Mission & Goals

Mission Statement
To foster awareness of the power of love and forgiveness in the emerging global community.

Goals
To study science and spirituality as complementary paths to understanding the foundations of love and forgiveness. Learn more about our work in Science & Spirituality.

To create opportunities for more people to bring love and forgiveness into the heart of individual and community life. Learn more about our work in Individual & Community Transformation.

To give visibility and voice to the power of love and forgiveness through compelling individual and community stories. Learn more about our work in Communication & Outreach.

Addressing a Paradox
People across the globe, from all cultures and traditions, embrace love and forgiveness in daily life. These values are universally viewed as central to the fabric of humanity. Yet, the emerging global community has few institutions dedicated to deepening the understanding and spreading the application of these values. In this context, the Fetzer Institute pursues a unique role—working to investigate, activate, and celebrate the power of love and forgiveness as a practical force for good in today’s world.

Our Point of View
We believe that love and forgiveness have power: power to heal, and power to transform even the most difficult, troubled situation into something that is generative, affirming, and life-giving. In a world that seems dominated by aggression and separation, we see a broad and deep yearning for something different. We join those who desire greater civility in our public lives, who seek a return to sharing human connections through community, who exhibit an openness to compassion, and who hunger for deeper and more meaningful relationships.

Our work is grounded in a conviction that the connection between the inner life of spirit and outer life of service and action in the world holds the key to lasting change. All of our activities—past, present, and future—are united by a desire to help improve the human condition by increasing conscious awareness of the relationship between this inner and outer life.

This desire is central to the world’s religious and wisdom traditions. While the Institute is not a religious organization, we honor and learn from these traditions. And we practice deep, meaningful dialogue as a path to this learning.