Imagine a world where AI is omnipresent. It occupies your home, your car, your workplace, your pocket. Even your mind. Every aspect of your daily routine is seamlessly integrated with this sophisticated technology. It anticipates your needs, completes your thoughts, deciphers your emotions, plays your favorite songs, drafts your emails and even suggests your next Read more
As a nation, we’re still figuring out what to do with Matariki. Regional anniversary days or King’s birthdays are easy. Many have their own rituals and routines: beach, boat or bach for the weekend is the aspiration for most of us. In one sense, Matariki is a long-overdue move towards a confident national identity. Most Read more
Spirituality is a powerful resource that can help us thrive at work. “At its best, work provides us the ability to support ourselves and our loved ones, and can also provide us with a sense of meaning, opportunities for growth, and community.” So says the Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Well-Being. As Read more
In Europe, the number of church members is declining – but Christianity remains strong worldwide. However, the structures do not remain stable, but are constantly changing. Thomas Schlag is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Zurich, where he heads the Centre for Church Development, where he conducts research into participation and church development. Read more
In the past 11 years, it has become clear that the United States is the capital of the organised opposition to Pope Francis. There is an institutional opposition that seeks to maintain the institutional status quo, a theological opposition that’s resisting “synodality”, the newest phase of the reception of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), and Read more
According to a recent survey conducted by Pew, 72% of individuals who identify themselves as religiously unaffiliated still believe in a higher power. Furthermore, about 20% of these individuals also believe in the God depicted in the Bible. In her 2020 book Strange Rites, Tara Isabella Burton examined how an “eclectic spiritual hunger” is expressed Read more
You know when you start to make a smoothie and everything is loud, the blender is shaking, and you think it’s about to explode? That was me at age five realising that my beliefs contradict each other. Growing up in a Māori Catholic family, I struggled to exist within two worlds. My spirituality has never Read more
The meaning of spirituality has developed over time as our understanding of culture, religion, and personal development has changed. Traditionally, spirituality was part of religious practice and the attempt to inhabit the original shape of things or live in the image of God. In early Christianity, spirituality is related to living a life orientated by Read more
Hallow, a Catholic prayer and meditation app that claims over a million downloads, has raised over US$52 million in investments. Prayer apps are not new. Silicon Valley startups popularized mindfulness and meditation apps as early as 2010, although many have criticized those apps for being spiritually shallow. Hallow’s young founders – devout lay Catholic millennials Read more
A new study found that Generation Z Americans — defined as those age 13-25 — increasingly distanced themselves from religious institutions like churches, mosques or synagogues in 2020, finding spirituality instead in practices like tarot card readings and sharing fears and musings in online spaces like Tik Tok. Half of the more than 10,000 young Read more