Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future
How do Americans learn about and connect with religious, spiritual, and other meaning-making systems?
About this Work
Religious infrastructures are changing. Rates of affiliation are declining; congregations are shuttering; expectations of leadership are changing. Yet 7 in 10 US adults describe themselves as spiritual, including the “spiritual but not religious.” This project asks how spiritual change is happening today as innovative delivery systems for spirituality emerge. The project examines this “spiritual infrastructure of the future” by building the scholarly, public, and professional networks required to understand it. We aim to document this chapter in religious innovation and ensure that scholars, educators and religious leaders are prepared for continued changes to this key endeavor of the human experience.
How We're Exploring the Question
We do this work in three main areas: scholarly research, public-facing programming accessible to all, and building pipelines to professional leadership. Learn more below.
Research
Our research will examine congregational closures (endings), spiritual innovation (beginnings), and the changing shape of religious leadership.
Public-facing Programming
This project will advance public knowledge and understanding of the spiritual infrastructure of the future by sharing its findings through both legacy and new media.
Professional Pipelines
We recognize the importance of steeping current doctoral students in the conversation about the emerging spiritual infrastructure so they can understand and lead this work in the future.
In the News
March 25, 2025 - News Item One Title
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc luctus, dolor quis posuere aliquam, risus est porta nulla, ac sollicitudin lacus arcu ac augue. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Ut nibh nunc, egestas auctor vulputate vel, feugiat a tellus. Read the article.
News Item Two This a Longer Title Like Maybe the Title of a Journal Article (3/25/25)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc luctus, dolor quis posuere aliquam, risus est porta nulla, ac sollicitudin lacus arcu ac augue. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Ut nibh nunc, egestas auctor vulputate vel, feugiat a tellus. Read the article.
News Item Three This Could Even be a Video Link
March 25, 2025 - Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc luctus, dolor quis posuere aliquam, risus est porta nulla, ac sollicitudin lacus arcu ac augue. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Watch the video.
News Item Four
March 25, 2025 - Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc luctus, dolor quis posuere aliquam, risus est porta nulla, ac sollicitudin lacus arcu ac augue. Read the press release.
News Item Five and the last one
March 25, 2025 - Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc luctus, dolor quis posuere aliquam, risus est porta nulla, ac sollicitudin lacus arcu ac augue. Read the press release.
Project Leadership
Wendy Cadge
President and Professor of Sociology
Bryn Mawr College
Diane Winston
Knight Chair in Media and Religion
Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
Amy Lawton
Research Manager
Chaplaincy Innovation Lab
Robert Wuthnow
Professor of Sociology Emeritus and former director of the Princeton University Center for the Study of Religion
Princeton University
Jonathan Anjara
Associate Professor of Anthropology and Faculty Director of Professional Development
Brandeis University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.
This project is also supported by 9 advisors from academic, religious leadership, and religious education. Learn more about them here.