Ecospirit: Religions and Philosophies for the Earth

Ecotheology and World Religions

 Ecotheology and World Religions J AY M C D A N I E L INTRODUCTION My aim in this essay is to discuss a social and spiritual movement called ‘‘ecotheology.’’ I want to provide an example of how it can be practiced among Christians and discuss its relevance to the many world religions. In addition, I will briefly introduce aspects of a philosophical foundation for ecotheology, showing how, in some instances, philosophy and spirituality can be companions to a process of social transformation. I write for the religiously interested general reader. This general reader ultimately motivates all the essays in the present volume. Directly or indirectly, the authors of the essays collected in this anthology are all involved in encouraging people to participate in a movement to respect the community of life on earth. This includes a respect for human beings and a concern for their well-being, as well as a respectful concern for other living beings and the earth itself. The ecotheology movement seeks to promote this respect. The ecotheology movement is found in many different communities around the world, even as it lacks central organizing authority or formal structure. This absence of a central organizing authority is part of its creativity. We sense the presence of this movement in conversations among people who are advocates for women, children, the elderly, the poor, animals, and the earth, and among people who sense that these forms of advocacy are all connected in some deep way. We sense it, too, among those who feel alienated from consumerism and fundamentalism, 22 兩 e c os p i ri t and who, as a result, take vows of voluntary simplicity and practice postmaterialistic ways of living in the world. And, again, we sense it from people who have a hunger to be connected, not only with the sufferings and joys of other people’s lives, but also with the beauty of the earth. Ecotheology is like a river coursing across the world, amid which there are many currents, fed by many tributaries. This river is but one of many rivers and some of them—consumerism and fundamentalism, for example —are much larger. But it is, I believe, the most promising river we have. Of course the word ‘‘ecotheology’’ is not especially euphonious, and most people do not use the word. Some of them might refer to themselves as environmentalists, but it seems to me that ecotheology is not quite the same as environmentalism, because it is concerned as much with people as with the earth. Others might speak of themselves as human rights advocates, but the ecotheology movement includes more than a concern for human rights, important as they are. Thus, we might call ecotheology the web-of-life movement insofar as it takes the well-being of life as a whole—rather than ever-increasing economic growth— as the central organizing principle of its social vision. In any case I use the term ‘‘ecotheology’’ with some reluctance, and I will explain below why I think that while it is rightly called a ‘‘theology,’’ I hope readers will feel free to plug in other terms if they so desire. How old, then, is this movement? In some ways it is very old. Indeed, some of its attitudes are embodied by preindustrial agricultural peoples and rural residents still today. Agricultural peoples typically had a sense of the web of life, because their lives depended on being integrated into its rhythms. When they awoke in the morning, it was because the sun had come up; when they went to bed, it was because the sun had gone down. If they ate meat, they knew that an animal had been slaughtered who desired to live. If they tilled the soil, they knew that their lives depended on its health. What is new about contemporary or postindustrial ecotheology is that it is attractive to many people in urban settings, heirs to the Enlightenment and industrial period in human history, who are not in touch with more natural rhythms and who feel a spiritual need to feel connected not only with other people, but also with animals and the earth. Contemporary ecotheology speaks to a hunger of the heart, a hunger to be connected to something more than machines. This does j a y m c d an i e l 兩 23 not mean that the ecotheological movement is against technology. Its participants make full...