num_pages: 280
description: From the Psalms in the Bible to the sacred rivers in Hinduism the natural world has been integral to the worlds religions. John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker contend that todays growing environmental challenges make the relationship ever more vital.This primer explores the history of religious traditions and the environment illustrating how religious teachings and practices both promoted and at times subverted sustainability. Subsequent chapters examine the emergence of religious ecology as views of nature changed in religious traditions and the ecological sciences. Yet the authors argue that religion and ecology are not the province of institutions or disciplines alone. They describe four fundamental aspects of religious orienting grounding nurturing and transforming. Readers then see how these phenomena are experienced in a Native American religion Orthodox Christianity Confucianism and Hinduism.Ultimately Grim and Tucker argue that the engagement of religious communities is necessary if humanity is to sustain itself and the planet. Students of environmental ethics theology and ecology world religions and environmental studies will receive a solid grounding in the burgeoning field of religious ecology.
language: English
title: Ecology and Religion
publisher: Island Press