Religion has not kept pace with insights from modern science and the rapid rise of technology. The human person is evolving at an accelerated rate, but there is no integrative story to guide these developments in human consciousness and complexity.
To meet the religious and intellectual needs of a world in evolution, our mission is to:
- Deepen the integration of science, religion, and culture by understanding the contribution of each to the whole field of knowing and loving.
- Reflect on the human person as an integral member of the cosmic whole, and advance development toward integrated consciousness.
- Enkindle an awareness of love as the core energy of the universe, the impulse of evolution.
Are you inclusive of all religious traditions?
All world religions, including Christianity, are still tied to an ancient, static Ptolemaic cosmos. Yet, the universe is no longer a fixed state but a process. Traditional religions originated in historically and geographically limited cultures, none of which possessed an awareness of the collective unity and common destiny of humankind equal to what we experience today.
The future of human spirituality exists beyond these traditional religious definitions and institutional divisions. Nevertheless, this evolution requires deep, intentional work within specific communities and paradigms. Christianity is fundamentally a religion of evolution premised on the incarnational symbol of the Christ—matter matters. Like the physical sciences, Christianity must remain ready for discovery, exploration, and invention.
WISR is an institute catalyzing this transition. Drawing on the wisdom of the world's religious traditions—East and West—and engaging the frontiers of contemporary science, we serve all those hungry for discernment in an era of religious convergence, and those searching for a future that opens toward a unified, planetary whole beyond conventional definitions and divisions.
We are surrounded by a certain sort of pessimist who continually tells us that our world is foundering in atheism. But should we not rather say that what it is suffering from is unsatisfied theism?… If the great spiritual concern of our times is a re-alignment and readjustment of old beliefs towards a new Godhead who has risen up at the anticipated pole of cosmic evolution—then why not simply slough off the old—why not, that is, regroup the whole of the earths religious power directly and . . . pay no attention to the ancient creeds?
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Who is Pierre Teilhard de Chardin?
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a 20th-century Jesuit scientist and religious thinker. Although his ideas on science and religion still leave many readers perplexed, his prophetic insights, born out of an acute scientific mind and a deeply Ignatian spirit, enabled him to approach world religions by placing religion in a cosmic evolutionary framework.
For Teilhard, religion was not simply a matter of personal concern. If the evolution of matter culminated in the expression of consciousness, then religion is the result of evolution becoming conscious of itself, attempting to give form to the free energy of the earth for greater unity.
The Teilhardian concept of Omega—upon which our Center’s vision and work are based—is the revelation of God as the fullness of love, the dynamic center at the heart of all Creation.
WISR Team
Ilia Delio
Founder
Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD,
Ilia Delio is a Franciscan Sister of Washington DC and served as the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University until 2026. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the World Institute for Science, Religion and Culture, an online educational forum focused on integrative thinking and personal formation. She is the author of over twenty-five books, including The Christian Mutation: Reclaiming the Dynamic God of Jesus (Orbis, 2026), The Not Yet God: Carl Jung, Teilhard de Chardin and the Relational Whole, The Hours of the Universe which won the 2022 Gold Nautilus Book Award and The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: God, Evolution and the Power of Love (Orbis 2013) which received the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award.
Ilia graduated with a B.S. in Biology from DeSales University, a master’s degree in biology from Seton Hall University, a doctorate in Pharmacology from Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School, and a doctorate in Historical Theology from Fordham University. She is also the recipient of four Honorary degrees, as well as the Association for Catholic Colleges and Universities Monika Hellwig Award for her contributions to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.
Her area of research is Systematic-Constructive theology with a focus on religion and evolution, following the vision of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. She continues to develop a new framework of God, self and world through the integration of science and religion, mapping the next level of human evolution in an age of artificial intelligence.
Emily DeMoor
Dr. Emily DeMoor wears many hats. She serves as the Director of Christophany Groups for the Center for Christogenesis. She also serves as an educational consultant with Human Energy and as Director of the Caritas Center at Brescia University in Kentucky. With a Master of Arts in Musicology, a Master of Pastoral Studies with a focus on Religion and Ecology, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on environmental education, Emily brings a rich, multidisciplinary approach to her work.
Emily has taught at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels. As a past Director of Liturgy and Music in both campus ministry and parish settings, Emily has experience in Catholic, ecumenical, and interfaith worship. Through her teaching, retreats, publications, and presentations, she has reached national and international audiences. Her current research interests include ecotheology, process theology, intersubjectivity and the noosphere, and integrating the noosphere into K-12 and university curricula and pedagogy.
Lisa Drover
Lisa Marie Drover is a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Washington, DC. While currently serving as the Finance Officer for the Center of Christogenesis she also is the executive assistant to the Archbishop for the Military Services, USA. Prior to her current positions she worked in Development and was assistant to the President of Washington Theological Union. Lisa is also a retired nurse, having spent time in ambulatory and emergency nursing and several years in nursing administration in acute care and independent and assisted living for the elderly.
