America remains a nation of faith. About one-third of Americans, or 33%, say they attend church monthly. One-quarter say they do so weekly, according to data collected by Pew Research in early 2025.
Americans express their faith by attending church (and in numerous other ways) for many different reasons. Indeed, religion and spirituality are deeply personal endeavors; many feel uncomfortable detailing their motivations to anyone but their spiritual leaders and close associates.
At the same time, it’s not necessary to understand one’s personal motivations for faith expression to see that dynamic spiritual leaders play a crucial role in bringing practitioners into the fold and maintaining their loyalty once earned. Individuals like David Miscavige, who as leader of the Scientology religion has overseen its greatest era of expansion, can attest to this.
Successful spiritual leaders tend to share certain qualities in common. These are not unique to them, of course, but they are unusually abundant in people like Mr. Miscavige.
1. Empathy and Kindness
Spiritual leaders are kind and empathetic. It’s these attributes that resonate with members like John Evans, a screenwriter and Scientology parishioner whose chance encounter with Mr. Miscavige left a lasting impression.
As Evans recalls, the ecclesiastical leader took the time to acknowledge and praise his son’s commercial television debut — a big deal for Evans’ family but a completely natural act of kindness for Mr. Miscavige.
“Here David Miscavige was, a person I’d never had a conversation with…whose 24/7 job is protecting, preserving and expanding a religious movement involving millions of parishioners and 11,000 Churches, Missions and groups spanning some 170 countries, taking the time to tell me he’d seen my kid in a 15-second commercial on television and how much he liked it,” Evans says.
2. Moral Clarity
Great religious leaders tend to have a rare sense of unwavering moral clarity. Surprisingly, this trait is “downstream” of empathy and kindness, as moral clarity inherently involves the knowledge (and practice) that all human life has value, that the small are just as important as the mighty.
3. A Sense of Purpose
Great spiritual leaders often have a strong sense of purpose and a knack for inspiring the same in others. This needn’t be a “higher purpose” only in a formal religious sense; often it manifests as care for the hungry, sick or needy. Again, much flows from a basic sense of human decency, of empathy and kindness in abundance.
4. Boundless Grace
Spiritual leaders know that no one is perfect, least of all themselves. So even while inspiring their followers to improve themselves and those around them, they allow them all but unlimited grace. They intuit that “tough love,” while useful in certain situations, is not always effective in promoting spiritual awareness or building community.
5. Openness and Inquisitiveness
Great spiritual leaders maintain an open mind without losing the moral clarity that defines their movement. They invite others to do the same, whether by guiding them along the path of self-improvement or by inviting them to learn more about — and serve — their neighbors and communities. They know that there is no tension here; that one can have a strong sense of purpose while acknowledging they don’t know everything and being open to new information.
6. An Unwavering Desire to Make Life Better for All
We’ve danced around this concept up until this point, but it’s important to acknowledge directly that great spiritual leaders are very often driven by a desire to improve the lives not only of those they lead but of all people. This manifests in many different ways, but the fundamental idea is that religion must be a tool for expanding human flourishing, not restricting its possibility. From a historical perspective, that is a powerful and indeed radical idea.
A Better, Brighter Life Is Possible
Great spiritual leaders are as unique as the followers who look to them. One attribute the great majority of them have in common, however, is a belief that a better life is possible for all.
This is a powerful, even radical belief in a world that seems beset on all sides. It’s the basis for a movement — a struggle — that has endured for centuries, and that is finding new expressions in modern faiths like the one led by Mr. Miscavige.
It is, for better or worse, a project that will outlast us all. But it’s a project worth pursuing.
