The Secret Despair of the Secular Left: Our Fraying Connections with Our Communities, Our Bodies, and the Earth

A compelling and timely exploration of the spiritual void in modernity, and an invitation to reclaim a more connected and spiritually fulfilling way of life.

What is lost when we lose our religion? Our traditions? Connection and community? In The Secret Despair of the Secular Left, minister and Jewish scholar Ana Levy-Lyons seeks to find out. Levy-Lyons provides insights into what goes missing when we lose our religious underpinnings and deeply held beliefs and rituals. Drawing from a wide range of perspectives, including religious traditions, Indigenous societies, and countercultural communities, Levy-Lyons aims to understand the sources of our modern despair and allow readers to find pathways of healing and reconnection.

Levy-Lyons investigates three primary losses in today’s world. Disconnection refers to the loss of ties to community and each other in a world dominated by virtual interactions and polarizing social media. Dislocation is when we are separated from the earth and deprived of an intrinsic relationship with the land and our roots. Finally, disembodiment finds us disconnected from our physical selves and our spiritual essence. In a society increasingly detached from our essential nature, we have forgotten the profound knowledge and wisdom that our bodies hold.

When we realize what we’ve lost, we experience deep grief. But in examining these losses, we are also self-empowered to reclaim pathways to more connected, grounded, and spirit-filled lives.