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Fierce contemplation: meet the nature-loving nuns who helped to stop a pipeline

As fewer women enter convents, what will become of their rich tradition of social and environmental engagement?

Can religion be a positive force for social change?

Faith is neither a poison pill nor a silver bullet, but understanding its significance is crucial. 

Looking back: 12 of Transformation's greatest articles

I'm leaving after three years at openDemocracy. Here are some of my favourite, must-read articles from writers to watch out for.

Islam and the future of tolerance

A new book by best-selling atheist Sam Harris and Islamist-turned-reformist Maajid Nawaz fails to convince.

#BlackLivesMatter makes some people angry. Isn’t that good?

A new wave of activism is rooted in a different spiritual tradition to the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Four ways mainstream animal rights movements are oppressive

Animal rights campaigns like PETA care more for animals than they do for the lives of marginalized people.

Get real! Five spiritual responses to political reality

Do you belong to one of these five groups of people who are changing politics through spirituality?

The cyber-age demands a politics of the spirit

As people explore new forms of agency online, where is the politics that can serve their growing sense of possibility?

Why progressives need to take higher states of consciousness seriously

Far from being detached from reality, visionary alternatives to neo-liberalism are the product of deeper and deeper engagement.

Will the Universal Basic Income make us lonely?

A policy that parcels out money to people may maintain, or even exacerbate, levels of loneliness and individualism.

How to stay human

Neoliberalism encourages us to treat every aspect of our lives as if it were on sale in a marketplace: is it an anti-spiritual project?

Why spirituality is the key to a more visionary politics

Progressive renewal lies in a deep recognition that we are not choosing our current lives. An introduction to this week's guest-edited series: spirituality and visionary politics.

This is why using 'they' as a gender pronoun is so important

The 'they' prounoun carries emotional weight, affirms others, and challenges our assumptions about gender.

The life and death of Daniel Berrigan

Celebrating the remarkable life of a renowned peace activist and writer who died on April 30 2016.

How war trauma is passed down through families

After VE Day, a look at how trauma can transcend generations, and the need for peacebuilding work to overcome the consequences of conflict.

Does a fear of death lie at the heart of capitalism?

True wealth and power are found in collectives of people working together to radiate out justice and equality.

Rediscovering nonviolence in the Vatican

Is the Catholic Church ready to abandon ‘just war’ theory and recommit to pacifism?

OUR Walmart: nurturing caring communities for courageous action

By building an alternative culture from within, workers at one of the world’s most exploitative corporations are planting the seeds of social transformation.

Going out, I found I was really going in: John Muir’s spiritual and political journey

The story of a pioneering naturalist stands as one of the best examples of an individual’s spiritual awakening becoming a catalyst for social change.

Seven ways social justice language can become abusive in intimate relationships

There is always a choice. If we have the strength to survive oppression, we have the strength to choose not to abuse each other.

How ancient Jewish communities are reviving in Indonesia

Indonesia has the largest Muslim community in the world, but now, ancient Jewish communities wiped out in the Second World War are coming back to life.

Staying alive: Kate Bornstein gives the finger to cancer, suicide, and the gender binary

"Once you break down a huge fucking binary like gender, no other binaries seem to make sense": an interview with the much-loved trans author and artist.

Decolonial love: five ways to resist oppression in your relationships

We're never going to get anywhere as long as our economies of attraction resemble the economies of attraction of white supremacy.

There's more to being gay than anal penetration

Public portrayals of gay men are highly sexualized, often centred around anal penetration. Sex is shown as quintessential; intimacy, dispensible.

On Mother's Day: how to be an unconventional mum

I never wanted a child. But now I am a double mother: to my own mother as she copes with Alzheimer's, and to a son I didn't give birth to.

How strong friendships can defy dementia

The Momentia movement uses strong social ties to ward off the effects of Alzheimer’s.

The radical work of healing: Fania and Angela Davis on a new kind of civil rights activism

"Self-care and healing and attention to the body and the spiritual dimension – all of this is now a part of radical social justice struggles."

How to make love revolutionary

If you are only attracted to able, 'mentally well', cis, normatively beautiful people, from class privileged backgrounds, then you are upholding violent norms.

Can love stories change the world?

Through compassionate connection we can begin to find the foundations of community.  

Why understanding gut reactions is key to building powerful social movements

Activists need to recognize and utilize their intuition as well as their rational minds.

Workaholics anonymous: four ways to take time out

Being an effective, productive employee was everything I dreamt of. Until illness caught up with me and I had to learn to take a break.

The sex scandal following the Whole Foods’ guru

A cautionary tale where New Age spirituality meets American capitalism amid accusations of abuse.

How to stop competing and start building community

To get the most out of a community, you need a shared strategy, a space to grow, and to practice liberation. 

Welcome to another year of transformation

Can the world be reconstructed through the fusion of personal and social change? We say yes, and here's what we're learning.

10 top ways to survive your family Christmas

From imagining they're dead to distracting yourself with cute puppy pics, here's how to keep cool under family pressure this Christmas.

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