Convergence 2026: An Online Conference for All Spiritual Naturalists (copy)

November 7–8 | Live on Zoom

The Spiritual Naturalist Society warmly invites you to Convergence, a free two-day online gathering dedicated to exploring the many ways people find meaning, wonder and ethical inspiration within a naturalistic understanding of the world.

Our aim is to converge the most promising visions for the future of secular meaning-making in one place.

This event is designed for the widest possible spectrum of participants — from longtime practitioners to curious newcomers — who share an interest in forms of spirituality grounded in nature, human experience and the realities revealed by science.

A Meeting of Diverse Paths

Convergence will invite expert presenters and panelists representing a rich range of approaches to spiritual naturalism, including:

Secular Buddhism
Naturalistic Paganism
Jungian Psychology
Stoicism
Pantheism
Non-dualism
Christian/Jewish/Muslim Naturalism
Poetic Faiths

Through talks, discussions and interactive sessions, participants will have opportunities to explore shared questions:

How do we cultivate awe, meaning and ethical commitment without supernatural beliefs?
What practices help us feel deeply connected to the natural world?
How can communities of naturalistic spirituality support human flourishing today?

What to Expect

Over the course of the weekend, attendees can participate in:

Presentations by experienced thinkers, teachers and practitioners
Panel and roundtable conversations exploring key themes and questions
Practical sessions and experiential workshops
Opportunities for dialogue, connection and community building

See below our initial list of themes and presenters: check back for more additions!

Radical Ritual	Inspired by conversations with primary Burning Man founder Larry Harvey and informed by the phenomenological approach to ritual cultivated in the “San Francisco school” of psychomagic, we will explore the development of a common experiential language between naturalists and supernaturalists.	Caveat Magister
The Artist as an Agent of Systems Change	Delving into creative ritual as a collective liberation practise.	Scout Rainer Wiley
Poetic Faiths: New Religions and Rituals as Works of Living Art	Poetic Faiths are new, deeply personal religions and rituals that take naturalism and anti-authoritarianism for granted, then ask “now what?” and find their answers in mythopoetic meaning-making.	Tony Wolf
Epicureanism	An introduction to the philosophy of Epicureanism “on its own terms”, and as a way to evaluate the huge body of interdisciplinary research that vindicates the teachings of Epicurus, calling for an update as to how they’re presented.	Hiram Crespo
Current Challenges in Secular Mindfulness		Ted Meissner
Religious Naturalism	Religious naturalism is a perspective that finds spiritual meaning, awe, and reverence within the natural world, relying on science rather than supernatural beliefs. It acknowledges nature as the ultimate reality and often adopts the “epic of evolution” as its core narrative to foster wonder and ethical responsibility.	Ursula Goodenough
Naturalism	The spiritual possibilities of seeing that there is no assignable meaning to existence as a whole, the implications of determinism (“causal perfection”) for our existential situation, and how a materialist, naturalistic view of consciousness suggests what to anticipate at death.	Tom Clark
Introduction to Pyrrhonism	Pyrrhonism is an ancient school of radical skepticism founded by Pyrrho of Elis (c. 4th century BCE) that advocates suspending judgment (epoche) on all dogmatic beliefs to achieve mental tranquility (ataraxia). We will also discuss the Hadot-style spiritual exercises found in Pyrrhonism.	Douglas C. Bates

Following the conference, the Society will also facilitate optional in-depth instructional courses led by participating presenters for those who wish to continue learning.

Convergence is a space for curiosity, reflection and shared discovery — a place where many voices and perspectives come together around a common commitment to understanding ourselves as part of the natural world.

Program updates including presenters and session/workshop details will be announced here in due course, and you can use this form to sign up for Convergence: