What do you believe in, if you don't believe in God?

Barcelona"God is dead," Nietzsche said in the 19th century. Many years later, the phrase seems truer than ever. Many people have replaced God with activities that have a spiritual foundation but no religion. While we see churches emptying, we witness the success of meditation classes, yoga classes, or weekend retreats. For many young people, the new way to pray is manifesting, making wishes when a mirror hour appears on their phone screen (10:22 p.m., for example), or watching the tarot reader reading your cards in a TikTok video.

According to the Barometer on religiosity and the management of its diversity (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2020), 48.1% of the adult population identifies as a "spiritual person" and 59.4% as spiritual but not religious. Although traditional religions have lost influence, the need to find meaning, purpose, and connection is more alive than ever. More and more people are creating their own spirituality by mixing practices such as yoga, astrology, self-help books, spiritual journeys, or meditation. mindfulnessWhy does this happen? Is it a natural evolution of faith or a passing fad?

Do-it-yourself spirituality

"The label "spirituality" is often used as marketing because it's a word that sells and reaches much further," says philosopher Joan Burdeus. He explains that it's important to distinguish between "immanence"—believing that the divine is within you and in the world—and "transcendence"—the divine is outside the world and beyond human reality. Going to Pilates or reading a personal growth book "are immanent because they don't believe in values outside of human life," he says, adding. "They are materialistic self-help practices labeled as spiritual, activities that help you navigate your daily life better." We are facing a new era that connects with spirituality without dogma or hierarchies, and seems to embody the contemporary need to find something that gives us meaning and a personal path, but frees us from traditional religious structures. "The idea of the free individual is a fallacy," says anthropologist and UB professor Roger Canals. "We are social animals. People who go to yoga, to nature to hug trees... It's a new form of community."

Maria Gallego is a tarot reader who receives readings at her home, mostly about love and work. "People no longer seek external authority. Instead, they want to discover their own path, based on their own beliefs and values," she explains. "I always tell people who come that the cards advise, but the power to decide lies within themselves." Spirituality do it yourself (DIY), In which each person chooses their own beliefs from the menu, "it's a symptom of the dissolution of the tribe, the people... and this has brought about the rise of individuality that characterizes modernity," says Bordeaux. Anthropologist Roger Canals adds that "today, spirituality is increasingly an elective matter: it is not automatically transmitted by family, tradition, or institution, but rather it is the individual who chooses what to believe and how to live it, like someone who chooses what to do during the summer."

This search for meaning is also often found in practices such as yoga, Pilates, or barre, a discipline that blends Pilates and ballet movements. "The body is the modern temple," says Lucía Olveira, dancer and teacher at the Concept Barre center. "It serves the function of a moving meditation because it allows us to be present in the here and now, achieving a state very similar to that of a meditative practice."

The market of the soul

This search for guidance is not without controversy. Despite the genuine desire to find meaning, we cannot ignore that the popularization of this new spirituality has become commodified. As in many other areas, capitalism has managed to make money in the market of the soul and has put a price on it, but that does not necessarily mean it is a superficial fad. "I think the girls who come to class are in a genuine search for well-being, but there is also a trend. However, it is welcome because it is a healthy trend," says Lucía Olveira. "Perhaps they came the first time out of fashion, curiosity, or because a influencer "I posted it, but if they keep coming back, it's because it works for them, they feel good, and they see results. I don't think you stick to a routine and workout every day just because it's trendy."

Social media has helped democratize these practices, and the algorithm has become the new priest. "Throughout history, authority has shifted from the gods to humans, and now to artificial intelligence and algorithms," says Joan Burdeus. Throughout history, humans have sought meaning and guidance from external authorities: first from the gods, then from reason and science, and now from technology. The new religion-free spirituality reflects this shift. There are no longer traditional gods or rigid religious dogmas, but rather a need for meaning that is channeled through apps. coaching, online tarot, or viral videos like the one of the nuns of Sahagún who, filming themselves, invited women with a vocation to spend a few days at the Monastery of Santa Cruz. –explains the tarot reader–, whether it be with rubble, coffee grounds, animal teeth, looking at the stars... There are people who are embarrassed to go somewhere to consult the tarot, and with social media it's easier because they are accessible, although it must be taken into account that with this democratization, apparently free, they are also making a business."

The new oracle

Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram don't just show us content; they tell us what's relevant, what we should watch, and even what to believe. If before we turned to the oracle for answers, now let's ask the algorithm, which serves us its own version of reality based on data, patterns, and trends. "I believe this spirituality without religion is the answer to the crisis of faith in material progress," says Joan Burdeus. "We had faith in the future and in the idea that tomorrow would be better, that there would be more equality... It depended on science and politics, and now we're facing a crisis of progressive ideology. As a response to this crisis of not believing in the future we imagine, we've returned to immaterialism." This is nothing new; she explains that it has already happened throughout history, giving the example of the Black Death. "In the face of a material crisis, immaterial cults emerge. More than a fad, it's a turning point in the times. If the underlying problems are resolved and progress becomes credible again, spirituality will decline," he says. "Consumption and wage labor will once again offer meaning to life." These are times of bitcoins, algorithms, fast food and stories from Instagram. And, paradoxically, these are also times of yoga, meditation, full moon rituals, and the scent of incense and palo santo.