Feelings of self-transcendence, of connectedness to God, others, and the world, are widely seen as a principal feature of spiritual well-being. So when pandemic conditions shut us in and, to a degree, cut us off from our normal routines of living, this can lead to psychological and even spiritual depression. David Perrin is a professor of religious studies at St. Jerome’s University of the University of Waterloo in Canada. By craft and training, he is a theologian, a former president of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality, a widely published scholar on spirituality, and the author of a forthcoming article titled “The Collapse of Self-Transcendence: COVID-19 and the Reshaping of Meaning-Making in Everyday Life.” During this episode we discuss self-transcendence as a feature of human experience, how the pandemic affects us spiritually, and how to work through and past our present circumstances.
Interview by Matthew Wickman, Founding Director BYU Humanities Center.
Produced and edited by Brooke Browne and Sam Jacob.
The Reverend Douglas S. Hardy is Professor of Spiritual Formation at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City. Doug has earned degrees in psychology as...
Jessica Coblentz is an assistant professor of religious studies and theology at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. With Daniel Horan, she co-edited...
Abigail Carroll serves as pastor of the arts and spiritual formation at Church of the Well in Burlington, Vermont. She holds a PhD in...
