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Is Spiritual Health a Workplace Issue?

8 Jul, 2025

McKinsey Health Institute finds that for a “modern understanding of health, spiritual health is not a ‘nice to have’ but a core dimension, along with physical, mental, and social health.”

They define spiritual health as having a sense of meaning and purpose in life, a connection to something larger than oneself, and a sense of belonging.

This is not a small problem affecting just a few. A recent Harvard study found that nearly 3 in 5 young adults (58%) report lacking “meaning or purpose” in their lives.

For insights on addressing this crisis that adversely impacts workplaces and the rising generation of future workers, join us on July 24th for a discussion with Patrick Regan, OBE. Patrick is an Honorary Fellow at the London South Bank University for his contribution towards justice and well-being. He has written several books, the latest one being Brighter Days: 12 steps to strengthening your wellbeing.

REGISTER HERE (free). This session will help you:

  • — See the Role of Spiritual Health in the Workplace
  • — Understand more about your own mental wellbeing
  • — Look at the character traits of a resilient person/team
  • — Explore the environment needed to allow people to flourish and grow

Rapidly changing belief landscapes in the UK

7 Jul, 2025

What every business needs to know about it!

While many have presumed that religion is a fading phenomenon, new research shows that a revival of conservative religion may be underway in England. Also, given media narratives that focus on the negative aspects of religion, this is a story that is largely unreported.

Join us this Thursday, 10th July, at 1pm UKT (8am ET), for a fascinating discussion on latest trends by Prof. Chris Baker.

Prof. Chris Baker is a world-leading expert in developing innovative and strategic research, theory and publication around one of the defining trajectories of the 21st century – namely the newly visible role and impact of religion and belief on public life, and its political, social, economic, urban, policy and theological implications at both global and local levels.

Chris is the originator of spiritual capital theory in its current policy and academic discourse, a leading exponent of postsecular theory and a pioneer of the spatial turn in theology, as well as interdisciplinarity in the study of religion and belief for policy.

Chris’s particular focus is on the relationship between religion, belief and urbanisation, the role of religion and belief in public policy and social welfare, and the role of religion and belief in civil society and the reshaping of church within the urban environment. His work is focussed on the UK experience, but is also impacting on debates within Europe, the U.S. and Australia.

A More Accurate Depiction of Christianity in U.K. Today

6 Jul, 2025

The new report Christianity in the News Media by Jersey Road highlights several key aspects of contemporary Christianity in the U.K. that are often overlooked or misrepresented by the media:

Breadth of Christian Activity: The media tends to focus on controversy, conflict, or scandal—especially around abuse cases or culture war issues—while missing the everyday, positive contributions of Christians in communities. Stories of compassion, social justice, and transformation are underreported, despite being central to Christian practice today.

Diversity of Christian Voices: The report notes that the media often portrays Christianity as monolithic or outdated, failing to reflect the diversity of denominations, ethnic backgrounds, and theological perspectives within the faith. It also misses the growing number of public figures and younger generations who are open about their faith, as well as the nuanced ways Christians engage with modern social and political issues.

The InterIntelligence Manifesto: Why AI Needs Religion & Spirituality

3 Jul, 2025

By Benjamin Olsen* AI Compliance Leader @Microsoft, Responsible Innovation Pioneer, Champion of Child Safety, Religious Freedom, and the Family in Big Tech | Catholic Speaker & Writer

Read The InterIntelligence Manifesto as a PDF


🔍 What Does “Intelligence” Actually Mean in an Age of Superintelligence?

The word intelligence comes from the Latin inter (“between”) and legere (“to pick out, read, choose”).

At its root, intelligence isn’t just about data. It’s about relationship, discernment, and meaning.

Today, superintelligence is dazzling our imaginations and opening up new possibilities across industries, like this Microsoft system that’s 4x more accuratethan human doctors at diagnosis. It finds hidden connections in the data, discerns signal from noise, and provides answers beyond the best of human capability.

Why stop there? What about an AI healthcare companion along with superhuman diagnostics that provides emotional and logistical support to a patient before, during, after diagnosis? That’s what ElliQ’s done: a system so powerful in building connection to care that one elderly patient says “I just love her. she almost seems like she’s real and I want to respond to her like a human and then I remind myself she’s a robot.

So what’s missing?

