Metaphysical Spirituality Project

The Metaphysical Spirituality Project is supported by a generous grant (63627) from the John Templeton Foundation. The project’s goal is to catalyze and strengthen a conversation among scholars and the public about metaphysical spirituality. The distinctiveness of this spiritual tradition has long been overlooked because those who study it have called it many things, including the occult, esotericism, New Age, and mysticism. Though metaphysical spirituality has been influential for centuries within religions like Christianity and Islam, the growth of nonreligion has made it more popular than ever among spiritual seekers. The project will produce two monographs, an edited volume, numerous essays, and a series of public events in Santa Barbara and Chicago.