Convergence 2026: The Art and Practice of Making Meaning

Convergence 2026, the Spiritual Naturalist Society’s online conference of Nov. 7-8, brings philosophers and artists together under the broad conceptual banner of Spiritual Naturalism.

At first glance, these may seem like rather different approaches to the same subject. Philosophers tend to concern themselves with questions of meaning, ethics, consciousness and the nature of reality. Artists are more likely to explore these questions through stories, images, performances, rituals and other forms of creative expression. Both, however, are engaged in the deeply human business of making sense of our lives and experiences.

Philosophy provides the conceptual frameworks through which we can understand what it means to live spiritually meaningful lives in a natural universe. It can help us distinguish useful ideas from wishful thinking, clarify our values and consider the implications of our beliefs. Artistic practice, meanwhile, can translate those insights into experiences that engage our imaginations, senses and emotions.

Consider, for example, the philosophical proposition that our mortality gives urgency and poignancy to human life. An artist might explore that same proposition by creating a memorial ritual, composing a song or designing a communal memento mori experience in which people confront and celebrate the transience of existence. The underlying idea remains the same, but its expression moves from intellectual understanding into lived experience.

There is a long history of this kind of exchange between philosophical thought and creative practice. Religious traditions have generally developed through the interplay of ideas and their expression in stories, ceremonies, architecture, music and art. Spiritual Naturalism has the opportunity to explore a similarly rich relationship, drawing upon established traditions while remaining free to experiment with new forms.

Importantly, this need not be a one-way process in which philosophers develop theories for artists to illustrate. Creative experimentation can also generate new philosophical questions, challenge assumptions and suggest possibilities that might otherwise remain unexplored.

This is part of what makes Convergence an especially promising gathering. Its participants approach the subject from different directions, but share an interest in what becomes possible when we take the natural world, and our place within it, as the starting point for spiritual life.

The philosophers can help us understand why these things matter. The artists can help us discover what they might look and feel like in practice. Between them lies the possibility of developing Spiritual Naturalism as a living, evolving culture of meaning-making.