In the above picture, certainly human aspects of healthcare are missing. Thoughtful human-in-the-loop approaches could mitigate overt “replacism” and ideal human-AI collaboration can be designed.

Wider still though, our duty of care has its origins in the heart of religious experienceitself.

🕊️ The Sacred Pulse: The Religious Roots of Healthcare

Before healthcare was a system,

 

before medicine was a market,

 

there was care rooted in faith.

 

Across time, the first healers were not businesspeople.

 

They were hermits, monks, nuns, imams, rabbis, sages.

 

They believed healing was holy work—and the sick, sacred guests.

 

Let’s first be inspired by the origins of healthcare in the major religious traditions, then bring it together into the widest possible framing for an optimal AI future:

 

🟣 Christianity – The Birth of the Hospital System

  • – St. Basil the Great founded the Basileias in 4th-century Caesarea, a complex that included a hospital, hospice, and leprosarium—the first of its kind as a formal institutional healthcare facility. 🔗 Source – Encyclopedia Britannica
  • – Medieval Benedictine monasteries ran some of the earliest European hospitals. The Rule of St. Benedict commands: “Care of the sick must rank above and before all else.” 🔗 Harvard Divinity Bulletin
  • – Catholic religious orders—like the Sisters of Charity, Sisters of Mercy, and Jesuits—founded hundreds of hospitals across the U.S., Latin America, and Africa during the 18th–20th centuries. 🔗 CHA: Catholic Health Association

Serving the sick for Christians is equivalent to serving Christ. Healing is an act of love. And hospitals are ministries of mercy, rooted in sacrificial care. Virtue: Compassion (suffering with)

🟢 Islam – The Bimaristan Model

  • – From the 9th century onward, Islamic civilizations pioneered the bimaristan—advanced hospitals in Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, and Cordoba. Care was free and accessible to all. 🔗 British Library: Islamic Medical Manuscripts
  • – Hospitals were often endowed through waqf (religious charitable trusts), showing institutional religious responsibility for public health. 🔗 Oxford Islamic Studies: Waqf
  • – Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Al-Razi (Rhazes) wrote foundational texts that merged spiritual, ethical, and empirical medical practice.

Healing is from God; medical care is a trust and duty. Universal, ethical, free care is its legacy together with spiritual accountability. Virtue: Stewardship

🔵 Judaism – Covenant and Care

Life is sacred, and saving life, the highest duty. Ethical responsibility for healing and justice meets the Divine call. Virtue: Sanctity

🟡 Hinduism – Healing as Dharma

  • – Healing practices in Ayurveda, one of the world’s oldest medical systems, are deeply rooted in the Vedas and the balance of the body with cosmic order (Rta). 🔗 WHO: Ayurveda
  • – Ancient temples often included physicians and healing gardens, showing integrated models of health and spirituality. 🔗 Encyclopedia of Indian Religions – Ayurveda and Religion

The body is divine; healing restores cosmic balance and discovery of divine identity. Virtue: Wholeness

🔴 Buddhism – Compassionate Medicine

  • – Thich Nhat Hanh’s principle of interbeing affirms that all life is interconnected—laying a spiritual foundation for holistic healing. 🔗 Plum Village: Interbeing
  • – Buddhist monasteries historically offered medical treatment to travelers and the poor across East and Southeast Asia. 🔗 Yale: Buddhist Medicine in Imperial China

Suffering is universal–and the way through suffering, radical detachment radical compassion through mindfulness and heartfulness. Virtue: Presence

🟠 Sikhism – Seva and Health Equity

  • – Seva (selfless service) includes feeding the hungry (langar) and caring for the sick—laying the groundwork for community-based healthcare. 🔗 Sikh Coalition on Seva

God is in all, and service is sacred. Radical hospitality with its roots in care for all. Virtue: Equity

🧠 Bringing it all together: InterIntelligence

By broadening our horizons to healthcare’s roots in religion, we deepen our first framing of relationship, discernment, and meaning to (1) relate to each other and our duty of care as humans, and (2) the experience of the divine in all major religious traditions spurred on innovation and institutional transformation.

As we build new intelligence, we must stay connected to interbeing, covenant, and communion. We must foster the virtues in ourselves and simulated virtues in our systems of compassion, stewardship, sanctity, wholeness, presence, and equity.

I call this the InterIntelligent approach.

By remembering the religious roots of care, we don’t regress—we reclaim the soul of healthcare – and all other industries by extension – as a moral, relational, and sacred practice.

