Mary Evelyn Tucker: “Religion, Ecology, and the Future”
This week, religious scholar Mary Evelyn Tucker unpacks the entanglement of religion and ecology from an academic perspective.
religion
From religion to science, and back
The challenge is to unleash these spirits of enquiry and autonomy from the realm of blank collective control which, nowadays, is bound up in state-backed corporatism and narratives of human progress.
Wes Jackson, “Methodism to My Madness”: A “Podcast from the Prairie” Conversation
We’re all responsible for our choices, of course, and I’m not excusing bad behavior or mean-spirited politics. But I do not blame Kansans for our predicament so much as I blame the power structure that takes care of itself without caring about the ecological and economic catastrophe out our way.
Can We Talk About the R-Word?
What is the proper label for a community of people who share a way of looking at life, a way of understanding who we are, a worldview that encompasses so much? The word “religion” seems like the most appropriate descriptor.
Cosmos as Home: Evolution as Context
With such an understanding of the continuity of all life we can develop a more robust cosmological ethics highlighting responsibility and reciprocity for our magnificent Earth community.
Science, Belief, and Democracy
The United States was founded on ideas that reflected Enlightenment thinking, including the importance of science and the separation of church and state.
Podcast from the Prarie: Methodism in my madness
In this episode of “Podcast from the Prairie,” Wes Jackson and Robert Jensen discuss the role of religion, both in Jackson’s life and in our human future.
Money, Gods, and Taboos: Re-sacralizing the Commons
I mulled over the question for a while and I came to the conclusion that, yes, Erik Assadourian and the others are on to something: it may be time for religion to return in some form. And if religion returns, it may well be in the form of some kind of cult of the Goddess Gaia. But let me try to explain.
The Push to Turn Church Land into Farmland
In a sign that this movement is starting to gather steam, Parish, Kashem, and other members of a diverse array of religious communities gathered earlier this year at what is believed to be the first event focused on connecting farmers with land, in service to their communities.
Confronting Extremism
A recent conversation with a fundamentalist Christian has left me wondering why it seems we fail to recognize the dangers of extremism? Christians who deny the reality of climate change, who believe that humans have a God-given right to exploit the earth no matter the consequences pose a danger to society. I think it’s time we talk about that.
Be kind, it’s all connected
I’ve tried to imagine what the shape of an ecologically sound religion/worldview might be. My friend wisely offered the following humble beginning: “Be kind. It’s all connected.”
Is God a 4-Lettered Word?
What animates you? What is the spiritual or religious impulse underneath the work you do to save those parts of our world that you want to protect and nurture? Is there a spiritual or religious teacher or movement that inspires you to do the uncomfortable work of politics or social change? What role, if any, does faith play in whatever you do that brings you out of your private life and into the public square? How do you “keep the faith” as commentator Tavis Smiley often says in signing off?