Josh Patterson
Director of Creative Content
Josh is a Creative Director and Podcaster from Baltimore who specializes in Process Theology. He has a B.A. in Digital Media and is currently finishing his Master's in Theology. Josh is the founder and host of the (Re)thinking Faith Podcast. Josh’s podcasting and writing focus on Process Theology, Radical Theology, Existentialist Philosophy, and what it means to be human. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, playing ice hockey, and spending time with his friends.
Robert Nicastro
Executive Director
Robert Nicastro, Ph.D., is a theologian, teacher, and writer whose research explores the convergence of religion, science, and artificial intelligence. His work focuses on how emerging technologies are reshaping human identity, planetary consciousness, and the future of religious thought. His doctoral dissertation, The Future as Sole Support: Metaphysics, Hyperphysics, and the Theology of Teilhard de Chardin, offers a reinterpretation of Teilhard’s cosmic vision as a compelling metaphysical framework for addressing the complex challenges of the twenty-first century.
WISR Board
Cecilia Ashton
Cecilia Ashton, OCD, is a Carmelite nun and graduate student at Villanova University. A graduate of Saint Joseph’s University and the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Celia was a practicing dentist for ten years before entering the Carmelite Sisters of Baltimore in 2013. As a Discalced Carmelite, she has dedicated her life to prayer as a way towards transformation, healing, wholeness, and societal change. She is currently pursuing a Master of Theological Studies at Villanova. Her interests include Carmelite Spirituality, Teilhard de Chardin, and Contemplative Prayer. She enjoys biking, hiking, and being in nature.
I am delighted to have been asked to serve as part of the Center for Christogenesis Board along with each of you. I have long been inspired by the work and vision of the Center. I look forward to learning from each of you and to helping to spread the Center’s important message to our world – a world that is hungering to experience the love of God in new ways.
Tara DeNuccio
Tara DeNuccio is living in exploration of the Divine invitation to experience God ever more fully in our shared humanity and unity with all of life. Early in her career as a registered nurse opened Tara to the sanctity of life and recognition of the transformative power of presence and compassionate care. Acute and terminal care for children and their families brought forward the essence of spiritual teachings and practices of her formative years. Called to care for those in need – bearing witness to suffering while offering a measure of relief from suffering.
As a mother of four, Tara has been blessed to experience the depth of mutual love shared between mother and child, to see the beauty of life carried forward and expressed anew through each of them. She is currently in practice as an Integral and Somatic Coach, with a focus on embodied presence, human development, spirituality, trauma integration and healing, and intergenerational wisdom. Impacted by teachers from a variety of fields, Tara has been drawn to the work of Ilia Delio and the Center for Christogenesis as spirituality and science converge and co-evolve, inspiring collective re-imagining of what is possible through our conscious participation in Divinity’s unfolding.
Gregory R. Hansell
Gregory R. Hansell is an executive leader and systems thinker working at the intersection of technology, operations, and evolutionary spirituality. His work approaches organizations as complex, evolving systems, integrating technological literacy, operational leadership, and process-oriented thinking shaped by long-standing engagement with complexity science, process philosophy, and the spirituality of love.
Gregory currently serves as Co-CEO and Chief Technology Officer of Alden Investment Group, where he oversees enterprise technology, general operations, and organizational infrastructure. He previously served as Executive Director of the Center for Christogenesis, where he co-led organizational transformation, digital growth, and revenue stabilization, and as Managing Director of Global Communications and IT at the Metanexus Institute. Gregory is co-editor (with William Grassie) of H+/–: Transhumanism and Its Critics (2011), an interdisciplinary volume examining the ethical, theological, and cultural implications of human enhancement and posthuman futures. His ongoing interests include the spiritual horizons of emerging technologies, the future of human becoming, and the role of institutions in participating wisely in evolutionary processes.
Gregory holds a BA in Religion and Interpretation Theory from Swarthmore College and an MA in Theology from Union Theological Seminary.
Libby Osgood
Sister Libby (Elizabeth) Osgood, CND, PhD, P. Eng. is an Associate Professor in Sustainable Design Engineering at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). She is a religious sister with the Congregation of Notre Dame de Montreal. Libby worked as an aerospace engineer supporting the design of two NASA satellites: FERMI and LandSat 8.
In 2010, she moved to Prince Edward Island, Canada to teach engineering design at UPEI and gained her Professional Engineering designation. While teaching, she earned her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her research interests include: Science and Faith, Teilhard de Chardin, Engineering Education, and Design Pedagogy. She is the engineering course advisor and coordinator of the Engineering Success Centre, employing nine students who support the educational needs of engineering students. She co-edited a Book of Hours published by Orbis, which collected the writings of Teilhard de Chardin into prayers.
