Nuns and Nones: An Unlikely Alliance Crossing Generations and Spiritualities

About a third of millennials are "nones"—shorthand for the box they'd check regarding their religion. As that number swells, women religious in the U.S. are experiencing a mirror dynamic, with more Catholic sisters who are older than 90 than are younger than 60.

But while those figures indicate change in consecrated life, what drives the "nones" reminds sisters of their younger selves—a passion for social justice, desire for authentic community, hunger for contemplative practice, and a willingness to devote their lives to a greater purpose. Since witnessing that overlap, many sisters have become inspired for the future of religious life, one whose evolution may be more creative and expansive than they had imagined.

Through virtual calls in groups sprinkled throughout dozens of cities, the growing Nuns and Nones movement (or as some prefer to call it, Sisters and Seekers) brings together these two groups in a mutual exchange of deep dialogue, spiritual practices, and engagement in justice issues.

In her presentation, Soli Salgado will explain the prescience of this group amidst a pandemic and how these prophetic relationships have become a modern religious community.