For the Wild: Ritual and Commitment in Radical Eco-Activism by Sarah M. Pike (review)

This important exploration of eco-radicalism offers valuable insights into the socio-sacred dimensions of this aggressive and at times violent response to the contemporary ecological crisis. It occupies a heretofore vacant position in the burgeoning field of religion and ecology, deploying an ethnographic method to engage topics such as the appeal of eco-radicalism to American youth, rituals in eco-activist communities, and formative influences on the worldview of eco-activists. Notably, it creates a critical space where the study of new religions can engage the larger issues of religion and ecology, although the direct relationship with the field of religion and ecology is not developed. In this regard, For the Wild is in conversation with scholars of religion and ecology such Roger Gottlieb, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Lisa Sideris, Bron Taylor (cited several times), and many others. More importantly, the conversation is initiated by a scholar of new religions who is also a masterful ethnographer.

The text is a logical extension of Pike's previous studies of contemporary Paganism and New Age movements (Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves, 2001; and New Age and Neopagan Religions in America, 2004), but it is also something of a departure from those earlier works that examined communities clearly identifiable as religions. Rather than religion, per se, Pike describes her subject as "spiritually informed activism" (7), and offers Robert Orsi's definition of religion to give context: "a network of relationships between heaven and earth involving humans of all ages and many different sacred figures together" (7).

The religious dimensions of "spiritually informed activism" are obvious and certainly captured in Orsi's definition. Although some might find value in a more substantial argument for how various expressions of eco-radicalism are functionally religious, this is not part of Pike's agenda—nor need it be. Clearly such an argument could be constructed, perhaps along the lines of Taylor's concept of "dark green religion."

For the Wild focuses on groups and individuals (especially young people) committed to protection of the natural environment and nonhuman animals. Pike is interested in the deep influences and motivations of individual activists leading to their radicalization and the subsequent relationships and ritualized actions that emerge in community with others (including nonhuman others of the natural world). As she rightly observes, her sustained attention given to young eco-radicals serves as a helpful corrective to scholarship that typically overlooks "the intersection of youth culture religion/spirituality, and activism" (4). For the Wild helps remedy this deficiency, and serves as a template for other inquiries into "religion/spirituality, and activism" of youth culture. Besides its value to the study of new religions and the field of religion and ecology, its detailed examination of youth culture, religion, and activism is of significant note.

This is a work for scholars, and could be used in graduate seminars and upper-level undergraduate courses in various fields (religious studies, environmental studies, humanities, sociology, popular culture, and criminology, to name a few). It might also work for lower-level undergraduate classes, due in large part to the Pike's deft use of ethnographic studies that illuminate the lives of young seekers, with which students can identify. Good ethnographers compose compelling narratives about their subjects, and Sarah Pike is a gifted ethnographer.

The text itself is well organized and quite accessible. The bibliography is extensive and reflects the dynamic interdisciplinary range of this topic. Footnotes are abundant. The index is serviceable. Pike is detailed in her exposition and economical in her language. There is relatively little jargon and the methodology is clearly articulated. "A Reader's Map" in the introduction (22–25) is very helpful, and the text follows the map exactly. The "Introduction" as a whole is an excellent model of what introductions should look like and what they should do.

Chapter 2 is particularly valuable, especially for those unfamiliar with the cultural context...