Network of Spiritual Progressives

The Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) is an international political and social justice movement founded in the United States in 2005 by Rabbi Michael Lerner. It was created to bring spiritual and religious perspectives into progressive political debate while addressing what its organizers saw as limitations on both major sides of the American ideological divide. The movement argues that progressive politics should not treat religion and spirituality as inherently reactionary, and it also criticizes conservative religious movements for using religious language to justify exclusion, militarism, economic injustice, or hostility toward social and political opponents. The NSP’s central program is organized around three broad propositions. First, it seeks to change what it describes as the “bottom line” in American public life, replacing an exclusive emphasis on economic gain, institutional power, and material success with greater attention to compassion, social responsibility, ecological sustainability, and human dignity. Second, it challenges what it regards as the misuse of religion, God, and spirituality by the Religious Right. Third, it challenges anti-religious and anti-spiritual assumptions that it believes have become embedded in parts of liberal and progressive culture. The organization’s work combines political advocacy, public education, interfaith engagement, conferences, and movement-building. Its international orientation includes promoting understanding among different religious traditions and supporting social justice across national and cultural boundaries. Although its principal political focus has been American politics, the movement has also reported chapters or affiliated activity outside the United States. Michael Lerner served as a founding leader and later worked as a co-director with Cornel West and Sister Joan Chittister. The organization held major conferences in Berkeley, California, in July 2005 and Washington, D.C., in May 2006; each reportedly drew more than 1,200 activists. By December 2007, the NSP reported chapters in 31 U.S. states, along with locations in Toronto, Melbourne, and Costa Rica. These figures document the movement’s early organizational reach, although the available reference material does not establish its current chapter count or membership. The NSP is associated with the Tikkun Community, a wider progressive religious and social-justice network. After Michael Lerner’s death, his widow Cat Zavis became the organization’s executive director. The movement is best understood not as a commercial product brand but as an advocacy and community platform whose identity is expressed through its values, educational work, public gatherings, and political proposals. Its distinctive positioning lies in attempting to combine progressive social policy with an explicitly spiritual and interreligious framework.

The Network of Spiritual Progressives emerged in 2005 as an effort to organize a distinct progressive movement grounded in spiritual and religious values. Its founder, Rabbi Michael Lerner, sought to address what he viewed as a political and cultural imbalance in the United States: conservative religious movements had successfully claimed religious language in public debate, while many liberals and secular progressives appeared uncomfortable with explicitly spiritual ideas. The NSP was established to challenge both tendencies rather than accept religion as the exclusive territory of conservative politics. From its beginning, the movement articulated three principal objectives. It aimed to change the prevailing “bottom line” of American society, meaning the standards by which economic and political decisions are judged. In place of a dominant focus on profit, competition, and power, the NSP advocated a more humane framework centered on social justice, compassion, ecological responsibility, and the worth of human beings. It also challenged what it considered the misuse of religion, God, and spirituality by the Religious Right. At the same time, it criticized anti-religious or anti-spiritual assumptions that it associated with parts of liberal culture. The organization’s early leadership included Lerner, Cornel West, and Sister Joan Chittister, who served as co-directors or senior public leaders of the movement. The NSP used conferences and activist gatherings to develop its network and make its ideas visible. A conference held in Berkeley, California, in July 2005 reportedly brought together more than 1,200 activists. A similarly attended conference followed in Washington, D.C., in May 2006. These events demonstrated the organization’s attempt to build a national movement rather than operate solely as a publication or a small religious discussion group. The NSP also presented itself as an international organization. Its stated international purpose included fostering interreligious understanding and supporting social justice. By December 2007, the movement reported chapters in 31 U.S. states and locations in Toronto, Ontario; Melbourne, Australia; and Costa Rica. The available historical material does not provide a later chapter census, a current membership figure, or a detailed account of the continued activity of each location. The movement is connected with the Tikkun Community, a broader network associated with progressive religious, ethical, and social-justice activism. Its activities and identity therefore overlap with the wider tradition of engaged spirituality: the idea that spiritual commitments should be expressed through action on poverty, peace, human rights, ecological concerns, and intergroup relations. The NSP’s distinctive contribution within that field is its explicit attempt to reshape American political discourse by making progressive spirituality a public and organizing principle. Michael Lerner’s widow, Cat Zavis, is identified as the organization’s current executive director in the available reference material. The sources supplied for this entry do not document a formal dissolution, merger, commercial ownership structure, or current financial scale. The NSP is consequently classified as an active advocacy and social-justice movement rather than a conventional consumer brand or listed corporation.

