PROCESS PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY offer a comprehensive vision of the world and better hopes for the world, inviting a sense of wonder and a recognition of the sacred, based on the interconnectedness, intrinsic value, and beauty present in all living things. This vision has been incredibly useful for many different religious and spiritual communities, including those who understand themselves as spiritual independents.
Many of us are affiliated with one or another of the world’s religions. Some of us are religiously unaffiliated, or spiritual independents. And some of us are affiliated with several world religions at the same time. Process & Faith is a multi-faith network for relational spirituality and the common good. Check out our core values below.
Whole Persons
We hope that individuals around the world can grow in happiness — a sense of wonder, playfulness, joy, inner peace, compassion, zest for life.
Whole Communities
We hope that people can build local communities that are creative, compassionate, participatory, humane to animals, and good for the earth, with no one left behind.
Whole Planet
We hope that the planet as a whole can avoid humanly-imposed disaster and can flourish with multiple forms of life, each with its unique beauty. We want to help people create ecological civilizations that are conducive to the Earth community.
Holistic Thinking
We hope that forms of thinking can emerge that draw from science, art, and spirituality; that are honest to the way that the world is: that show how things are connected to one another; and that inspire living with respect and care for the community of life.
Holistic thinking affirms ideas such as...
Everything is interconnected; all beings inter-become.
All living beings have value for themselves as well as for others.
The universe is purposive; beauty, creativity, and life are part of its makeup and are intimately related.
The cosmos is alive with creativity; the idea of entirely “dead” matter is an illusion.
Humans are part of, not apart from, this larger whole, and find fulfillment by living with respect and care for all life, both human and non-human.
To these ideas, many of us will add one more: the idea of God, or a Sacred Whole, or a Great Compassion, or an Eternal Companion, or a Divine Lure. Ideas such as these can also be part of “holistic thinking.” Not all members of the network speak in such terms, or affirm such a reality, but many do.
Listening to Others on their Own Terms
Fostering Spiritual Vitality
Cultivating Respect & Care For All Life
Creating Compassionate Communities
Building Ecological Civilization
Promoting Interfaith Cooperation
Educational
Initiatives
- Transformative Courses
- Learning Circles
- Book Studies
- Training Faith Leaders
Interfaith
Collaborations
- Workshops
- Conferences
- Conversations
- Community Engagement
Resource
Creation
- Scripture
Commentaries - Articles
- Videos
- Bibliographies
To find out more about the many paths that have inspired our thinking about faith, visit the Pluralism Project at Harvard University.