CBSTW Hero Poster from Video.jpg

An international, interdisciplinary project to understand how beauty fosters shared meaning, belonging, and well-being today.

Close-up of a classical marble sculpture head, showing a part of the face and neck against a black background.

About

We’re building the evidence and language for how beauty works in shared life.

Across cultures and eras, people have turned to beauty—for delight, clarity, motivation, and a sense of the real. Today, as many identify as spiritual but not religious, can beauty serve as a doorway to transcendence and belonging?

Can Beauty Save the World? is a multi-year, interdisciplinary project that combines nationally representative surveys (US/UK), in-depth interviews, and fieldwork in sites of collective aesthetic experience (from sacred music choirs to immersive theater and contemporary festivals). We’re studying what beauty means to people and how beauty functions—not only in private moments but also in shared practices—to foster meaning, social connection, and human flourishing.

What We’re Doing

People dressed in elaborate, colorful Venetian-style costumes and masks, adorned with flowers and decorative details.

Experiment and Design

Salons, workshops, retreats that intentionally craft encounters with beauty

Population Studies

US/UK surveys on aesthetic experience, spirituality, and well-being

A choir dressed in white and holding hymnals, led by a conductor in a black suit, in a church.

Fieldwork

Choral ensembles, immersive theater, Venice Carnival, Vibecamp, House of Beautiful Business

Dissemination

Books, articles, public panels, conferences

Team

Brandon Vaidyanathan, a man with dark hair and a beard wearing a suit and tie, smiling at the camera.
A woman with dark hair smiling, wearing hoop earrings and a cream-colored top, in front of a bookshelf filled with books.

Brandon Vaidyanathan

The Catholic University of America

A woman with short, curly brown hair and blue eyes, wearing red lipstick, large ornate earrings, and a black and dark purple striped top, standing against a brick wall.

Katie Bank

University of Birmingham

Young woman with long, wavy brown hair, smiling, wearing a maroon top, standing outdoors in front of historic stone buildings.

Tara Isabella Burton

The Catholic University of America

Rebekah Wallace

University of Oxford

A close-up portrait of a middle-aged man with a gray beard, glasses, and dark hair, wearing a white dress shirt against a warm-colored background.
A woman with long blonde hair, fair skin, and a slight smile, standing outdoors in front of an old stone building with tower-like structures.

Anjan Chatterjee

University of Pennsylvania

A smiling man in a suit standing indoors with a blurred background.

Angela Buckley

The Catholic University of America

Stephen Bullivant

St. Mary's University, Twickenham

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes, wearing a light-colored scarf and a black leather jacket, outdoors with blurred colorful background.

Leigh Biddlecome

The Catholic University of America

Professional headshot of a woman with short brown hair wearing a navy blue shirt against a gray background.
Yellow orchid flowers in a gold vase with green leaves.

Laura Upenieks

Baylor University