I'm Audie Cornish. This is the assignment. And over the last year, we've seen plenty of stories about the resurgence of religion in America, especially among younger people.

I remember talking about this on an old episode around the election of Pope Leo, because there is a major resurgence, for instance, of young men in the Catholic Church.

But the thing is, the story doesn't end in the pews,

because at the same time, a very different kind of spiritual search is unfolding,

one that's happening far outside traditional churches and synagogues.

I want you to feel your energy being connected, feel your energy being open.

Here I am, sitting under some copper wires, surrounded by witches in the middle of a park in

California.

Getting what I'm told is supposed to be a spiritual cleanse.

While some people are returning to religion, others are moving in the opposite direction

towards modern witchcraft and paganism.

And across all of these spaces, the pattern is the same.

People are overwhelmed.

Institutions feel shaky, and there's just like growing desire for something more grounding,

ancient, or frankly something just more meaningful than what they've had before.

So today I'm talking with CNN's Donio Sullivan, who is following these shifts up close.

He's actually got a new series out called Devoted.

And in it, he's looking at how Americans are

reshaping their spiritual lives, how they're questioning old norms, and building, let's call

them new paths towards purpose in a moment that is defined by stress and uncertainty.

So stay with us.

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