FAITH, SPIRITUALITY & THE FUTURE, a CBS Interfaith Special, looks at how spirituality is evolving in our culture and what it means for religious institutions. This special broadcast will be on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, April 3, 2016 (check local listings).
While more Americans move away from organized religion, many still profess a
BELIEF in God and consider themselves spiritual, claiming to encounter God and the sacred in nature and in their relationships with friends and family rather than within the traditional setting of a church. Diana Butler Bass, theologian and author of Grounded: Finding God in the World-A Spiritual Revolution, believes this is one of the most important shifts happening in the history of religion. "Religious institutions have such a problem on their hands," she says. "They have to figure out new ways of talking about God, and what does it really mean if we're living in a time when God's actual location is changing in the experience of people?"
One of the largest demographics driving this shift in spirituality are millennials, young people between the ages of 18 to 34. Tom Beaudoin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Religion at Fordham University, discusses why many millennials do not want to be defined by one particular religious tradition, even if they were raised in one.
The special also explores how meditation is on the rise, acting as a spiritual outlet for many people who are unaffiliated with traditional religious organizations. We visit New York City's first drop-in meditation studio called MNDFL. Co-founded by Western Buddhist meditation teacher Lodro Rinzler and Ellie Burrows, they discuss the growing interest in the practice.
Also featured on the program is Rev. Erik Martínez Resly, a Unitarian Universalist minister in Washington, D.C., who created the Sanctuaries in 2013. Comprised of both religious and secular participants, this group of artists and community organizers explore their spirituality through art and music with the hope that it inspires positive change for the greater good.
John P. Blessington is Senior Executive Producer and Liz Kineke is Producer. In creating the topics and content of this
CBS Cultural & Religious Documentary input is sought from religious scholars, clergy and others including Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, Sikh and various interfaith organizations.
Following the April 3 air date, this program may be viewed again at
www.cbsnews.com/religion-and-culture. "Like" us on
Facebook.com/CBSReligion and follow us on Twitter @CBSReligion.
Image courtesy of CBS
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