Hi friends,
If you care about mental health, you should care about spiritual health.
Don’t worry, I’m not going full Woo-Woo on you.
At least, not yet…
There’s actually a lot of evidence showing that good spiritual health has strong associations with good mental health.
Longitudinal studies from Dr. Lisa Miller suggest that individuals with strong spiritual lives are:
75% less likely to experience major depression
80% less likely to struggle with substance abuse
60% less likely to report suicidal ideation
That’s huge!
Several other studies support this association.
Despite this evidence, however, we largely ignore spiritual health - much like we do with social connection and many other interventions that improve mental health, but aren’t reimbursable.
That is a mistake.
I’ve recently discovered a new movement trying to tackle this problem through technology. This bunch of innovators are building “Spirit Tech” - a collective term for technology that supports people to develop their spiritual health. And they are gaining momentum.
I’m actually not fully convinced that more technology is actually what we need to improve our spiritual health. But I do think it’s a super interesting trend that is gaining traction with founders and consumers. Because of this traction and the evidence supporting mental health outcomes, I think it’s something everyone in mental health should be aware of.
I also think it’s the kind of big, bold bet that we need more of in mental health.
In this article, we explore the connection between spiritual health and mental health, how people's spiritual lives are shifting in today's world, the emergence of Spirit Tech as an attempt to improve the spiritual well-being of our society and what this all means for mental health businesses.
Let’s get into it.
📣 THR Pro: A Membership For MH Operators 📣
If you want to join a community of top mental health founders, executives and investors, consider becoming a THR Pro member.
As a THR Pro member, you’ll get access to additional insights and data each month, including the full insights from our most recent research report on How People are Using AI for their Mental Health.
Spirituality and mental health
Spiritual health is a slippery concept to define, but I like the McKinsey Health Institute’s (MHI) definition (yes, I’m biased):
“MHI’s concept of spiritual health is not necessarily tied to religious beliefs but rather to meaning in one’s life, a broad sense of connection to something larger than oneself, and a strong sense of purpose. These can be found within a community, a calling, a form of divinity, the ability to feel rooted and mindful in the present moment, or all of the above.”
Although we may have slightly different definitions for this term, I think we can all agree on its general theme and role in our lives. But why is it important?
The importance of spiritual health
There is robust evidence that strong spiritual health leads to better mental health, physical health and overall higher life satisfaction. Let’s take a brief look at each.
Better mental health: A growing body of evidence points to a clear relationship between spiritual health and mental health. Research from the McKinsey showed that Gen Z respondents with good spiritual health are almost four times as likely to have good mental health. That is a huge difference.
There are many more studies (Lucchetti et al., Sun et al., Miller et al.) to support this association.
Better physical health. In addition to positive impacts on mental health, strong spiritual health is associated with many positive physical health outcomes, like a 33% reduction in all-cause mortality in women. A Harvard study from 2023 also concluded that spirituality was associated with overall healthier lives, including greater longevity, and that spirituality should be incorporated into care for both serious illness and overall health.
Higher life satisfaction. We’d probably all agree that spiritual health is an important part of a healthy, fulfilled life (alongside physical, mental and social health). We want the feeling that our life has meaning and that we are connected to the world. Yes, if we are lucky, we may be physically and mentally healthy, but without some sort of deeper meaning or sense of connection in our lives, we may struggle to feel fulfilled. There is evidence to support this intuition.
I’ve read a lot of the research on spiritual health, and it’s pretty compelling.1 It’s certainly important, and we shouldn’t be ignoring it.
From organised religion to individualised seeking
For most of history, religion has been the primary source of spirituality. For many, it still is. But in the last few decades, participation in organised religion has been in steep decline in Western countries - in the 1970s, more than 90% of Americans identified with a religious tradition; by 2023, that number had dropped below 65%.
