Research tells us that spirituality is essential to cultural stability. As old frameworks for spirituality struggle for plausibility and credibility, spiritual needs persist. So people grasp for whatever is near to hand: national pride, political identity, a sports team, a social justice mission, a meaningful vocation… But such temporal concerns can’t address the full scope of spiritual yearning, which induces widespread cynicism and despair, sadness and loneliness, and hunger for meaning. Institutions critical for socioeconomic stability lose the support and confidence they need and teeter on the brink of collapse.

Real change must engage the mind, heart, and soul of human beings, not just as individuals but in groups, because spiritual journeys are communal adventures. Only expansive spirituality in its various forms is well adapted to the modern environments for spirituality. Therefore, embracing expansive spirituality is the only feasible long-term, soulful, and transformational solution to problems of political instability, institutional malaise, and individualistic blue-screen loneliness.