WTF is Spiritual Care for the Non-Religious?
WTF is Spiritual Care for the Non-Religious?  
Podcast: Culture Study Podcast
Published On: Wed Apr 02 2025
Description: It feels weird to call yourself a “None,” but according to demographers, that’s what I am: one of millions of Americans who understand themselves as “religiously unaffiliated.” That means atheists, agnostics, and people who answer “nothing in particular” when asked if they practice a religion. Today, Nones make up 28% of the U.S. population — up from 16% in 2007. But just because you’re religiously unaffiliated doesn’t mean you don’t want some of the things that often come with religion: ritual, community, ethics, care. So what does that look like? How do we find it while also avoiding culty wellness shit?Fellow None (and atheist Jew) Vanessa Zoltan, who’s currently teaching a class at Harvard on spiritual care for the non-religious, is here to help answer all your questions.(Also note: this one’s for Nones and Non-Nones, people with a lot of religious experience and people with very little, people repelled by religion and people hungry for it. It might not seem like something in your wheelhouse, but if you’re interested, broadly, in ideas about friends, community, how to have serious conversations, and why people get really really into Crossfit, you’re going to love it)Show Notes:Find out more about Vanessa’s work here — and listen to Hot & Bothered, her podcast on rom-coms, hereFind out more about Common Ground Pilgrimages here (Melody went on the Taylor Swift one last year!)Vanessa references Casper ter Kuile’s The Power of Ritual (I also interviewed Casper for the newsletter back in 2021!)I mention “75 Hard” (barf emoji, I think I call it Hard 75 but whatever) — here’s the parametersWe’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:TATE MCRAE (who is she, how did she get so popular, why is calling her the New Britney imprecise, take this wherever you want)SoCal Culture (broad, I know, but whew there’s so much)WTF is going on with contemporary/everyday men’s fashion (will Dockers make a comeback? How should we think about the business casual fleece/puffer vest? What’s going on with swimwear? HATS? I’m so excited for this one, with the great Jason Diamond)Backyard chickens/farmingDark Academia (as in, the literary genre)Van/Skoolie/RV LifePERIODS (and specifically, period pain) with Kate Helen Downey, host of CrampedAnything you need advice or want musings on for the AAA segment. You can ask about anything, it’s literally the name of the segment!As always, you can submit them (and ideas for future eps) hereFor this week’s discussion: If you’re a None… what has spiritual care looked like for you? Or anything else this episode made you think about!