“At Risk of Questions” Podcast: Religious life is not dead. This is changing.

Gone are the convents filled with sisters dressed in long, dark dresses called “habits,” clothes from much earlier centuries often topped with starched folds that squeezed the wearer’s face and allowed only a view of the chin just above the eyebrows.

Gone are the Catholic elementary schools filled with baby boomers, taught almost exclusively by sisters who worked for pennies.

Gone are the motherhouses where young women gathered to be educated and trained in the disciplines of particular orders.

For the most part, the customs and women have disappeared, many of whom, like their religious counterparts, passed away in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The much smaller and aging corps of women is often, understandably, seen as the last remnant of religious life. From this view it is easy to draw the conclusion that religious life has come to an end.

“Wrong,” says Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister in this episode, in a discussion that emerges from her classic book: Fire in these ashes: the spirituality of contemporary religious life.

The old forms of religious life and its “shape” are certainly a thing of the past. “What remains,” he says, “is a culture of young people looking for a way to realize their spiritual life, their contemplative understanding, their need to serve and their devotion to Jesus.” Religious life is not dead. This is changing.

“Risking Questions” is a collaborative project Benetvision and NCR. This podcast is made possible in part by the generosity of Bill and Jeanne Buchanan. In episode 3, Chittister and her friend biographerformer National Catholic Reporter editor Tom Roberts, discuss changes in religious life.

How to listen

To start the show, click the “Play” button in this article. Remember to keep your browser window open if you are doing other things, otherwise the audio will stop.

From your mobile device:

You can listen to and subscribe to “Risking the Questions” on any podcast app. If you are reading this on an iPhone or other Apple mobile device, click this link to listen on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available on Spotify, under this link.

If you prefer a different podcast app, you’ll find a “Risk Questions” option there.