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12 years 9 months
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Amy Ferguson
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Book stack
First Name
Amy
Last Name
Ferguson
Biography

I am part of a web of writers, editors, videographers, communicators, and ambassadors who help shine a light on how we can all contribute to a loving world. For me this comes through in three simple words: reveal, serve, and inspire. It means researching, listening, sleuthing, writing, connecting, and conspiring for good. 

Our teachers in this work are numerous. I have learned so much from others' fine "translations" of the need for love in our world--epidemiologists, neuroscientists, and public health specialists, artists, clergy, and various lifelong practitioners of compassion--who carry this work into realms of our social life like schools, prisons, and law enforcement circles.

My background is deep in the humanities, and my family tree is of full Catholics (faithful and lapsed), skeptics, and librarians. I have a master's degree in literature and am drawn to volunteer with arts-related organizations and projects. 


 

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Quote

“We are all born with 200 bad poems in us.”  —Billy Collins

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Internal Communications Officer
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Selections from the We the People Book Club.
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Staff Department
Email
aferguson@fetzer.org

What do we mean when we say we are spiritual? We are asking this question as part of the Study of Spirituality in America. As the qualitative phase of this research concludes, we are uncovering important nuances in what religion and spirituality mean to people today and how this realm of life informs our behaviors and actions.

Sign up to receive news about the Study of Spirituality in America.

This fall, prior to fielding a nationwide survey, we'll be sharing what we’re learning in this qualitative phase at the following events. 

Religion News Association: Measuring Millennial Spirituality
Millennials are embracing forms of spirituality that connect the human spirit in soulful ways both inside and outside the walls of houses of worship. On this panel, we will 

  • hear from the director of religion research at Pew Research Center about how trends are—and aren’t—shifting,
  • learn about college students’ evolving worldviews from Interfaith Youth Core’s IDEALS study, and
  • hear how young people are uniquely defining and living spiritual lives from the Study of Spirituality in America.

Society for the Scientific Study of Religion: Researching Spirituality and Community Life to Sharpen Philanthropic Program Work
Philanthropy is at its best when its work is rooted in insights from well-designed research. On this panel, Fetzer program staff and study designers will speak to how rigorous research can inform organizational strategies and how to design a collaborative research process can make that happen.

Upswell: The Changing Landscape of Religion, Spirituality, and Identity in America
Changemakers seeking to do their best work and inspire people to join their cause, benefit from understanding the core beliefs that give people hope, meaning, and purpose. The Study of Spirituality in America offers a peek into how people’s spiritual lives compel them to act in the world, and this workshop will help changemakers apply that research to the causes they care most about.

Sign up to receive news about the Study of Spirituality in America.

Veronica Selzler, director at Hattaway Communications, oversees the research and advisory group for the Study of Spirituality in America.

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Veronica Selzler