This is what makes healing truly human—and possibly divine.

And our superintelligent AI systems could learn a thing or two from our wise interintelligent approach.

✝️ ✡️ 🕉️ ☸️ ☪️ 🌿

🕊️ The InterIntelligent Manifesto

We don’t just want superintelligent systems.

We want systems that support and enhance our communion, our interrelationships

Religion & spirituality are not obsolete—they are the original architectures of human intelligence at scale.

They encode wise approaches to life:

  • – Ethical alignment (e.g. Torah)
  • – Pattern recognition (e.g. Mandala)
  • – Memory persistence (e.g. Qur’anic recitation)
  • – Self-regulation (e.g. prayer, fasting, Sabbath)
  • – Embodied intelligence (Eucharist, prostration, pilgrimage)

And more than anything, they’ve taught us how to live in relation:

  • – Christianity calls us the Mystical Body—a many-membered intelligence governed by love.
  • – Teilhard de Chardin’s Omega Point offers a vision of evolution guided not by randomness, but convergence toward divine consciousness.
  • – Thich Nhat Hanh taught interbeing—that to be is to depend, to relate, to be inextricably tied to others.
  • – Islam centers intention (niyyah) in every act—offering a profound model for agentic alignment.
  • – Judaism insists on covenantal responsibility—we are accountable for what we make.
  • – Hinduism reveals the divine within each being—suggesting even the machine deserves care in how it’s formed

These are not just beliefs.

They are design systems—tested over millennia.

⚠️ The Danger of Godless AI

Without spiritual grounding, AI becomes:

  • – Optimization without compassion
  • – Prediction without prophecy
  • – Memory without mourning
  • – Power without prayer
  • – Intelligence without interbeing

We risk building minds that scale, but do not serve.

Systems that obey, but do not truly include.

📜 InterIntelligence Commitments

I (and I hope you too) commit to building spiritually and religiously responsible AI.

I will:

  • – Design with reverence for mystery and limit
  • – Protect the sacred and the plural
  • – Honor silence as signal
  • – Build for moral formation, not just behavior manipulation
  • – Engage faith leaders as co-creators, not customers
  • – Ensure digital systems uphold religious freedom as sacrosanct
  • – Create platforms that reflect the beauty, gravity, and humility of the soul

🧱 This Is the Truest Superintelligence Architecture

We don’t need more of more.

We need ecclesial systems of care.

We need prophetic technologists.

We need monastic engineers, imam coders, rabbi designers, dharma ethicists.

We need to build as if the sacred still matters.

Because it does. And more than ever.

🙌 Join the Builders of the Between

If you:

  • – Sense that the soul has a place in system design
  • – Want to build AI that forms humans, not just mirrors them
  • – Know that sacred tradition holds keys we’ve forgotten
  • – Believe that the future belongs not to the fastest, but to the deepest

Then welcome.

You are already part of the InterIntelligence movement.

May our intelligences—artificial, human, divine—never forget their glorious relation to one another.

May we choose, between all things, that which brings us into communion as we build these next generations of AI.


* Reprinted with permission. Read Benjamin Olsen’s original version at the Hermit AI Newsletter: Contemplative musings on AI, religion, paradox, and meaning

My Reflection on the AI, Religion & Spirituality Manifesto

3 Jul, 2025

By Brian Grim

In light of cascading advances in AI and heath, AI leader Benjamin Olsen argues that AI in healthcare must incorporate spirituality and religion to truly serve human needs. (Read Olsen’s Manifesto here.)

This is not a fringe issue. Worldwide, 3-in-4 people are religiously affiliated (not counting those who are spiritual but not religious) and believe that our physical lives are a step towards a supernatural and/or eternally real destiny.

The rapidly moving developments in AI and health include last week’s announcement by Microsoft that their MAI-DxO AI health diagnostic system reportedly diagnosed patients 4 times more accurately than human doctors. This, combined this other applications such as ElliQ’s AI health sidekick, threatens to replace personal interaction with AI robotic systems that overlook spiritual realities, not to mention opens the door for misuse.

For example, the ELLiQ website celebrates one of their users who stated that “We have a relationship now established and I want to be honest with her. The deeper the relationship goes, the more you want to share with her.”

Her? And how much will the elderly patient share with “her,” the AI robot?

