The case for a fresh spirituality in public life
Photograph by Pixabay via Pexels
Richard C. Harwood
American public life is consumed by political division these days. While it’s been true nationally for some time, I am finding in my work across the country that national politics are increasingly seeping into — indeed, even infecting — our local communities.
Political issues are often cynically used as “wedges” to drive us apart. They lock us into a tug-of-war, where winning for “our side” at any cost is all that matters. No doubt, we need politics to work. There are some issues that can only be addressed through our political process. But the daily ins and outs of “politics” can blind us to something more human, even spiritual, that we must attend to if we have any hope of moving forward and building a shared society together.
Amid widespread division and the ongoing degradation of our public lives, it’s time to foster a fresh spirituality in public life. Think of this as a different type of wedge: one that taps into a wellspring that serves to illuminate our shared humanity rather than divide us.
The fresh spirituality I have in mind recognizes that we are all seeking to experience transcendence. That each of us is in search of something larger than ourselves. Of course, many of us find this in our religious engagement. But whether you are a person of faith or not, this spiritual urge exists within all of us. And what makes this yearning so powerful is that the transcendent in public life is rooted in universal values that live within each of us and make us human — empathy, compassion, decency, dignity, welcoming the stranger, shared aspirations.
In my work across all 50 states, in communities of all shapes and sizes, I continue to find that centering this shared search for the transcendent actually gives us a more productive frame to focus on. To rally around. To commit to sharing, even as our real differences and disagreements remain. We become better able to muster the courage and humility necessary to make progress when we ignite within ourselves the transcendent.
Let me be clear. I’m not looking for feel-good unity that avoids hard truths. That’s not just unrealistic, it’s a dead end. Tension is necessary in a community. Disagreements ought to be welcome. In any faith or civic community, there is seldom 100% agreement on anything. We must look for the common threads that bind us. With the state our current public life is in, this search is even more urgent.
It’s not time to abandon spirituality in public life. It’s time to foster a fresh spirituality in public life. Turning outward points us back to those universal values that ought to ground us. And in doing so, it unlocks a new path forward to creating a truly shared society — one that works for all of us, not just some of us.
A fresh spirituality has the potential to rekindle our public life, even amid our various competing political ideologies and religious factions. In fact, I don’t even think we need to label it “spirituality.” We just need to create conditions where the transcendent is possible. This will take being more intentional in tapping into these universal values – not just making room for them, but fostering them, until each of us is no longer merely an isolated individual, but part of something larger than ourselves.
About a decade ago, Harvard Divinity School released a report called “How We Gather.” It looked at a variety of secular organizations and groups that had developed the kind of community traditionally associated with religious communities. Examples included the fitness programs CrossFit, SoulCycle, and other similar groups. Here’s what the organizations they studied all had in common: community, personal transformation, social transformation, purpose finding, creativity, and accountability.
Many had one more thing in common too: they were designed to attract a sliver of any given community. So, even as they offered a sense of spirituality, they were still missing something vital: engaging us as members of a larger community. As citizens.
I believe that fostering this fresh spirituality must begin with adopting a new mindset. In my work, I have come to call this mindset “turning outward” — which means putting community at the center of our shared lives, focusing on what really matters to people, and building something together that is attuned to the wider community.
This practice calls us to see each other’s shared humanity. To recognize the innate dignity and value of every human. To believe in one another’s innate capabilities. To commit to moving forward together, not apart.
Adopting this mindset leads us to a type of transcendence. I’ve seen it happen time and again in every community where I’ve worked over the past 35+ years. Turning outward points us back to those universal values that ought to ground us. It shifts the playing field from our political divides to our shared aspirations. It taps into something deeply human. And in doing so, it unlocks a new path forward to creating a truly shared society — one that works for all of us, not just some of us.
It’s not time to abandon spirituality in public life. It’s time to foster a fresh spirituality in public life.
Richard C. Harwood is president and founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization located in Bethesda, Maryland. He is the author of the bestselling book, “Stepping Forward: A Positive, Practical Path to Transform Our Communities and Our Lives.”
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
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