Hillary Raining
The Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining serves as the Rector of St. Columba’s, Washington, DC. An accomplished scholar and writer, she holds a Master of Divinity from Yale and a Doctor of Ministry from Drew University. Her academic work explores reconciliation, liturgy, and Indigenous theology.
She is the founder of The Hive, an award-winning nonprofit and global online community dedicated to spirituality and wellness. Known for her holistic approach to ministry, Hillary is also a spiritual director, forest therapist, and yoga instructor who remains a frequent contributor to national Episcopal publications and podcasts.
Heidi Russell
Heidi Russell, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Pastoral Studies of Loyola University Chicago. She received her Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University and her M.Div./M.A. from Washington Theological Union. Her areas of research include Christian anthropology, Trinitarian theology, and a special interest in the relationship between science and theology, specifically in the fields of neuroscience and quantum physics. She is the author of Human Flourishing in a World of Trauma and Stress, Source of All Love: Trinity and Catholicity, as well as Quantum Shift: Theological and Pastoral Implications of Contemporary Developments in Science and The Heart of Rahner. She has published articles in Theological Studies, Horizons, Science and Theology, Buddhist Christian Studies and Philosophy and Theology. She has also published in National Catholic Reporter, US Catholic, and Scientific American.
WISR Partners
WISR is a global initiative formed by a network of partnerships around the world. We encourage you to explore the following partners for their offerings and events.
The American Teilhard Association, since its foundation in 1967, is committed to making the thought and vision of Teilhard more widely available. The Association seeks to bring an encompassing perspective to this great task of shaping the well-being of the Earth community at a time when so many disintegrating forces are at work. Teilhard’s vision of the sequential evolution of the universe provides a firm and inspiring basis upon which to envision a sustainable future. Find out more at teilharddechardin.org.
The British Teilhard Network promotes the work and vision of the priest-scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin – a vision of love, of fire, of convergence, of a world in evolution energised by spirit, a vision of dynamism and direction – of a universe in movement towards its ultimate consummation or completion in a ‘universal cosmic centre’ or ‘centre of centres’. They offer information, resources, reading lists, and event listings on their website at www.teilhard.org.uk.
The Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) supports a new reformation—from the inside. The CAC is a center for experiential education, rooted in the Gospels, encouraging the transformation of human consciousness through contemplation, and equipping people to be instruments of peaceful change in the world.
The CAC supports the world-renowned ecumenical ministry of Richard Rohr, OFM. As founder of the CAC and Academic Dean of the Living School, Fr. Richard’s teachings form the basis of the organization’s vision and ongoing work. For more about the work and offerings of the CAC visit www.cac.org.
The Church of Conscious Harmony exists for the sole purpose of facilitating the spiritual journey for people who want to make God devotion the center of their lives while living in the ordinary world without the aid of monastery walls. As a contemplative Christian community, we encourage and support a life of daily spiritual practice, study and devotion in service to a growing awareness and experience of conscious union with the Living God.
Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopal priest, writer, and retreat leader. She is founding director of the Aspen Wisdom School, principal teacher for The Contemplative Society, and a core faculty member of The CAC Living School for Action and Contemplation.Cynthia travels broadly to teach and lead her unique process of transformative learning and practice at her popular Wisdom Schools. She is the author of nine books, including the most recent The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice. She is connected to the Wisdom Schools community at Wisdom Waypoints or you can find out more about Cynthia and her work here.
The Guild for Spiritual Guidance is a community of spiritual questioners and explorers who are committed to supporting and challenging an individual’s unique wisdom and purpose in a broader universal context.
Founded 40 years ago by cutting edge thinkers, in order to make accessible the broad spiritual teachings of depth psychology, cosmology and a wide range of sacred writings, the Guild provides a safe and hospitable place for developing the kind of listening and responding that enables the on-going process of spiritual transformation.
To learn more visit https://spiritualguidance.org/about/.
Human Energy is a nonprofit research, media, and educational organization dedicated to spreading awareness of the noosphere and addressing the techno-social dilemma in today's world. In celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Noosphere by the Jesuit Scientist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Human Energy has partners with key educational institutions and leading scientists throughout to develop workshops, master classes, and lectures inspired by the breakthrough.
To learn more please visit humanenergy.io.
The Center for Process Studies (CPS) is a nonprofit think-and-action tank that conducts interdisciplinary research and education to cultivate holistic understanding for human and planetary flourishing. Founded in 1973 by John B. Cobb, Jr. and David Ray Griffin, CPS is influenced by the process-relational philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947). Accordingly, CPS programming engages three distinct, yet interrelated, areas of concern: 1) science & philosophy, 2) human experience & meaning, and 3) society & sustainability. Within and between these areas of inquiry CPS works to deepen understanding of what the world is like, what it means to be human, and how we should live.
Learn more at ctr4process.org.
