Launching: The Practicing Democracy Project

We are excited to announce a new endeavor for Spirituality & Practice and a new section in the Explorations area of the website: The Practicing Democracy Project. We are collaborating with the Fetzer Institute to build this Project over a two-year period.

In times like ours, when democracy faces unprecedented challenges, we realize that it is not some static system of government: It is dynamic and depends on each and all of us to flourish. We need to actively engage in practicing democracy, not simply stand by and assume democracy will always be there for us.

What kind of spiritual practices help us build a robust and healthy society, where citizens are united, at a deep level that transcends ideology, race, and class, around a shared spiritual and moral vision of what America should be? That’s what The Practicing Democracy Project strives to answer, by bringing you thought-provoking and inspiring articles, books, excerpts, quotes, topics, and spiritual practices, with more to come.

Our aspirations are large: not only to identify and curate spiritual practices and resources but also, in the future, to develop programs using them for different constituencies, including congregations, schools, businesses, advocacy groups, government agencies, and others.

Visit The Practicing Democracy Project

To learn more about the thinking behind this Project, read the Overview. Using the magenta links and blue “Go Deeper” icons off the What’s New page, check out recommended books, read book excerpts and articles, savor quotes about democracy, see prayers for our leaders, and explore a sampling of spiritual practices.

As part of this Project, we are putting together topical collections of resources around qualities essential to democracy. Some of these Topic sections support essential civic virtues like equality, fairness, freedom, generosity, hospitality, kindness, optimism, resilience, service, and trust. Others help us deal with problems that depress democracy, like anger, apathy, fear of strangers, rigid thinking, and violence. We have newly finished a Civility Topic. You can explore all the related topics we have so far on this page. We will continue to add to this list.

Help Up Shape the Project

We will be inviting input from many sources as we curate resources and develop programs for practicing democracy. We are particularly interested in what you (as a subscriber to our e-newsletter or our e-courses) share with us. We’d love to know your hopes, fears, needs, and ideas. Will you please take a moment to let us know your thoughts through this short survey?

Sign Up to Receive Updates

We will be sending out an email twice a month about new content on the website and programs in development. Sign up for it through a question on the survey or by using the form on the What’s New page.

Please Spread the Word

Thank you for being part of this journey! Please share this message with any friends and colleagues you think would be interested. We want to spread the news about this hopeful Project!

Salaam, Shalom, Shanti, Peace,

Your S&P Team
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Patricia Campbell Carlson
Darren Polito