America is a deeply spiritual nation. Over 70% of us say that we feel spiritual in some way. But – at the same time – we're getting less religious. So for people who are spiritual-but-not-religious – what's replacing organized religion? What do they believe – and where does that show up in their day-to-day lives? In our new series called Losing My Religion, It's Been a Minute is going to find out. This week, we're getting into wellness. It's a global industry worth 6 trillion dollars that's starting to encompass all kinds of things – including spirituality: from the spirituality of wellness practices like yoga and reiki, to treating wellness itself like a religion. Brittany is joined by Alyssa Bereznak, wellness editor for the LA Times, and Rina Raphael, author of the book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care, to get into what people get out of a wellness-based spiritualism.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident. America is a deeply spiritual nation. Over 70% of us say that we feel spiritual in some way, but at the same time, we're also getting less religious.
When asked to check a box next to their religious affiliation, 28% of Americans check the box labeled none. The nuns, as they're sometimes called, are now the biggest religious group in the United States. But for people who are spiritual but not religious, what's replacing organized religion? What do they believe? And where does that belief show up in all of our lives?
Well, for the next couple of weeks on our new series called Losing My Religion, we're going to find out. Today, we're getting into wellness. It's a global industry worth $6 trillion that's starting to encompass all kinds of things, including spirituality, from the spirituality of wellness practices like yoga and Reiki to treating wellness itself like a religion.
I want to know, what do people get out of a wellness-based spirituality? And is it a spirituality of the self? To find out, I sat down with Alyssa Bereznack, wellness editor for the LA Times. Thank you so much. And Rina Raphael, author of the book, The Gospel of Wellness, Jim's Guru's Goop and the False Promise of Self-Care.
Glad to be here.
Take a deep breath in and out. And let's get into it. Okay, I want to define some terms first. Wellness. It's a big word. It's a big word. And it describes a huge number of different practices. And it's a term that seems like it's getting broader and broader in definition all the time. So my first question, what even is wellness?
Oh, I mean, it is an increasingly ambiguous term. It really was meant to be everything the pharmaceutical and health industry doesn't touch. And generally things that you could tend to yourself, like fitness, nutrition, relaxation techniques. But increasingly it's starting to mean things like beauty or spirituality. It can kind of mean anything. anything.
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