You visit a shrine on New Year's Day. You press your palms together.
Autumn leaves move you. A starry sky leaves you speechless.
— Did you know there's a name for that?
Spiritual But Not Religious — something sacred, beyond any single tradition.
What is SBNR?
Spiritual But
Not Religious
SBNR describes people who sense something beyond the material world — but don't identify with any organized religion.
They pray at New Year, say "itadakimasu" before meals, feel moved by autumn leaves, and find peace in hot springs. They call none of it religion. Yet something is clearly there.
In Japan, most people are SBNR without knowing it. MEGURI explores this unnamed spirituality — with data, stories, and experiences.
27%
of US adults identify
as SBNR (Pew, 2025)
+8pt
increase since 2017
fastest-growing group
88%
believe in something
spiritual (Pew, 2023)
Cultural Export
Japanese Concepts Going Global
Japan's spiritual and wellness practices are being adopted worldwide — not as religion, but as ways of living. These concepts carry 1,200 years of continuous cultural wisdom.
NHS
prescribes nature therapy
Shinrin-yoku
森林浴Forest Bathing
Born in Japan in 1982, now prescribed by the UK's NHS as 'green social prescribing.' Over 8,500 patients referred to nature-based therapy in England alone.
170+
Zen centers in North America
Zen & Mindfulness
禅From Temples to Tech
170+ Zen centers in North America. Google's 'Search Inside Yourself' program brought Zen-rooted mindfulness to corporate culture worldwide.
5M+
copies sold, 63 languages
Ikigai
生きがいReason for Being
The book 'Ikigai' sold over 5 million copies worldwide, translated into 63 languages. A life philosophy that resonates with SBNR seekers globally.
Global
design movement
Wabi-sabi & Ma
侘寂・間Beauty in Imperfection
From architecture to interior design, the aesthetics of imperfection and negative space are reshaping Western design philosophy since the 1970s.
$46.3B
global thermal springs market
Onsen
温泉Thermal Healing
Japan has 27,000 hot spring sources. The global thermal/mineral springs sector reached $46.3B in 2022, growing 14.3% annually toward $90.5B by 2027.
+47%
miso export growth 2020-2024
Fermentation
発酵Koji, Miso & Gut-Brain Axis
Japanese miso exports grew 47% from 2020 to 2024 (16,000 → 23,500 tons). Science is linking fermented foods to mental health through the gut-brain connection.
Sources: NHS England, GWI 2023, JETRO, Penguin Random House, team research
Discover
Already Here
You don't need to travel to a special place. The sacred is in the everyday — find it through your five senses.
Experience
From Knowing to Being
Start where you are. Every path leads somewhere worth going.
Stay Connected
The latest research, stories, and discoveries — delivered twice a month.
Unsubscribe anytime. No spam, ever.