Engaged Spirituality & Visioning the Future

“I don’t have any idea of who or what God is. But I do believe in some great spiritual power. I don’t know what to call it. I feel it, particularly when I’m out in nature. It’s just something that’s bigger and stronger than what I am or what anybody is. I feel it. And it’s enough for me.”
Jane Goodall
“We clasp the hands of those that go before us, and the hands of those who come after us. We enter the little circle of each other’s arms and the larger circle of lovers, whose hands are joined in a dance, and the larger circle of all creatures, passing in and out of life, who move also in a dance, to a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it except in fragments.”
Wendell Berry

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”
Jalal ad-Din Rumi

Whirling Dervish

Module 5 – Socially Engaged Spirituality

The narratives, stories and values we hold shape our lives. From these narratives, we define our belonging, purpose and dream in the great mystery of existence. Whether through education and cultural osmosis, or life circumstances that compel us to deep inner searching, we seek answers to these worldview questions on our spiritual journey: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? And what is our purpose for this life? For some of us who grew up in organized religious traditions and families, the spiritual path may require reconfiguring ethical and existential questions through deconstruction and reconstruction. For others, especially within Indigenous knowledge traditions, spirituality is not merely a set of cultural practices but is embedded in the ways of knowing and being, guiding their actions, relationality and responsibility.

How does spirituality motivate us to create societal and ecological transformation? In our search for personal awakening, meaning, and inner peace, how do we avoid spiritual bypassing while grounding our spirituality in action-oriented movement toward creating change? In this module, we will explore the way in which our personal spiritual path might inspire and support us in envisioning and creating holistic change collectively.

Whether in world religions or cultural knowledge traditions, we can find many exemplars of socially engaged spirituality. Jesus was not a Christian, Buddha not a Buddhist, and Mohamed not a Muslim. Still, they embodied their spiritual beliefs and values grounded in their unique socio-political contexts, and laid paths that continue to impact lives today. In the 20th century, we haveMartin Luther King,Mother Theresa,Gandhi,Nelson Mandela,Jane Goodall,A.T.Ariyaratne,Leonardo Boff,Starhawk,Sulak Siravaksa,Matthew Fox,Aung San Suu Kyi, Thich Nhat Hanh and many more who walk their faith and spiritual path grounded in history-altering social and ecological actions.

In the last 20 years, we have seen the resurgence of Indigenous knowledge; Indigenous Elders and knowledge holders have led the revitalization of Indigenous language, knowledge and wisdom traditions that have been living for thousands of years. They show us the many ways of earth defending actions that are deeply rooted in ancestral spiritual teachings and practices. Indigenous-led land defending movements, such as the Standing Rock Protests (also known as The Dakota Access Pipeline Protests or the hashtag #NoDAPL) in 2016 (U.S.), the Wet’suwet’en Protest against Coastal Gaslink in 2020 and the Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek against old-growth forest logging protests in 2021 (both in Canada), and the large scale demonstration at COP30 UN climate summit in 2025 (Brazil), show the world a form of resistance that integrates traditional spirituality and ceremony with political action to assert sovereignty and protect land and culture.

In times of societal crises and climate struggles, a powerful way to express spirituality and share with others is not by preaching or arguing about it, but by embodying our spiritual beliefs and values through daily actions in the local and global community. How do we co-create a shared vision of sustainable community with others within and beyond your spiritual traditions?As religious fundamentalism and polarization are on the rise globally, it is more important than ever to develop relational literacy to respect the diversity of spiritual beliefs and knowledge traditions, to engage with differences, and listen to and learn from one another.

In this module on socially engaged spirituality, we invite you to revisit the relationship between your spiritual journey and the vision and action to which you are called in this specific collective cultural moment. In the following sections, we will explore academic conversations at the intersection of spirituality and social ecology, examples of socially engaged spirituality across different world traditions, and inspirations from engaged spirituality exemplars in different global regions. We will also reflect on the importance of co-creating visions and introduce guidelines and visioning design processes that may help you collaborate with others and envision a more sustainable and just future for all beings. We hope that, by the end of this module, you will be encouraged to take your role as co-designer and co-creator of our shared future, living your creative responsibilities and powers as part of your spiritual expression/journey.

AsStarhawk, an earth activist and a prominent voice in modern earth-based spirituality and ecofeminism, writes in The Spiral Dance: “Each of us embodies the divine. Our ultimate spiritual authority is within, and we need no other person to interpret the sacred to us.” May we remember—as South African poet and activist June Jordan reminds us—that we are the ones we have been waiting for.

Starhawk is a Jewish American writer and earth activist. She is the founder of Earth Activist Training (EAT)https://earthactivisttraining.org/, teaching permaculture design grounded in spirit, with a focus on organizing and activism. In 2012, she was listed in Watkins’ Mind Body Spirit magazine as one of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People.