• 2007

  Reported expansion to chapters in 31 states and three foreign locations

  [1]Network of Spiritual Progressivesen.wikipedia.org

  By December 2007, the organization reported chapters in 31 U.S. states and locations in Toronto, Melbourne, and Costa Rica.

• 2006

  Washington, D.C., conference

  [1]Network of Spiritual Progressivesen.wikipedia.org

  A second major NSP conference took place in Washington, D.C., in May 2006 and reportedly attracted more than 1,200 activists.

• 2005

  Movement founded

  [1]Network of Spiritual Progressivesen.wikipedia.org

  Rabbi Michael Lerner founded the Network of Spiritual Progressives to connect progressive politics, spiritual values, and social justice.

• 2005

  First major conference in Berkeley

  [1]Network of Spiritual Progressivesen.wikipedia.org

  The NSP held a conference in Berkeley, California, in July 2005, reportedly attended by more than 1,200 activists.

A progressive political and social justice movement that seeks to reclaim religious and spiritual language for humane, inclusive, and socially responsible politics while promoting interreligious understanding.

• Political and social justice movement · 2005

  Spiritual-progressive advocacy

  The NSP’s principal offering is its advocacy platform, which promotes a more humane and socially responsible standard for political and economic decision-making. It seeks to place compassion, social justice, ecological responsibility, and spiritual values alongside or above conventional measures of power and financial success.

• Interfaith engagement · 2005

  Interreligious dialogue and organizing

  The organization promotes understanding among religious traditions and works to connect interreligious cooperation with social-justice goals. This work forms part of its effort to make spiritual language a constructive element of progressive public life rather than a source of political exclusion.

• Events and education · 2005

  Conferences and activist gatherings

  NSP conferences provide forums for activists and public figures to discuss progressive politics, religion, spirituality, and social justice. The Berkeley event in 2005 and Washington, D.C., event in 2006 were the movement’s best-documented early large-scale gatherings.

• 2005Changing the bottom line in America

  United States

  A core NSP organizing theme calling for American public life to be judged by humane, social, ecological, and spiritual values rather than by economic gain alone.

  Outcome. The theme became one of the movement’s three foundational tenets; no quantified policy outcome is documented in the supplied sources.

  Source
• 2005Challenge to the misuse of religion by the Religious Right

  United States

  The NSP sought to contest conservative political uses of religious language and to develop a progressive alternative grounded in spiritual and religious values.

  Outcome. The issue remained a central statement of the organization’s identity; the supplied sources do not establish a specific legislative or electoral result.

  Source
• 2005Challenge to anti-religious assumptions in liberal culture

  United States

  The movement argued that progressive and liberal politics should not dismiss religion or spirituality and should engage those traditions constructively.

  Outcome. This became a founding principle of the NSP; no separate measurable outcome is documented.

  Source

• 2005

  Adopt a spiritual-progressive organizing modelStrategy

  Background

  The founders sought to address both conservative appropriation of religious language and secular discomfort with spirituality in progressive politics.

  Action taken

  The NSP was established as a political and social justice movement combining progressive advocacy, spiritual values, and interreligious engagement.

  Aftermath

  The movement held large conferences and reported chapters across the United States and several other countries during its early years.

  Source

1. 1Network of Spiritual Progressivesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Network of Spiritual Progressives official websitespiritualprogressives.org