Clay Routledge

Clay Routledge

Dr. Clay Routledge is a leading expert in existential psychology. His work examines how the human need for meaning in life influences and is influenced by different cognitive processes, self-regulation, momentous life experiences, personal and professional goals, creativity, social connections, spirituality and religiosity, entrepreneurship, and prosocial behavior. 

Dr. Routledge has published over 100 scholarly papers, co-edited three books on existential psychology, and authored the books Nostalgia: A Psychological Resource and Supernatural: Death, Meaning, and the Power of the Invisible World.

His work has been featured by many media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, ABC News, BBC News, CBC News, CNN, NBC Today, MSNBC, Men’s Health, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker. As a social commentator, Dr. Routledge has authored articles for a number of outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, USA Today, Scientific American, National Review, Entrepreneur, and Harvard Business Review. He was the lead writer for the TED-Ed animated lesson Why Do We Feel Nostalgia?

Dr. Clay Routledge is the Vice President of Research and the Director of the Human Flourishing Lab at the Archbridge Institute. He is also an editor at Profectus, a periodic web-based magazine focused on civilizational progress and human flourishing.

You can follow him on Twitter @clayroutledge

A close-up of a painted human arm and hand reaching out with extended fingers against a light, cracked background.
5 min
Atheists are not immune from supernatural thinking.
A nude figure with outstretched arms stands against a sky with rainbows and flying birds, evoking a sense of belief in the supernatural.
5 min
From superstition to religion, we are surrounded by supernatural thinking. Is that a bad thing?
John Templeton Foundation
A blurred image of a green grassy field bordered by tall trees under a partly cloudy sky evokes a sense of nostalgia.
5 min
Escape a mental rut by using nostalgia.
John Templeton Foundation
Two figures embrace in the foreground as celestial bodies or stars, evoking supernatural thinking, tumble from a dark sky; in the background, a crowd with raised arms watches in awe.
7 min
"Supernatural thinking is actually an important part of being a complete human being."
John Templeton Foundation