What is the CODA Project?

The goal of the CODA Project is to build a movement that encourages the “nones”1, people who self-describe as “spiritual but not religious,” Humanists, non-theists, agnostics, and atheists to actively continue exploring what they believe, what they value, and how to create their best lives. This could be done individually or within small, self-organized spiritual communities. The CODA Project supports and encourages both.

How did this begin?

Since 1985, I have been active in Catholic ministry through volunteer, part-time, and full-time positions. I’ve also gone through a great deal of spiritual formation and ongoing religious education, including completion of a Masters in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University.

During those decades, I gave thousands of talks, hundreds of workshops, and over 150 multi-day retreats. I touched the lives of thousands of people during that time but also continued my quest for truth, eventually becoming disillusioned with the Catholic Church and organized religion in general. Specifically, I was turned-off by the rise in prominence and authority of the people whom I classify as religionists.2

It’s bad enough that billions of people have grown up with a foundational belief in the supernatural. What’s worse is that organized religions, for the most part, have not helped members of the brainwashed masses to come to their own, individual understanding of what it means to be live a spiritual life. Instead, religionists are focused on teaching the details of their church’s dogma and doctrine. On the one hand, they will profess that God is ultimately a mystery that humans can never fully understand. Then, on the other hand, they’ll insist that their beliefs are the only true beliefs because, in one way or another, God told them so.

I’ve now come to understand that belief in the supernatural is not a requirement for living a good, moral, life or finding a cause or purpose to pursue. In fact, belief in the supernatural, when guided by religionists, leads far too many people to fanatical beliefs that drive negative actions.

That’s why I decided to launch the CODA Project.

Creating is What WE Do

CODA stands for Creating Our Divine Alignment. (Before you click away because of the word “Divine,” it’s sort of a play on words, so please read on!) The idea is that there is something truly exquisite—truly “divine”—when you have your activities, goals, and aspirations in alignment with your personal core values. Everything feels right with the world and your life. But none of this comes from outside of ourselves. My core values are mine and your core values are yours. They might be the same, or they might be different.

Similarly, identifying a “purpose” doesn’t come from outside of us either—it comes from working through things ourselves and choosing a purpose that’s in alignment with our values and that gets us fired up. Life has no inherent purpose, which is a wonderful thing. If our lives had a purpose assigned by something outside of ourselves, then we would be slaves to someone or something. There’s no purpose of life but we can definitely find purpose in life.

The main point though is that WE create all of that. We create our values. We create our purpose. We decide how to bring our activities, goals, and aspirations into alignment with our beliefs and values. Thus, we create our own “divine alignment.”

There is no god or other supernatural being that “calls” us to do something. Any “calling” we feel is from our own hearts and minds. Yes, many people do feel drawn towards certain activities or goals. This is perfectly normal and generally good, if we’ve taken the time to contemplate and identify our core values. Once we’ve developed ourselves in these areas, our intuition can guide us much more effectively.

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Divine Alignment without the Supernatural

For me, the phrase “Divine Alignment” does not have anything to do with a supernatural being, although people are free to interpret it however they want. It is intended to describe the special, exceptional feeling you have when your core values, beliefs, aspirations, goals, and actions are all in alignment. The feeling you get when that is achieved can only be described as “divine.”

Through this online forum, I will explore the ways we can live our lives better, attempting to bring everything into alignment. Of course, the world and our lives are dynamic, so this isn’t a one-and-done sort of thing. It’s an ongoing process that can be fun and exciting, but that also requires conscious effort and intentional action.

Dynamic Beliefs

CODA is not based on doctrine and dogma but rather a certain openness to individual and communal exploration and growth. My personal beliefs have evolved over the years and I could probably claim the label of Atheist Catholic Humanist. I’ve been raised in the Roman Catholic Church, so I am still at least somewhat culturally Catholic but I am definitely Humanistic in my beliefs. But to be clear, not only do I not believe in the Christian God, I find no reason to believe in any God, divine being, or supernatural force. So, as I said, I can probably be labeled an Atheist Catholic Humanist.

However, at least for the time being, I want everything I’m doing through the CODA Project to be open to nontheists, atheists, and theists. When we can focus on values rather than beliefs, there tends to be more common ground to explore.

As such, I want any who join me on this journey to understand that I consider my “beliefs” to be dynamic. If I don’t start from that basic assumption, then how can I possibly claim to be open-minded? One of the frustrations I have with religionists is that even the most progressive of them can never be truly open-minded because there are always certain (generally ancient) doctrine or dogma on which they won’t budge. I’m not sure if that qualifies as being “closed-minded” but it’s at least “narrow-minded,” which negates the possibility of being truly open-minded.

Multiple Ways to Participate

The CODA Project doesn’t currently have a physical location—it is mostly online at CODAproject.com—and the only physical gatherings are when members of CODA decide to have small gatherings in their homes to listen to and discuss our podcasts and videos with family and friends.

Currently, our weekly webinar series, Mythologizing the Bible, has been running since December of 2023 and will continue through November of 2026. The webinars are also being converted to podcasts and videos, and will be available in those formats on multiple platforms.

Beginning in January of 2025, I will be publishing the Weekly CODA, which will provide members with an alternative to attending weekly church services. There is power in community rituals and celebrations, and I will be offering an interactive way for families or friends to come together, hear a positive message together, and then discuss the topic among themselves. Additionally, I’ll offer some different ways of holding these meetings that will provide a familiar structure, ways to incorporate a shared meal, etc.