But although many people are choosing to move away from religion, they are not moving away from spirituality. People seem to realise the importance of spiritual health and are seeking it out. That was certainly the case for me. I was raised a Catholic, but in my teens fell away from religion, choosing to live a largely secular life. However, in my twenties, I realised that such secularity can create a lack of purpose and meaning that can be very uncomfortable.
Now, I’m not surrounding my bed with crystals or checking in with my chakras every day, but I have recognised that some sort of spiritual belief and practices are important to feeling good about life.
I’m not alone.
One of the fastest-growing populations in the US is the "spiritual but not religious" (SBNR) population. The percentage of US adults who identify as SBNR rose from 6% in 1991 to 22% as of 2023 (according to Pew Research).
This group tend to be younger, more educated, and open to diverse practices like meditation, astrology, and psychedelics. This signals not a rejection of spirituality, but a decoupling of spirituality from traditional institutions. People still crave meaning, transcendence, and connection - they're just looking for it outside of organised religion.
As people search, organisations are providing answers.
Apps like Headspace and Calm popularised meditation. Psychedelic therapy has re-entered clinical and cultural conversations. Yoga studios replaced pews. Spiritual tourism is booming, and thousands of podcasts and content providers have emerged offering answers to questions around meaning and purpose - Jon Vervake’s Awakening from The Meaning Crisis has millions of views on YouTube.
I would even argue that a lot of the rise in demand for psychotherapy is from people searching for answers that were previously provided by spiritual sources.
As The Spirit Tech Collective describe, people are now building their own Spirit Stack, a curated combination of content, practices and community that helps them find meaning and deepen their spiritual lives.
The impact of technology on spirituality
Technology, in its broadest definition, has played a role in the rise and fall of many spiritual practices and religions.
The invention of writing allowed for religious practices to be codified, preserved and communicated beyond purely oral methods. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century allowed for the Bible and other religious texts to become widely available and for Individuals to engage with scripture directly - the Protestant Reformation would not have been possible without this invention.
In the 20th century, Broadcast media facilitated the emergence of tele-evangelism as preachers took to the TV screens to spread their message to millions in an entertaining format.
More recently, the internet has created an explosion of access to global spiritual traditions. Today, you can find information about any spiritual practice within minutes, as well as the tools and communities to facilitate your adoption of that practice.
It’s clear that technology can impact spiritual and religious practice.
But the direction and magnitude of that impact are hard to predict. At times, technology has undermined religious and spiritual practices; at others, it has advanced them. Many times, it has had no effect at all.
Spirit Tech
I first came across The Spirit Tech Collective (TSTC) when I was sent their substack by a friend. This newly formed group is made up of entrepreneurs and researchers betting that our current wave of technological advancements can improve our spiritual health. Their mission is to “50x the funding and talent flowing into the Spirit Tech sector over the next 10 years, paving the way for greater collective wisdom and flourishing”.
So should we be on board with this goal?
Well, we would have to believe that greater spirituality in society is a good thing. My reading of the research, combined with my own experience of life, would suggest that this is true.
But we would also need to believe that technology can actually develop greater levels of spirituality. That’s where the argument gets harder. As I’ve mentioned, it’s just hard to predict.
In a recent essay, TSTC outlined their vision for how Spirit Tech 3.0 might facilitate this.
They tell the story of how Spirit Tech 1.0 emerged during the human potential movement of the 1960s. During this time, biofeedback monitors were invented, and cultural interest in psychedelics spiked. A lot of this technology was experimental and only ever used by niche groups, but it laid a foundation for Spirit Tech 2.0.
During this second phase, digital media and mobile apps made spiritual practices available to the masses. For example, Headspace and Calm made meditation mainstream and consumers discovered many new practices. However, despite this widespread adoption, many of these practices lacked real spiritual depth.
TSTC believe that Spirit Tech 3.0 will build technology that facilitates the depth of practice that allows people to vastly improve their spiritual health. There are four technology trends they think will facilitate this movement.
