Part of the Fetzer Insitute‘s mission is discovering “new ways of knowing our sacred world” and fostering ways of exploring our personal spiritual journeys as we work toward “transformed communities and societies in which all people can flourish”.

The variety of work the Fetzer institute contributes in the fields of democracy, education, faith, and spirituality speaks to the depth of the spiritual transformation occurring at a global scale. While it's common to assume that we live in a mostly secular society, the growing number of individuals who engage in spiritual practices without belonging to a particular religious heritage speaks to the desire to engage more deeply with the world of spirituality outside of the context of a traditional faith.

As our society changes rapidly, it is also growing more sensitive to the histories and lineages that are being passed down less and less. This silent erasure of tradition, and the simultaneous adoption of practices outside of a traditional context, served as inspiration for this issue of our newsletter. The work being spearheaded by Sharing Spiritual Heritage highlights these challenges, and creates a container for dialog and action to bridge the gap between traditional ways of engaging with spirituality and the needs of spiritual seekers in today's world.

The Fetzer Institute produced the Sharing Spiritual Heritage report after several years of research and conversation focused on answering the following question:

How will we hold onto the rich teachings of our historic faith and wisdom traditions while applying them creatively in today's time?

In January 2020, 28 individuals from diverse spiritual backgrounds met for three days of dialogue considering ways that practices, narratives, rituals, and community may be passed down in unconventional and imaginative ways that also connect to and respect the heritage they arose from.

Topics for dialog included:

1. The transmission of traditional practices, and traditional processes of spiritual growth, in ways that meet the needs of the modern spiritual seeker
2. Identifying the best practices being implemented by different spiritual factions
3. How to create opportunities for collaboration amongst invested parties, including researchers, ordained leaders, devout religious believers, atheists, people who identified as “Spiritual But Not Religious”, and leaders of secular communities

Five main themes arose from these conversations to guide the emerging field of Sharing Spiritual Heritage. These themes include:

1. The need for a spiritual adaptation of American religion to meet the needs of modern spiritual seekers who are less interested in religious affiliation and are making new choices when it comes to identity, ethics, cultivating their inner lives, and seeking transcendence
2. The practice of drawing from different cultures and traditions in order to offer a plethora of contemplative practices that may serve in cultivating one's spiritual life, with the aim of creating a more whole and loving world as generally sought out by today's spiritual aspirants
3. Respecting and honoring the lineage from which these practices came from by paying attention to authenticity, cultural adaptation, and a misuse of practices due to appropriation, while also recognizing the oppression caused by many of the faith organizations associated with these lineages
4. Attending to traditional processes of spiritual growth, maturation and learning, and adapting those processes to meet the needs of the modern seeker
5. The need for religious and spiritual institutions to be open to cycles of reform and renewal, while finding a way to preserve and carry forward traditional truths and wisdoms

These conversations also led to recommendations for building the structures and disciplines needed to support the work of Sharing Spiritual Heritage. These recommendations included:

1. Recognition that spiritual heritage includes the pain of those who have been marginalized by religion, as well as the need to create diverse opportunities for spiritual healing. This includes initiatives around de-centering whiteness in this sector, and creating space for leadership from LGBTQ+, BIPOC and other voices that have been oppressed
2. Developing networks of connection across various institutions, funders, denominations, faith leaders and seminaries to offer more support for those feeling isolated in their work
3. Developing new infrastructure to ensure that spiritual innovators and leaders of emerging religious and spiritual communities have support for their work, which was traditionally provided by larger organizing bodies such as denominations and national networks
4. Nurturing leaders in the field with continued professional development, training, and spiritual formation as a part of the field-building needed to support and grow the work
5. Testing new ideas using seed funding and pilot projects to provide diverse opportunities for spiritual formation, grounded in the wisdom and practices of the traditions

The Fetzer Institute's goal is to continue building the work of Sharing Spiritual Heritage by enabling “religious and spiritual innovators [to] serve as midwives of spiritual awakening, utilizing the rich depth of their religious heritage for further transformation of self and society”.

You can read the Fetzer Insititute's full report on Sharing Spiritual Heritage here