Centers for Spiritual Living are spiritual communities that practice Religious Science, a modern metaphysical tradition established by Ernest Holmes in the 1920s. Centered on the conviction that a single creative intelligence permeates reality, these congregations utilize affirmative prayer, meditation, and personal growth classes to help individuals transform life circumstances through constructive spiritual thinking.
Origins of Religious Science and Ernest Holmes
The philosophical foundation of Religious Science emerged through the work of Ernest Holmes (188–960). Raised in Maine, Holmes moved to Southern California as a young man and immersed himself in diverse philosophical, theological, and scientific writings. He studied the transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the mental healing insights of Phineas Quimby, the metaphysical lectures of Emma Curtis Hopkins, and the British mental science articulated by Thomas Troward. Rather than intending to establish a new ecclesiastical hierarchy or exclusive sect, Holmes sought to synthesize universal spiritual truths across global traditions into a workable, practical philosophy for daily life.
In 1926, Holmes published his seminal textbook, The Science of Mind, followed by an expanded edition in 1938. The volume argued that spiritual laws operate with the same reliability and mathematical precision as physical laws. In response to enthusiastic public demand for systematic training, Holmes incorporated the Institute of Religious Science and School of Philosophy in Los Angeles in 1927. Although Holmes initially conceived his organization strictly as an educational center rather than a denomination, students naturally organized Sunday gatherings and regular fellowship groups. Over subsequent decades, these teaching hubs developed into formal congregations, which readers can locate through our metaphysical church directory alongside related communities.
To understand where Religious Science fits within American religious history, it helps to review the broader framework of metaphysical church principles that gained traction during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While sharing certain historical roots with Christian Science healing practices, Holmes rejected Mary Baker Eddy's claim that physical matter and physical illness are absolute illusions. Instead, Holmes affirmed the reality of the physical world while teaching that mental consciousness serves as the primary creative cause governing physical experience.
Core Teachings of Science of Mind
Religious Science teaches panentheism: God is the transcendent creator of the universe while simultaneously dwelling immanently within all living beings. In this theological framework, Spirit is not an anthropomorphic deity sitting in judgment, but the infinite, loving Intelligence and creative Source of the cosmos. Because humans are spiritual expressions of this infinite Life, their thoughts, beliefs, and expectations actively mold their personal experiences.
The primary spiritual practice taught in Science of Mind is affirmative prayer, formally known as Spiritual Mind Treatment. Unlike petitionary prayer, in which a petitioner pleads with a distant God for intervention or forgiveness, Spiritual Mind Treatment is a scientific mental method that systematically aligns personal awareness with divine reality. Practitioners understand that prayer changes the thinker rather than God, removing mental doubts and aligning consciousness with wholeness, prosperity, and peace. Treatment follows five distinct steps:
- Recognition: Acknowledging that God, or Infinite Spirit, is the sole creative presence and ultimate reality throughout all existence.
- Unification: Declaring that the individual is inseparable from this divine presence, sharing its inherent wholeness, wisdom, and creative power.
- Realization: Stating the desired spiritual trut—uch as health, harmony, or abundanc—s an already established spiritual fact in the present tense.
- Thanksgiving: Expressing heartfelt gratitude for the fulfillment of the spiritual truth before physical evidence appears.
- Release: Letting go of personal attachment and yielding the spoken word into the creative Law of Mind, confident that the universe manifests the affirmed truth.
These practices share philosophical resonance with the Unity school of Christianity, though Religious Science places heavier emphasis on the impersonal, law-based mechanics of consciousness rather than Christian scripture and terminology. Holmes frequently summarized this mechanistic principle with the phrase: 'There is a Power greater than you are, and you can use it.'
The 2011 Merger and Centers for Spiritual Living
As Religious Science expanded throughout the mid-twentieth century, organizational disagreements regarding governance and local church autonomy led to a split. In 1954, two separate denominational structures formed: the Church of Religious Science (later named the United Church of Religious Science, or UCRS) and Religious Science International (later named International Centers for Spiritual Living, or ICSL). UCRS retained a more centralized denominational framework, whereas ICSL championed complete congregational autonomy and local ministerial independence.
Despite separate administrative bodies, both organizations shared identical theological roots, utilized the same Ernest Holmes texts, and trained practitioners under parallel curricula. Recognizing that administrative fragmentation undermined their collective outreach, leaders from both groups launched collaborative dialogues in the early 2000s. These negotiations culminated in 2011 with a historic reunification agreement, officially establishing Centers for Spiritual Living (2011 merger) as a unified international organization headquartered in Golden, Colorado. Today, the unified body supports approximately 400 member communities, teaching chapters, and study groups worldwide, operating alongside other metaphysical bodies such as Spiritualist church traditions and independent New Thought organizations within the broader New Thought movement.
Licensed Spiritual Practitioners and Leadership
A distinctive feature of Centers for Spiritual Living is the professional role of the licensed Religious Science Practitioner (designated by the credential RScP). Practitioners are dedicated lay professionals trained extensively in metaphysical philosophy, ethics, spiritual counseling, and Spiritual Mind Treatment. Earning a practitioner license requires at least three to four years of rigorous classroom study, spiritual mentoring, written examinations, and oral licensing panels. Practitioners maintain confidential professional practices, providing one-on-one affirmative prayer sessions to assist clients with physical healing, relationship harmony, career transitions, and emotional distress.
Ordained ministers within Centers for Spiritual Living typically begin their path by serving as licensed practitioners before completing graduate-level theological training through the Holmes Institute, the denomination's accredited ministerial seminary. Ministers lead congregations, deliver Sunday inspirational addresses, officiate weddings and memorial celebrations, and provide pastoral oversight, often working in close partnership with a core team of staff practitioners.
What to Expect at Centers for Spiritual Living Services
Sunday gatherings at Centers for Spiritual Living offer an uplifting, celebratory atmosphere designed to nurture personal growth and spiritual awareness. Unlike liturgical traditions with prescribed creeds or confessional rituals, services focus on practical spirituality, mindfulness, and constructive living. A typical Sunday gathering includes guided silent meditation, communal affirmations, and dynamic musical performances that incorporate diverse, contemporary styles described in our guide to modern church music styles.
The centerpiece of the gathering is an inspirational message delivered by the minister or guest speaker, applying Science of Mind principles to everyday issues such as stress reduction, creative problem-solving, and relationship health. Following the message, licensed practitioners offer affirmative prayer for the congregation and make themselves available for private, individualized prayer support after the service. Most gatherings last between sixty and seventy-five minutes, aligning with the typical length of a Sunday service in modern non-liturgical communities. Anyone seeking an inclusive spiritual community that welcomes people of all backgrounds, faiths, and sexual orientations can consult area weekend service times to visit an upcoming Sunday gathering.