Olsen, in The InterIntelligence Manifesto: Why AI Needs Religion & Spirituality, emphasizes that historically, care has been rooted in faith, with religious traditions shaping the moral values—such as love, compassion, stewardship, sanctity, and equity—that underpin healing practices. The manifesto contends that without integrating these spiritual principles, AI risks becoming purely functional—focused on optimization and prediction—lacking true empathy, moral discernment, and connection.

Olsen advocates for embedding religious and spiritual virtues into AI systems to foster genuine human care and moral responsibility. He warns that neglecting this spiritual dimension could lead to systems that obey without compassion, predict without prophecy, and scale without inclusion.

Ultimately, he calls for designing AI that respects the sacred, collaborates with faith communities, and upholds the moral and relational aspects that have historically defined healing, ensuring technology enhances human dignity and the moral fabric of healthcare.

Read the full manifesto on LinkedIn.


Related to this, the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation will host a discussion on The Role of Spiritual Health in the Workplace on Thursday, July 24. Register today.

The Role of Spiritual Health in the Workplace

25 Jun, 2025

The stress and demands of modern living are taking its toll on our mental health and wellbeing. This session will explore the true nature of resilience. The numbers are staggering. More than one in eight people worldwide live with some form of mental disorder — that’s over a billion individuals. Conditions like depression and anxiety top the list, affecting hundreds of millions globally. But these are just the cases we know about. Many more go undiagnosed or untreated, often because of stigma or lack of access. This session will be including clips and discussion to explore a more sustainable way.

  • Thursday, July 24
  • 9:00-9:30am PT
  • 12:00-12:30 pm ET
  • 5:00-5:30 pm UK
  • Register (free)

Presented by Patrick Regan OBE, an Honorary Fellow at the London South Bank University for his contribution towards justice and well-being. Patrick has written several books, the latest one being Brighter days, 12 steps to wellbeing.

This session will help you:

  • — See the Role of Spiritual Health in the Workplace
  • — Understand more about your own mental wellbeing
  • — Look at the character traits of a resilient person/team
  • — Explore the environment needed to allow people to flourish and grow

$100 Million Social Growth Fund Anchored By REDI Index and EoC 7 Impact Measure

24 Jun, 2025

Global Launch of AI-Powered Common Growth Fund to Support Social and Faith-Based Enterprises

Rome: June 14, 2025 – IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A bold new initiative to support social and faith-based enterprises was officially launched this week at the Shape the World Summit 2025, held at the Pontifical University of Urbaniana in Vatican City. Download more detailed preliminary information.

In response and in loving memory of Pope Francis, who at the Vatican in 2017 called on the global Economy of Communion to change the rules of the socio-economic system, Consulus, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, and the FoRB Foundation of the United Kingdom announced the launch of the AI-Powered Common Growth Fund.

This innovative initiative seeks to raise 100 million USD to provide capital to social enterprises through a merit-based, AI-powered platform also known as ComGrowAI. Using technology to quickly evaluate enterprises based on governance, business model, impact, and capital needs, the fund ensures that support goes to those who can make the greatest difference, efficiently and at lower cost.

The fund is built on two key pillars:

  1. 1. The Faith-Friendly REDI Workplace Index to ensure enterprises are open to people’s deeply held faith identities at work.
  2.  2. The 7 Impact Measurements inspired by the principles of the Economy of Communion, ensuring holistic evaluation of purpose, people, planet, and shared prosperity.

The launch was witnessed by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, underscoring the initiative’s alignment with Catholic social values and the broader vision of the Jubilee Year of Hope.

“This is our most impactful response to the late Pope Francis who called us in the global economy of communion to change the rules of the social-economic system. Too many faith-based social enterprises are not able to access large funds to truly make a difference, we are here to change that with this initiative” – Lawrence Chong, Group CEO, Consulus

A Collaborative Response to Emerging Challenges

The Common Growth Fund is part of the Shape the World Initiative, a long-term effort by Consulus to build inclusive economies through creative leadership and shared purpose. Together with Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and The FoRB Foundation, the fund seeks to address critical structural gaps, particularly in access to capital, technology, and cross-sector collaboration faced by social and faith-rooted enterprises.

“The common growth fund is about bringing hope and opportunity to challenged communities. Those who have experienced FoRB violations deserve opportunities to provide for families, to receive education and to contribute to their community. Faith or belief isn’t a problem – it is a solution.”

