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It's Been a Minute

Goodbye, church... Hello, Wellness Industrial Complex!

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 β€’ 8.8K Ratings

πŸ—“οΈ 17 March 2025

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

America is a deeply spiritual nation. Over 70% of us say that we feel spiritual in some way. But – at the same time – we're getting less religious. So for people who are spiritual-but-not-religious – what's replacing organized religion? What do they believe – and where does that show up in their day-to-day lives? In our new series called Losing My Religion, It's Been a Minute is going to find out.

This week, we're getting into wellness. It's a global industry worth 6 trillion dollars that's starting to encompass all kinds of things – including spirituality: from the spirituality of wellness practices like yoga and reiki, to treating wellness itself like a religion. Brittany is joined by Alyssa Bereznak, wellness editor for the LA Times, and Rina Raphael, author of the book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care, to get into what people get out of a wellness-based spiritualism.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hi, I'm Morgan Sung, host of Close All Tabs from KQED, part of the NPR network, where every week we reveal how the online world collides with everyday life.

0:09.0

You don't know what's true or not, because you don't know if AI was involved in it.

0:14.0

And I think we will see it to a streamer president, maybe within our lifetimes.

0:18.1

You can find Close All Tabs wherever you listen to podcasts.

0:24.9

Really? maybe within our lifetimes. You can find close all tabs wherever you listen to podcasts. Hello, hello.

0:26.4

I'm Brittany Luce and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR,

0:29.7

a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident.

0:47.2

America is a deeply spiritual nation.

0:52.2

Over 70% of us say that we feel spiritual in some way,

0:56.7

but at the same time, we're also getting less religious.

1:02.6

When asked to check a box next to their religious affiliation,

1:06.9

28% of Americans check the box labeled, None.

1:10.7

The nuns, as they're sometimes called, are now the biggest religious group in the United

1:14.6

States. But for people who are spiritual, but not religious, what's replacing organized religion?

1:21.5

What do they believe? And where does that belief show up in all of our lives? Well, for the next

1:27.3

couple weeks on our new series called

1:29.3

Losing My Religion, we're going to find out. Today, we're getting into wellness. It's a global

1:38.8

industry worth $6 trillion that's starting to encompass all kinds of things, including spirituality,

1:46.5

from the spirituality of wellness practices like yoga and rakey to treating wellness itself like

1:51.9

a religion.

1:52.9

I want to know what do people get out of a wellness-based spirituality?

1:58.5

And is it a spirituality of the self?

...

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