The focus on religious affiliation shows spirituality is in decline in the United States, but that’s not the whole story. Morgan ShipleyAssociate Professor of Religious Studies Michigan State University. Recent According to a Pew Research Center survey, 28% of American adults say they have no religion.Digging a little deeper, Shipley found that people with no religious affiliation, sometimes called “nones,” are a diverse group of people with a broader perspective on spirituality.
As MSU Folio Endowed Chair in SpiritualityShipley is a pioneer in his research and book,Psychedelic Mysticism: Altered Consciousness, Religious Experience, and Voluntary Farmers in Postwar America.Below, Shipley explores how spirituality and identity are expanding and becoming more inclusive.
What does spirituality mean in a broader sense, and how is it changing?
Morgan Shipley, Foglio Endowed Professor of Spirituality in the College of Arts and Letters, Michigan State University. Photo by Ryan Frederick.
Many people think of spirituality as being associated with religion. But the more I talk to people, the more I hear about efforts to cultivate spirituality outside of organized religion. Spirituality is increasingly focused on how people can enhance their own happiness so that they can respond to the happiness of others. Spirituality represents a pursuit of responsible engagement, not just of oneself.
Instead of talking about what spirituality is, I try to explore what spirituality does. Spirituality represents an ambitious approach to living, a way of orienting oneself in the world and finding answers to existence’s most pressing questions. It is an approach to actively living with others through what I call mutual compassion.
In a secular sense, I define spirituality as a holistic effort to become whole human beings – finding our purpose and meaning, strengthening our connections with others, and striving for a more just and equal world.
How do you teach spirituality to your students in today’s divisive culture?
My classes are designed to help students learn about the historical necessity of centering humane living and what happens when we fail to do so. I guide students through an exploration of spirituality and social justice movements to help them understand the impact of living intentionally and compassionately. In addition to teaching about spirituality, I also invite students into moments of self-reflection and collective action that foster values of compassion, empathy, and altruism in their daily lives.
I strive to value my students’ experiences by creating opportunities for them to develop as more complete human beings. It’s not just about skills, but how we engage with people, how we navigate differences, and how we strive for inclusion.
At the end of every class, I say, “Be beautiful people. Always act with compassion. I look forward to seeing you all in the next class.” What I mean is for my students to be themselves, embrace that as their truth, and be willing to do that for others.
Several recent surveys have found that religious affiliation is on the decline. Are you seeing these trends in your work?
Answering “none” on a survey about religious affiliation does not mean that a person has given up on spirituality or lacks any faith. term “Anonymous” The term is often used provocatively when talking about the decline of religion in America, but people answer “none” for a variety of reasons.
Morgan Shipley’s research explores shifts in spirituality, belonging and religious identity. Photo by Ryan Frederick.
Some people answer “None” depending on how society views religion. Answering “None” in a survey only indicates that some respondents do not follow a religious institution or profess a traditional faith. However, it tells us nothing about how they relate to spirituality. Many “None”s simply Thinking about spirituality in a totally different wayIt is no longer about religious faith or belonging to a church, synagogue or mosque, but is actually about a broader sense of belonging and creating meaning.
I’m excited to see where the research goes, but it’s also important to be nuanced in how we frame questions about religion and spirituality in these studies. What can we learn about how people define what we might call faith and the various practices that we might call spiritual? Perhaps we are simply redefining what religion, religious belonging, and spirituality mean. These redefinitions can lead us to more inclusive ways of relating to and understanding other people.
What role will technology and artificial intelligence play in people’s religious and spiritual practices?
As traditional religions lose adherents, many things are emerging to fill the gaps, especially when it comes to values and community. One of these new tools is a focus on technology, specifically AI, which has the potential to be very exciting in some ways, but also very bad.
I’m interested in the role AI plays in American spirituality and religion—not to replace religion or spirituality (though I suppose that might be the case for some), but to use tools like ChatGPT to expand spiritual practices outside of religious contexts.
How can AI and technology increase access to these conversations and leverage those learnings in a really positive and effective way? I think technology has the potential to not only replace that, but ultimately become a vehicle for many people to cultivate spirituality.
What do you think America’s religious landscape will be like over the next decade?
There are small groups that use religion to enforce exclusivity, and we see that especially in American politics. I think it gets too much attention, and I think it says more about our political and cultural situation than it does about religion itself. I think over the next decade, my work and research will become increasingly public and help change that narrative.
I feel that while people are moving away from traditional affiliations, they are not losing sight of the important role that religion plays in philanthropy, charity and justice work. That’s why people are using the word spirituality more and seeing it as about the intertwining of individual and collective well-being.
Spirituality is about cultivating an open mind that recognizes and accepts others. To be fair, we need to become more inclusive. The space and direction that religion and spirituality are moving towards could be towards not only being more inclusive, but also towards greater empathy and altruism.
