Goodbye, church... Hello, Wellness Industrial Complex! episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 17, 2025 · 18 MIN

Goodbye, church... Hello, Wellness Industrial Complex!

from It's Been a Minute

America is a deeply spiritual nation. Over 70% of us say that we feel spiritual in some way. But – at the same time – we're getting less religious. So for people who are spiritual-but-not-religious – what's replacing organized religion? What do they believe – and where does that show up in their day-to-day lives? In our new series called Losing My Religion, It's Been a Minute is going to find out. This week, we're getting into wellness. It's a global industry worth 6 trillion dollars that's starting to encompass all kinds of things – including spirituality: from the spirituality of wellness practices like yoga and reiki, to treating wellness itself like a religion. Brittany is joined by Alyssa Bereznak, wellness editor for the LA Times, and Rina Raphael, author of the book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care, to get into what people get out of a wellness-based spiritualism.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

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Goodbye, church... Hello, Wellness Industrial Complex!

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