Major new research will show the impact of religious practices being "borrowed" for wellness activities such as yoga or mindfulness.
Features of these activities often start from spiritual habits followed by religious communities. A new international working group will research the ethical questions this raises.
It includes Dr Susannah Crockford, from the University of Exeter, an anthropologist who investigates New Age spirituality, ecology, and conspiracy theories.
Members of the Spirituality and the Ethics of Religious Borrowing: A Sacred Writes Working Group will examine the effects of religious practices being borrowed on religious communities, and whether there are ways this could be carried out in ways which are more purposeful, responsible, and effective.
The 12-person working group is funded by the John Templeton Foundation and will be based at Northeastern University.
They will support both academic research and public engagement on the ethics of spiritual borrowing, to combat misinformation, and improve public religious literacy.
