Religion and Spirituality

Amidst all the devastation of this remarkable moment, COVID is extremely clarifying. It reveals the pain of loneliness and social isolation. It uncovers how profoundly most people long to focus on what matters most. And it stimulates amazing creativity and resilience.

We see five major COVID-fueled shifts in our religious and spiritual landscape.

In this moment, as many are rethinking how to observe important religious holidays, Rabbi Josh Feigelson, PhD, executive director of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality shared this reflection on celebrating Passover during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How can we celebrate our holiday of freedom when we are confined? That’s a question I’m hearing a lot this year, and one I ask myself.

While the news continues to call our attention to political divisions, we are mindful of the spiritual teaching of “one hand, one heart” —that all our individual appearances are specific manifestations of the Whole Essence. This concept of Divine Oneness—of a prevailing unity behind the appearance of diversity—is a central theme in many mystical traditions. Regardless of our political stance, we can benefit from considering and focusing on our oneness—our commonalities—rather than on that which scares and divides us. Here are some spiritual practices to build awareness of our unity.

Our founder, John E. Fetzer, spent a lifetime following a deep spiritual yearning as documented in Brian C. Wilson’s book John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age. The book was recently awarded the Historical Society of Michigan's highest honor, the State History Award. Today, we celebrate the birth of Mr.

As many Christians engage in the observance of Lent, we are drawn to two reflections that offer wisdom for these times and practices any of us can engage in, regardless of our faith.

Opening our hearts and beginning again: “Lent is a call to weep for what we could have been and are not…” wrote Sister Joan Chittister in 2011. “Lent is not about penance. Lent is about becoming, doing and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now.”

In December 2019, the Fetzer Institute hosted a small meeting for the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab. They met to talk about the present and future of spiritual care in many places. Together, we explored how we might move into a future with better spiritual care. We recognized that all have a right to care for their human spirit, no matter who or where they are. For three days, we focused on a few key parts of today’s sacred landscape. We talked about how these parts might inform the future of chaplaincy.

To many people, religiosity and spirituality are two ways of saying the same thing. But the recently released "What Does Spirituality Mean to Us? A Study of Spirituality in the United States Since COVID," along with its 2020 predecessor, makes clear that religiosity and spirituality are not the same. At a time when organized religion is on the decline, it is more important than ever to understand the many ways that people connect with the transcendent, for while some do so through conventional forms of religious worship, others seek spirituality through other means.