Hey everybody this is Aubrey Chavez from Faith Matters.

Organized religious communities have seen steep declines in

participation in recent decades and the rise of the nuns,

those who have no particular religious affiliation, is a well-rehearsed story.

But that story isn't just about loss and lack new forms of spiritual life and meaning making are emerging that seek to fill the universal longings of the human heart like belonging and

Transformation and love.

Casper Turcyle has studied this horizon of spiritual frontier

for many years.

Ten years ago, he and fellow Harvard Divinity School classmate Angie Thurston

wrote a report called How We Gather, which looked at how millennials were seeking

spirituality in seemingly secular communities like Crosspit, Soul Cycle, or Social Justice

Movements.

Since that report, Casper has continued to explore the changing spiritual practices of young people.

He started a very beloved podcast called Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.

He wrote a book called The Power of Ritual, and he has recently launched a new project called The Nearness, which is an online space to explore life's biggest questions in small communities.

In this conversation, Zach Davis talks with Casper about what he's learned in his years of studying and working on the edge of America's evolving spiritual landscape.

We're so excited to share this fascinating conversation with you and we hope that you enjoy it.

And with that we'll hand it over to Zach.

Thank you very much for joining us today, Casper.

Thanks for having me. I'm so glad to be here.

So Casper, your own story of how you came to this vocation and this path is fascinating and interesting. How do you

understand the path that led you here working in these problems of connection and meaning.

...