Latest thinking

Bob’s Big Idea: why we are living longer

Blog

27 Jan 2015

Jonathan Rowson

“♫ I was 21 years when I wrote this song. I’m 22 now but I won’t be for long. Time hurries on, and the years that were green, turn to brown ♫”

Quote Bait: Twenty thoughts on spirituality

Blog

05 Jan 2015

Jonathan Rowson

Spiritualise: Revitalising spirituality to address 21st century challenges deals with a weighty subject and the overall process of producing the report involved about 300 people over two years, so it’s not surprising the final report is relatively long – about 40,000 words over 92 pages; it’s half a book really. (Now there’s a thought…)

Why we need spirituality to meet the challenges of the 21st Century

Press release

27 Dec 2014

With our world leaders and politicians seemingly incapable of tackling the major problems of our age, such as climate change, inequality and widespread political alienation, the RSA think tank has called for spirituality to play a greater role in the public realm.

What is 'the soul' and why does it matter?

Blog

14 Dec 2014

Jonathan Rowson

The following transcription came from a speech that formed part of a series of six public events within RSA Social Brain Centre's project: Spirituality, Tools of the Mind, and the Social Brain. The final report of this project, outlined here will be published later this month.

Spiritualise: Revitalising spirituality to address 21st century challenges

Blog

27 Nov 2014

Jonathan Rowson

Today, after two years of preparation and a pause for Christmas dinner, we are publishing: Spiritualise: revitalising spirituality to address 21st century challenges.

Towards a post-extrinsic society

Blog

26 Nov 2014

Jonathan Rowson

The public realm faces significant challenges that cannot be adequately addressed by instrumental, utilitarian thinking. By public realm I mean the political economy and all the educational, commercial, civic and media institutions related to it; all of which, of course, have human beings inside them.

RSA Event: Love, Death, Self, and Soul

Blog

20 Nov 2014

Last night’s RSA event examined a profound yet largely unexplored possibility in the 21st century: integrating a modern preconception of spirituality (grounded in an increasingly sophisticated understanding of human nature) into the public realm.

Jonathan Rowson on Spirituality

Video

19 Nov 2014

In the final event of the series, project director Dr Jonathan Rowson addresses the often unacknowledged spiritual roots of public life, and proposes a new framework for a ‘post-religious spirituality’.

The Age of Awareness

Blog

20 Oct 2014

Coaching. Psychotherapy. Meditation. Spirituality. Self-improvement. Self-love. What do these seemingly different collective trends have in common?