Category: Autumn/Winter 2019

Lives of Unbelief

Portraits of nonbelievers from five different countries. Photographs and interviews by Aubrey Wade.

‘Namaste All Day’

Spiritual appropriations and commodifications are always in negotiation with power. By Andrea R. Jain

The Rise of ‘Spiritual but Not Religious’ Is a Story of Hope

Since the 2016 election, teaching Andrew Delbanco’s The Real American Dream and Catherine L. Albanese’s A Republic of Mind and Spirit has become more relevant and constructive, as this religious studies professor has come to view the rise of the spiritual but not religious as a story of hope. By Darryl Caterine

Apocalyptic Grief, Radical Joy

A selected list of readings, films, and art from the course, “Apocalyptic Grief, Radical Joy,” cotaught by Terry Tempest Williams and Matthew L. Potts

Filling in the Contours of ‘Unbelievers’

The authors in this issue do not lament or apologize for these shifts; they dive deeper into why they are happening, where the unaffiliated are gathering, and how they are making meaning. By Wendy McDowell

Facing Death without Religion

Nonreligious elders construct meaning making narratives from science and other sources, and these frameworks provide coherence and agency. By Christel Manning

A Design for Living

Three ministry innovators draw from religious, secular, and spiritual sources to develop programs addressing the existential crisis in the U.S. By Paul Massari

Spiritual, Sexual—and Religious?

Queer spiritual traditions reverse dominant assumptions about sex, understanding it as both an ethical challenge and a site of revelation. By Mark D. Jordan

Nuns and Nones Meet on the Edge

The pull that some Nones feel toward contemplative, social action has led to an unlikely collaboration with nuns, described as an “apprenticeship in prophetic community.” By Katie Gordon

Jewish Leaders Try Nontraditional Engagement

The 2013 Pew study on Jewish Americans prompted some leaders to take a new approach in engaging intermarried and young Jews disinterested in the traditional religious aspects of Judaism. By Shira Hanau

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