Overcoming Existential Dread: Teilhard de Chardin’s Spirituality of Zest

In an era marked by confusion, divisiveness, and existential anxiety, the notion of zest for life may feel distant or even unattainable. Nevertheless, the writings of scientist and mystic Pierre Teilhard de Chardin offer a vision that seeks to renew this zest by linking it fundamentally to spirituality, science, and human evolution. Teilhard’s work invites us to reimagine religion—not as a dry or rigid system of dogmas, but as the very fuel that animates life with purpose, passion, and vitality.

What is the Zest for Life?

In many of his essays, Teilhard wrote about zest as a vital and dynamic force, something akin to the energy of existence itself. For him, zest is not mere enthusiasm or momentary excitement; it is a deep and abiding passion for life—a sense of connection, wonder, and ebullient participation in the dynamics of the world. He describes it as a form of aliveness that stems from the conviction that life has ultimate purpose and direction. Similar to Abraham Heschel’s appreciation of wonder as a radical awareness of the more that exists in the world, to engage life with zest is, for Teilhard, to be animated by a sense of meaning, to see oneself as part of an ongoing process of creation and evolution.

More than any of his contemporaries, Teilhard saw this zest as inherently tied to the religious impulse, understood in its broadest sense. At its core, religion is the human desire to discover unity, coherence, and the preservation of value, relationships, and our most cherished memories. It offers a lens through which we view ourselves not as isolated individuals but as the “spearheads” of a larger cosmic narrative. Teilhard’s unique genius was his ability to unite this spiritual vision with the discoveries of contemporary science, which he keenly observed as revealing the same fundamental truth: that all life is evolving toward greater unity and complexity. He thought that losing the zest for life—or living explicitly without this vital energy—leaves us spiritually stagnant and existentially adrift. It is a crisis not only of faith but of purpose, identity, and lasting connection.

The Crisis of Religion in the Modern Age

Teilhard lived in a time of immense scientific and philosophical change. The advances in our understanding of evolution and cosmology fundamentally challenged the traditional religious worldview. A growing secularism threatened to relegate religion to the sidelines, dismissing it as outdated at best or irrelevant at worst. Teilhard, however, viewed this tension not as a threat but as an opportunity—an occasion to reimagine religion in a way that harmonizes with science.

In his estimation, the core issue was that religion had become detached from the zest that gives it vitality. When religion becomes overly focused on maintaining rigid doctrines or preserving institutional power, it jettisons its connection to the lived experience of people searching for meaning, hope, and experiential transcendence. It risks becoming static, unable to inspire or energize the human spirit. As a result, Teilhard believed that rekindling religion as the zest for life required a fundamental shift. Religion must move beyond dualisms between matter and spirit, science and faith, humanity and the divine, and instead it must affirm the intrinsic interconnectedness of all existence and provide a compelling vision of life as a dynamic, evolving, and divinizing process in which humanity plays a crucial role.

Rekindling Religion 

Teilhard’s call to rekindle religion as the zest for life is particularly relevant in our contemporary context. It is a vision that offers both hope and challenge. The hope lies in his affirmation that life has a purpose and direction; the world is not a static, lifeless machine but a living, evolving organism animated by divine love, and we are integral members in the ongoing evolution of this cosmic whole.  

The challenge, however, is to rekindle religion in a way that truly energizes and inspires. For Teilhard, this means embracing a spirituality that is open, dynamic, and profoundly connected to the realities of the modern world. It requires integrating science and faith on all levels, recognizing that they are truly “two ways of knowing the world” as comprehensively and completely as possible. It means discovering the presence and ardor of God not in a distant heaven but as the heart of the evolving cosmos—in the beauty of nature, the complexity of life, and the creativity of the human spirit.

A Spirituality of Zest

Teilhard’s vision is a bold and inspiring call for our time. It enjoins us to see the world with new eyes—to recognize divine presence within the evolving universe and to embrace our role as created co-creators (to borrow the language of the late Lutheran theologian Philip Hefer) in this sacred process. For Teilhard, religion is not about escaping the world but engaging it fully, animated by a sense of purpose, meaning, wonder, and excitement.

In this sense, the zest for life is not a fleeting emotion but a vital necessity. It is the energy that drives us forward, helping us to overcome despair, disconnection, and apathy. It is the spark that ignites creativity, love, and hope, propelling us toward a greater awareness of Omega—a future of deeper unity, consciousness, and divine fulfillment—which is ours to make real and true now, in this moment. 

As we face the challenges of our time, Teilhard’s message is a clear one: to rekindle religion is to rekindle life itself. By embracing the zest for life, we can rediscover the sacredness of existence and our place within the great unfolding story of creation. As institutional religion faces constant questioning, skepticism, and frequent attacks, Teilhard’s vision offers an intellectually satisfying and spiritually stirring alternative in contemporary discourse, namely, a new metaphysics and a theology for the third millennium.