one-hour Zoom meetings Tuesday afternoons, plus additional omentorship with Brook.
June 2027 Intensive: Teams meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12-1pm EST. (June 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24) A four-week accelerated version of our online training. Time commitment: two one-hour Teams meetings per week, an additional month of one-on-one mentorship with
Questions about the training may be directed to Sacred Writes Associate Director, Brook Wilensky-Lanford.