In a recent blog, "Living with Enchantment," I wrote of New Copernicans, “We are moderns that believe in magic.” I cited Doctor Strange, Elizabeth Gilbert, and yes, Harry Potter. So I was intrigued to read Gracy Olmstead’s article in The Federalist, “Harry Potter Offered Millennials Enchantment in a Disenchanted World.” However, on closer reading my stomach turned sour. Gracy makes the correct observation quoting Lara Prendergast in The Spectator, “Harry Potter may be a liter

Director Scott Derrickson got it right in Doctor Strange. He infused the expected technological naturalism of the Marvel comic universe with Eastern Tibetan mysticism. He morphed Stephen Strange from a self-absorbed disenchanted naturalist to a nascent enchanted naturalist who was learning that there is a reality larger and other than his own ego that provides the scope of meaning to his life. The film has been criticized for not spelling out the character arc of his spiritua

It is perhaps too strong to say, “Demographics is destiny.” Culture is too complex to make that reductionism stick. But millennials may have the social and economic capital to make the claim stick. New Copernicans are rethinking the core assumptions of human society. If you are not paying attention, then you are an idiot. The Republican National Committee, the evangelical church, and the International Olympic Committee are three institutions at risk in being bypassed by this

New Copernicans intuit that reality is spherical. They also sense that life is best lived in harmony with the nature of reality. Exploring the building blocks to reality is an exciting aspect of our ongoing spiritual and life pilgrimages. Fractals are clearly one of these building blocks. In nature, fractals are never ending patterns that repeat at different scales. This property is called “self-similarity.” A fractal provides maximum simplicity with maximum complexity. Fract

If New Copernicans are the first post-Enlightenment generational cohort, then their attitudes toward Enlightenment-based political institutions will not be based on Enlightenment polarities. Some have found that according to the World Value Survey millennials are the most politically radical generation ever recorded. But it would be a mistake to assume that this means that they are consistently progressive. What this really means is that they are no longer confident in the in

It is my contention that we cannot flourish as a human being without being on a spiritual pilgrimage. The question then becomes, how do I enter into that pilgrimage? This beautiful essay from Muslim artist Sophia Khan provides wisdom for the road. It has been said that there are as many paths to God as there are breaths in this world. Living in a world where I am exposed to many different ideas around religion and spirituality has provided a beautiful backdrop for my own expl

Brad Wilcox was a graduate student back when I was working at the University of Virginia. He has since become a national authority on the sociology of marriage and family and is a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. So I was struck by a new report that he and his research director Wendy Wang released recently: “The Millennial Success Sequence.” They acknowledge that millennials are taking many divergent

What will it take for evangelical leaders to learn from Pope Francis? He has a deep appeal to millennials. One cannot imagine the likes of Franklin Graham, Russell Moore, or Al Mohler gracing the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Pope Francis is an exemplar of an open transcendent faith. He has not changed Catholic doctrine, but he has single-handedly changed the tone in which the doctrine is heard and encountered. Closed transcendent Catholics rail against him. Meanwhile he a

Eating out can be a culinary adventure. I have an app on my phone that makes it so. Guy Fieri has a popular TV show on the Food Network, “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” My humble background makes me especially appreciative of the kind of food he celebrates. It’s local food prepared with special love. It gets its "gourmet" not from price or context, but by culinary care. I have the Triple D app on my phone. On driving trips my wife and I look for those hidden spots that have be

The vote in the United Kingdom this week, which greatly weakened Theresa May’s Conservative Party has been blamed on the voting patterns of millennials. They rallied behind Labor by a 34-point margin. One cannot automatically assume that this means that they hold to the Labor party lines. In general, millennials are simply frustrated by politics, its antics, and it’s over weaning self-importance. It’s not as important as the cable news programs would have one believe. New Cop