Soul Boom

Until a recent trip to my local bookstore, I was unaware that Rainn Wilson (of Dwight Schrute fame) was an author. When I saw his name on the cover of this attractively labelled book, I was immediately curious what the star of The Office might have to say about, well, anything. My curiosity was doubled when it appeared Rainn was looking to start a spiritual revolution. I flipped through the table of contents and then leafed to the back to check out his reading recommendations and acknowledgements. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon him referencing David Bentley Hart, not once, but twice.

Under Rainn’s must-read books section, he noted everyone should read David Bentley Hart. Even more curious, he personally thanks DBH in his acknowledgements for introducing him to the mystic Christian way. Are Rainn Wilson and DBH friends? Do they share drinks together and talk about religion? If so, new life goal = find a way to insert myself into their company. Having made a mental note about that, the possibility that this book in front of me might offer David Bentley Hart somehow in conversation with Dwight Schrute struck me as something I couldn’t afford to miss. I bought the book without hesitation.



What I found in the book wasn’t quite what I was expecting (only two brief mentions of DBH). While I didn’t get the conversation I was hoping for, what I did learn is that Wilson is actually part of the Baha’i faith tradition. Fair enough, I learned much about the Baha’i religion in the pages of the book. Seems like a pretty good spiritual path, all things considered. I appreciated him owning the particular path he travels rather than advocating for some kind of bland and nebulous spirituality.

Of course, I wondered if I would struggle reading the book without imagining Dwight Schrute narrating it to me. That was definitely part of my experience reading it, and it wasn’t particularly bothersome or distracting. In fact, in tone and style, the book reads a lot like the kind of work Rob Bell might produce these days. Their writing styles felt almost eerily similar. Swap each author’s starting place in faith and I could have sworn I was reading from Bell himself. Imagine Dwight Schrute preaching about how everything is spiritual and asking “are you with me?” and you have the idea.

The similarities between Bell and Wilson don’t end with writing styles either. One of the interesting tidbits of info Wilson gives his reader is some insight into his failure to convince any of Hollywood’s gatekeepers, or any of the streaming service giants, to allow him to produce a show about God and faith. It seems both Bell and Wilson have had a hard time bringing serious conversations about God to Hollywood.

The good of the book? Well, he covers a lot of well-trod ground for anyone familiar with Rob Bell or others like him. There weren’t a lot of novel things to chew on. That being said, I found it refreshing to hear him make a coherent case for taking God, prayer, and faith communities seriously. He digs pretty hard into the "spiritual but not religious" crowd. As someone who believes strongly in choosing a spiritual path to follow in the context of community, I really appreciated this from Wilson. Moreover, given his writing style, he is able to talk about his spiritual revolution while keeping a grin on your face.

What would I critique? Well, my jaw almost hit the floor when, after spending the first half of his book making the case for mooring yourself to a religious tradition, Wilson spends the last few chapters pitching "a new religion". Coming from Rainn Wilson, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to take this idea seriously. After making his case for two chapters, however, I was puzzled to realize he wasn’t kidding around at all. In fact, I think he was even serious about the name of this new religion, “SoulBoom.” Really? I confess, there were moments when I considered tossing the book across the room. I couldn’t imagine telling someone I belong to the SoulBoom religion.

Essentially his pitch for a new religion boils down to this: people need more than individual spirituality. We NEED religion. We NEED to work out our spiritual lives in the context of community. We NEED the collective wisdom of the world’s ancient religions. BUT . . . all of our ancient religions have too much baggage, so we need a new one that takes their wisdom, but leaves the rest behind.

Initially, I confess, I was annoyed by his recommendation. It strikes me as the height of hubris and arrogance to suggest forming a new religion. Moreover, Wilson’s work showcases the similarities between faith traditions, and yet, it far too easily glossed over important differences and distinctions. To suggest that every faith path is heading to the same place lacks humility. For me, it is the flip side of the coin to those who insist only one religion or path is right. Both assertions feel arrogant and cheap to me.

That being said, I found Wilson earnest and his book a pleasure to read. I think Wilson’s new religion idea was born out of both a pragmatic view of the world and a sincere concern for humanity. To the latter, Wilson speaks at length about his concern for the state of our planet, and for children and youth in particular. On top of the major existential crises we face (pandemics, climate change, nuclear war, increasing polarization), Wilson is deeply concerned about the mental health crisis among our youth. It seems Wilson sincerely believes a strong dose of religion would do the world a lot of good right now. And I don’t think he is wrong there.

At the same time, the idea from Wilson is fiercely pragmatic. He spends time looking at the “religious nones and dones” category of the population. As it stands, people without a religious affiliation are growing rapidly while those with one continue to shrink at an alarming rate. People are done with religion and they aren’t coming back . . . and often for good reasons. That is the reality of the situation. And as far as I can tell, no one is doing a good job of bringing people back.

For Wilson though, religion is too important to give up on. We need religion in order to address the multiple crises we are facing. So, if folks aren’t coming back to the ancient religions, well, the pragmatic solution might very well be to create a new one. And though I might disagree, it does make a certain amount of sense. I can respect and admire that.

As I mention in my book, A Path Called Compelling, we all need a spiritual path to travel. We wander aimlessly without one. Here Wilson and I certainly agree. Now, more than ever, humanity needs a path if there is hope to find healing and restoration in our world. And while I advocate for the Jesus Path, I commend Wilson for the courage, perhaps even the audacity, to try to form one of his own. If only he could do something about the name of that path ;)

For those interested, here are the 21 tenets of this new SoulBoom religion. Wilson of course expands on each of these in his book, but for those looking for a snapshot, here it is.

1. A Higher Power

2. Life After Death
3. Power of Prayer
4. Transcendence
5. Community
6. Moral Compass
7. Force of love
8. Increased Compassion
9. Service to the Poor
10. Strong sense of purpose
11. No clerics
12. Diversity plus harmony
13. Centrality of divine feminine
14. Cooperation between science and faith
15. Profound connection to the natural world
16. Centrality of justice
17. A life of service
18. Practical spiritual tools
19. Emphasis on music and arts
20. Humility
21. Potlucks



Not bad stuff, not bad at all. You could certainly do far worse. While it may not be the path I choose to follow, it is still a path, and I have no doubt being a part of SoulBoom would get a person a lot farther than they would without a path altogether. And for that, I tip my hat to Wilson.