Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future
Much is in flux around religion and spirituality in the United States. Fewer people are , thousands of churches and other local houses of worship are , and the shape of is changing. Simultaneously, people are engaging with spiritual practices and other forms of meaning-making in and creative ways.
This project brings scholars, educators, religious leaders, journalists, and students together to ask how.
- How is what we are calling the spiritual infrastructure - the structures, institutions and practices through which people in the United States find meaning - changing in the United States?
- How do we help students, journalists, scholars and the broader public understand these changes?
- How do we ensure that graduate students who will become leaders in civic life, the academy, philanthropy, and other fields are learning about these changes as they take place?
We pursue these questions through clusters of projects centered on research, public facing programs, and professional pipelines. This work is made possible by a grant, 鈥淚dentifying and Advancing the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future,鈥 from the .
Explore these Questions
Research
Our research will examine congregational closures (endings), spiritual innovation (beginnings), and the changing shape of religious leadership in the United States... learn more.
Public-Facing Programming
This project will expand public knowledge about the religious and spiritual landscapes by sharing its findings through legacy and new medium including traditional news ... learn more.
Professional Pipelines
This project will enable current doctoral students to complete paid internships outside of the academy to better understand and prepare for leadership in the emerging spiritual infrastructure... learn more.
Meet the Team
Recent News
2026 Graduate Internships awarded
April 27, 2026, BrynMawr.edu - The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has named the inaugural awardees of the Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future... Read the article.
April 23, 2026, ACLS.org - The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is pleased to name the inaugural awardees of the Graduate Internships on the Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future Program...
November 3, 2025, ACLS.org - American Council of Learned Societies now accepting applications to create a pipeline of new leaders knowledgeable about the rapidly changing American religious landscape...
June 12, 2025, Brandeis.edu - Brandeis Professor of Anthropology will co-lead new research under a $3.9 million grant from the Templeton Religion Trust. The funding will support a three-year...
May 30, 2025, MarketWatch - Made possible by a $3.9 million grant from the Templeton Religion Trust, this three-year, multi-faceted initiative aims to map the religious and spiritual infrastructure of the future....
