The Virtues and Vices of Spiritual Yearning initiative, funded by Hillsdale College, invites interdisciplinary research proposals that explore the dual aspects of spiritual yearning. As traditional religious participation wanes and alternative spiritual frameworks emerge, this initiative seeks to address how spiritual longing can foster intellectual virtues—such as openness, humility, and curiosity—and avoid intellectual vices, including dogmatism, arrogance, and incuriosity. By bridging philosophy, psychology, religious studies, and related disciplines, this initiative aims to contribute to human flourishing and foster innovative research. The project will support both theoretical and empirical research, bringing together diverse scholars to investigate critical questions about spirituality’s role in identity, purpose, and meaning.
The aim of this Call for Proposals is to explore the empirical and theoretical contours of the virtues and vices of spiritual yearning by administering a funding initiative. Key questions include: What does virtuous spiritual yearning look like? Does spiritual satisfaction lead to intellectual vice (lack of curiosity, etc.) while also promoting moral virtue (generosity, etc.)? Does spiritual unfulfillment lead to poor mental health outcomes? How does spiritual yearning relate to concepts like existential meaning or epistemic angst? What is the epistemic value of spiritual yearning? And does yearning open people up to intellectual vulnerabilities (e.g. gullibility to charismatic leaders or misinformation in the pursuit of truth)?
Grant Information
We invite applications for eight teams to join the two internal teams, one philosophically and theoretically inclined, and one empirically focused. The project is interdisciplinary in all aspects from internal teams to invited collaborators, as we create a community of scholars to make progress on the virtues and vices of spiritual yearning.
Project Duration: sub-grant projects will run for approximately two years.
- Starting: October 1, 2026
- Concluding: September 30, 2028
Project Types:
- Philosophy/Theoretical: Four projects of up to $100,000 each
- Psychology/Empirical: Four empirical sub-grants of up to $250,000 each
Particularly welcome are proposals that:
- examine spiritual yearning in non‑Western or minority religious contexts;
- bring multiple traditions into direct conversation (e.g., Buddhist‑Christian, Islamic‑secular, Indigenous‑Catholic);
- or are led by—or formed in equitable partnership with—scholars and communities in the Global South.