For now, I am creating all of this on my own. Keep that in mind as you read the ideals below, which are what I believe an organization should focus on in order to truly support people without the need for belief in the supernatural.

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The CODA Project Ideals:

• CODA Goal: To encourage personal and community growth through identification of personal values and aligning one’s life to them outside the constraints of organized religions and without the need for a belief in the supernatural. CODA is not about creating and promulgating dogmatic and doctrinal rules. CODA is about moving beyond the need for such rudimentary mechanisms and helping people rise above the need for simplistic rules and creeds.

• CODA has no doctrine and claims no authority, nor is it intended to be an institution. It’s intended to be a movement designed to help people create better lives on their own or with a small community of family and friends.

• CODA affirms the dignity and inherent value of all people, regardless of race, nationality/ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or anything else. CODA especially affirms those things that make each of us unique and believes that we should accept others because of our differences, not in spite of them. Everyone is welcome to join us and anyone can offer to play a guiding role in a small group or community. There is no mold, so everyone fits!

• CODA views all religions as mythologies created by people as a means of explaining things that they simply didn’t understand (and often feared). The most widely accepted religions in the world today were invented by people who didn’t know where the sun goes at night. It’s not surprising that they invented gods, angels, demons, and other magical beings to somehow explain all those things they didn’t understand. However, the CODA Project isn’t in the business of debunking or debating these ancient belief systems because we recognize that all doctrines are time- and culture-bound. In other words, any belief system—especially religions—should be considered provisional and subject to change. We do acknowledge that there are still innumerable things in the cosmos that we don’t yet understand, but that doesn’t justify the perpetuation of ridiculous beliefs and magical thinking.

• CODA believes the more questions we ask, if asked with an open mind and heart, the closer we are to achieving and maintaining “divine alignment” in our lives. Questioning means we’re still searching. We may never fully understand the universe and our place in it, which makes the journey all the more important. Questioners should be welcomed, and those who are not questioning should be encouraged and taught how to do so.

• CODA advocates for a non-hierarchical approach to organizing communities. Anyone who chooses to start a small group or community and guide others as they create their divine alignment should do nothing to place themselves above others. For example, if an individual or group is helped by including ceremonial garb or accoutrements, that’s fine, provided that it’s not done solely as a way to separate the one officiating from the community members or as a way to honor some bygone era that has no bearing on the world today.

• CODA teaches that the community members should determine how a small group or community is organized and maintained. The goal of the CODA movement is to allow community members to determine what is best for their group or community, so CODA only advocates to keep things small. With a small community, the group members can decide among themselves (a) if they need someone to officiate and, if so, then (b) who that will be (and what their role is).

• CODA does not intend on creating any sort of hierarchy for the movement. Hierarchies create false authority, placing some people above others based simply on invented positions. A movement that has no cosmology, dogma, or doctrine to be taught and enforced has no need for such a hierarchy. Those responsible for creating and disseminating the CODA Project information are not “in charge” of the movement and simply intend to be a catalyst for the continued development of anyone whose interested in a non-supernatural approach to personal growth and well-being.

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As a subscriber, what can I expect?

Content is published to CODAproject.com on a regular basis, including written posts, audio, and video. As mentioned above, the CODA Project is currently working on a 3-year webinar series called Mythologizing the Bible (MTB), which is published as a podcast and a video series.

In the MTB series, we’re exploring readings from the Bible through the lens of sacred myth, looking for the perennial patterns and the universal truths that are applicable to almost everyone. What that means, from a practical standpoint, is that we will assume that these stories and writings are fiction, created as a way to explain the unknown.

In addition to the MTB content, we publish articles intended to help us begin to examine our lives and the world around us through a more humanistic lens. These posts often include a reflection on the topic, questions for journaling or discussion, and the occasional challenge to take a specific action in your life.

Paid subscribers may receive additional content and exercises, and they have the ability to leave comments, participate in discussion threads, and respond to the occasional poll. However the main reason to become a paid subscriber is to support the CODA Project’s efforts to reach more people.

Many organized religions encourage members to donate 10% of their income.

The CODA Project asks you to subscribe for a mere $10 each month, which is much more reasonable than tithing.

With a rather small number of people generous enough to become paid subscribers, we can build a movement that has the potentially to literally help millions of people improve their overall well-being by achieving that divine feeling of living their lives in alignment with their core values, without the guilt and baggage of organized religion!

Join the CODA Movement!

First of all, don’t hesitate to become a free subscriber so that you never miss an update—every new post is sent directly to your email inbox.

Second, please share the CODA Project with any family and friends who might benefit from our content. Keep in mind that, even though we’re decidedly non-religious, almost all of the guidance we provide can be effectively used by people who are members of almost any organized religion.

Third, consider becoming a paid subscriber. For less than $3 a week, you can support this movement and help us offer guidance to the millions of people who are questioning belief in the supernatural and/or who have become justifiably disillusioned with organized religion!

Finally, for a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, you should also consider getting the Substack app. Using the app makes it much easier to stay up on all of the information we share each week.

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Everyone is Welcome!

Finally, I need to emphasize that EVERYONE is welcome within the CODA movement. As I explained above, we affirm the dignity and inherent value of all people, so you are loved and appreciated because of your uniqueness, not in spite of it!

So, please consider becoming part of this online community of people who share your interest in learning to live good lives without belief in the supernatural.

Join us as we learn what it means to bring our lives into divine alignment!

To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.