AI-Driven, Hyper-Personalisation. Generative AIs can provide spiritual companions (like Sol) that help people to explore their spirituality, find connection in communities and engage in spiritual activities.
The Science of Awakening. Over the last 20 years, meditation has gone from a fringe spiritual practice to a widely adopted tool, supported by strong scientific and clinical evidence. As more researchers explore how spiritual practices work, and their impact on our bodies and minds, it will open up a new realm of possibilities.
The Next Wave of Interoception (Sensing) Tools: Wearables and sensing tech are converging to enable real-time tracking of our emotional and energetic states. From EEG-equipped earbuds to biofield sensors, we’re entering an era where tech might be able to reflect and respond to the subtle layers of our human experience. Lief is a smart patch that claims to help improve your stress levels in real-time. This is some pretty out-there stuff!
Non-intrusive Modulation of States: Psychedelics have gained popularity for their ability to help people have transcendent experiences. But there are drawbacks, and many people choose not to take these drugs (in many places, they are not approved or even illegal). Emerging technology may offer psychedelic-like effects without the need to take drugs. Through immersive sound, light, AR, and precise brain stimulation (like tFUS). Future tools may help users modulate consciousness in real time, making it easier to stay with difficult emotions, deepen their spiritual practice, or induce awe and interconnectedness - all without intrusive interventions or drugs. Again, pretty out there!
My religious friends would laugh at the idea of “next-generation interoceptive tools” leading to stronger spiritual lives. They would argue that we don’t need to invent new tools for spiritual health when we already have religions that have been proven to work well, often over thousands of years.2
For the people who already have a religious faith, they would be right. There are also many people who may not be religious, but will find religion. They may not need these tools either.
But there is a growing group of people who are not religious and are unlikely to ever come to religion. They understand the importance of spirituality and are searching for ways to find meaning and connection in the world. These people need solutions, and some of them may come from the types of technology TSTC are interested in.
So what?
Mental health businesses should keep a close eye on this emerging space. Similar to psychedelics, there is enough emerging evidence and consumer traction to warrant our interest. But it’s still a very early industry that will play out over the coming decades. Businesses that are focused on the clinical side of mental health should stay focused on their bread and butter, leaving the spirituality innovation to the Spirit Tech folks.
That said, if any technology or intervention gains significant traction, busineses should be ready to think about adopting it into their offering, either as an adjunct to their core service, or as a way to acquire new clients by meeting changing consumer needs (like how Headspace and Calm capitalised on the growth in meditation).
The Woo Window
One criticism I have of our industry is that we don’t take bold enough bets on innovation. Betting on Spirit Tech is bold. It’s a leap of faith (pardon the pun) on something that might just change the trajectory of population mental health.
Most of these ideas still exist in the “Woo Window” - a term coined by TSTC themselves. They may remain there, a bunch of nonsense only ever adopted by technophiles. Or they may emerge from the Woo Window into mainstream adoption, potentially becoming the next printing press, ushering in a new generation of consciousness, connection and fulfilment and solving our mental health crisis.
I’ll leave it to people smarter than me to decide.
Notes:
(1) Despite the strength of the associations in the existing literature, we should realise that there’s still a lot of room for more research on this area. The evidence is still emerging. We should also note that a lot of the research uses religious participation as a definition of spiritual health. However, in 2025, most people are pursuing spiritual practices outside of organised religion, and that’s an important trend for us to be aware of.
(2) Religions have been genius innovators, but not through technology. Over centuries, they have demonstrated a deep understanding of human psychology and built a set of practices, spaces, art, rituals and community to comfort us, guide us and help us live a good life. Of course, they are not without their challenges, but we can learn a lot from religions. I’d strongly recommend watching Alain de Botton’s speech on this topic.
That’s all for this week. What’s your take on this? Send me an email and let me know.
Keep fighting the good fight!
Steve
Founder of The Hemingway Group