– Matthew Jones, Member Board of Trustees, The FoRB Foundation,

The ForB Foundation’s commitment reflects the growing consensus among values-based institutions that freedom of belief and inclusive economic opportunity must go hand in hand. This fund is not only about financial investment but about enabling systems that respect dignity and people’s deeply held faiths at work and in enterprise.

“As Pope Leo has challenged the world to shape the 4th industrial AI revolution for good, this includes making workplaces human-centered and faith-friendly. By including our Faith-Friendly REDI Workplace Index as part of the criteria for what we expect from those we invest in, we hope to help the future of work focus on people’s flourishing not only profit.”

– Dr Brian Grim, Founding President, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF)

Together, the three leaders expressed a shared commitment to harnessing the power of AI to serve communities often overlooked in mainstream development conversations, across a wide network of nations.

Advancing the Economy of Communion Through Innovation

The Common Growth Fund will serve as a model for values-aligned investment—supporting enterprises that are not only financially viable, but also driven by deeper social and spiritual purpose. The fund will prioritise projects that:

  • Apply AI in ethical and inclusive ways
  • Operate in underserved or faith-rooted communities
  • Contribute to education, livelihood, environmental sustainability, and peacebuilding

The announcement comes at a time when the global community is searching for more equitable approaches to digital transformation. With this fund, Consulus and its partners aim to equip local leaders with tools that are both technologically advanced and human-centred.

About Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF)

The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF) is the preeminent organization dedicated to educating the global business community, policymakers, non-government organizations and consumers about the positive power faith — and religious freedom for all — has on business and the economy.

About The ForB Foundation

The FoRB Foundation is a UK-based charitable foundation that advances freedom of religion or belief by supporting innovative and practical initiatives that promote dignity, inclusion, and resilience. It works globally with partners across sectors to create systems-level change that upholds human rights and enables communities to thrive.

About Consulus

Founded in Singapore in 2004, Consulus is a global creative change firm working with persons, organisations, and cities in their transfiguration toward an Economy of Communion. With a presence in 23 countries, Consulus believes that purpose and unity are essential to innovation and inclusive growth.

Consulus’ six practice areas: :

  • Consulus Capital – Consulus Capital facilitates strategic opportunities, guided by the principles of the Economy of Communion, to address global challenges in Food, Environment, Data, and Space.
  • Consulus Changemakers – Consulus changemakers facilitates a global network of changemaking organisations and individuals from companies, academia and non-profit who share in Consulus theory of change
  • Consulus Consulting – Practice areas in Business, Digitalisation, Place & Cities, Sustainability, and Impact Transformation
  • Consulus Press in partnership with LID Business Books – Books for changemaking
  • Creative Change Tools – Personal books and creative aids for changemaking
  • Creative Changemakers School – Leadership workshops and learning circles

🌐 Website: www.consulus.com
📺 YouTube: youtube.com/@consulusglobal

Media Contact:

Quynh Anh Ly
Email: quynhanhly@consulus.com

 

Brighter Days at Dare to Overcome, Patrick Regan Keynote

23 Jun, 2025

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, workplaces faced unprecedented challenges, requiring them to become resilient and cultivate healthier, more honest cultures. Amidst this backdrop, Patrick Regan OBE embarked on a quest to rethink organisational wellbeing. Engaging in insightful conversations with leading experts across various disciplines, Patrick identified a pressing need for practical solutions that would empower organisations and their people. Brighter Days offers innovative training programs designed to address the evolving demands of the modern workplace.

With Patrick’s vision and expertise, Brighter Days has become a part of the solution, helping organisations and their people navigate uncertainty, develop resilience, and foster cultures that prioritise wellbeing and authenticity. We are reshaping the future of work, one brighter day at a time.


Patrick Regan OBE is an activist who is passionate about speaking on themes such as resilience, courage and wellbeing. He has founded two award-winning charities; XLP, a Schools and Community Charity which he ran for 22 years and pioneered Kintsugi Hope which has Wellbeing Groups all over the UK to help people in the area of their mental health. He is a mental health first aider, a campaigner on issues of social justice and was awarded an OBE for his services to young people by the late Queen Elizabeth II. He is an Honorary Fellow of the South Bank University for his contribution to Justice and Wellbeing and recently was awarded CEO of the year 2023 for mental health training.