Wellness culture promises us healthier bodies, calmer minds and longer lives. But what if that still isn’t enough?
In this conversation, Beyond Wellness author and religious ethicist Liz Bucar explores what gets lost when spiritual practices are detached from the traditions, communities and worldviews that gave them meaning. We discuss the difference between wellness and genuine flourishing, why religion may have more to offer than belief alone, and whether we can responsibly borrow from traditions without ever really belonging to them. Along the way, we wrestle with authority, community, spiritual seeking, and what might be lost when religion becomes something we draw from without ever calling it home.
After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim and Hannah reflect on what happens when spiritual practices are taken out of the communities that formed them — and whether sometimes the opposite can also be true. Drawing on their own evangelical backgrounds, they explore Sabbath, spiritual formation, cultural appropriation and the question of what kind of people our practices are actually shaping us into.
WEBSITE
SOCIALS
BOOKS
Beyond Wellness: How Restoring the Religious Roots of Spiritual Practices Can Heal Us
Stealing My Religion: Not Just Any Cultural Appropriation
QUOTES
“A good life isn’t just a long life, or a life without disease, but a moral life, a life that is about acting well towards others, building something together.”
“I’m skeptical, but also curious.”
“I’m personally not really interested in spirituality that’s just for my own enlightenment and transformation.”