The Project for Integrating Spirituality, Law, and Politics (PISLAP) is an international network of lawyers, law professors, law students, legal workers, and others who are seeking to develop a new spiritually-informed approach to law and social change. We believe that law can help bring a world into being where people can fully recognize and affirm each other's humanity and that through new legal processes we can foster empathy, compassion, and mutual understanding.
PISLAP stands for the Project for Integrating Spirituality, Law and Politics. Let’s unpack these three words and see how they work together.
First, law.
PISLAP has a deep belief that the legal system and culture and the law on which it is based has the power to transform society. If we can change the way law is practiced and experienced, we can contribute to transformation of the larger culture, the society within which the law operates.
Second, spirituality.
PISLAP understands spirituality as being about our longing for human connection, about experiencing mutual recognition in a way that affirms our humanity and inner goodness, promoting a caring, compassionate, loving, kind, and connected world. Our spiritual approach to our Project emphasizes building this connectedness, be it expressed through contemplative or reflective work, informal gatherings, conferences, and sharing our stories. We aspire to achieve mutual recognition, to truly “seeing” each other, as a way of being in the world.
Third, politics.
This is one of the main ways PISLAP differs from the many other groups which focus only on the law and spirituality. If citizens can see, in a public space, changes in socially relevant areas, which can enhance their ability to feel connected, cared for, heard, and justly and equitably treated, they will support them, and through the political process will urge their representatives to pass new laws that reflect and embody those values.
So, to sum it up, PISLAP wants to bring about a spiritually informed approach to law and social change, by integrating changes in the law brought about by political action, in a way that emphasizes our connectedness and our inherent desire to move towards living in a more compassionate, caring and loving world.
Honoring a PISLAP Founder and His Enduring Legacy
The Project for Integrating Spirituality, Law, and Politics (PISLAP) mourns the loss of Perry Saidman, one of its founding figures, and a devoted champion of its mission to bring spirituality, law, and politics into meaningful conversation.
Perry helped lay the foundation for a community committed to exploring the vital connections between our inner lives, our shared values, and our responsibility to build a more just and compassionate world. Through his vision, dedication, and belief in the importance of this work, he helped shape a space where people could come together to reflect, learn, engage in dialogue, and work toward a more humane and equitable society.
His passing leaves a profound void in the PISLAP community. But the work he helped begin continues, carried forward by the people he inspired and the community he helped bring together. His contributions remain woven into the heart of PISLAP and its ongoing commitment to fostering thoughtful engagement, spiritual reflection, and meaningful action in the public sphere.
As we remember Perry, we honor not only what he helped create, but also the enduring purpose behind it. His legacy lives on in every conversation that deepens understanding, every effort that bridges differences, and every step taken toward a world guided by justice, compassion, and a deeper sense of our shared humanity.
We remember Perry with gratitude, honor his legacy with love, and carry forward the mission he helped bring to life.
With deep appreciation for his life, his vision, and his lasting contributions to PISLAP.
