The Center for Non-Religious Spirituality (CNRS) acknowledges the innate spiritual component of all people and its universal relevance and significance to the lived human experience. CNRS promotes and fosters spirituality as an indispensable aspect of individual and collective well-being. The "non-religious" distinction conveys that the community was specifically created for those who want to explore spirituality beyond traditional religious mindsets, belief-systems, and structures. Many of those people have left their religious background and are in the process of deconstruction and reconstruction.
The CNRS online community exists for the following reasons:
- Making new friends and connections with people who are on a similar path, understand, and accept you as you are- Being a community of support and encouragement for people who are in the process of rebuilding their lives after leaving religion
- Offering individual and group spiritual direction within the framework of "non-religious spirituality"
- Opportunities for individual and group counseling and support groups with trained professionals for those who have experienced religious trauma, spiritual abuse, or toxic religious indoctrination
- Providing a network of resources for people in the process of detox, deconstruction, and reconstruction
- Supporting the growth of non-religious and holistic spirituality with resources in areas such as philosophy, psychology, natural sciences, social sciences, physics, history, the arts, and other fields of knowledge and inquiry
- Training and certifying non-religious spiritual directors, as well as offers continuing education and training courses
Some of the tools and resources people find meaningful as members of The Center for Non-Religious Spirituality include:
● Exclusive member-only articles, podcasts, workshops, courses and groups that speak to the journey of exploring and cultivating a meaningful non-religious spirituality
● Opportunities to do individual work with Certified Non-Religious Spiritual Directors
● Programs and counselors to guide and support people in recovering from spiritual abuse, toxic religious indoctrination, and religious trauma
● Connection and friendship with others who are exploring non-religious spirituality
● Space to explore one’s spiritual interests, questions, curiosity and desires without fear, shame or judgement
Jim is a certified Spiritual Director, and a member of Spiritual Directors International. He is a Chaplain with the American Humanist Association. Jim's background includes a Master's of Divinity from Trinity Seminary in Chicago. He is a professor of Comparative Religion, Philosophy of Religion, and Ethics. Jim is a trained religious trauma and spiritual abuse counselor. Jim is a published author, speaker, and retreat leader.