Ecospirituality: Caring for Creation

"In the past we used to be told, "Be good, or you will go to hell." Now we say, "Be environmentally friendly, or civilization will come to an end." Fear is a bad reason for being a good environmentalist. There are better reasons to care for the Earth. Living in harmony with the Earth is good in itself. Sustainable, frugal, simple and compassionate ways of living are fair to all beings - humans and other than humans. A culture of nonviolence, respect and reverence for life has to become part of our psychological make-up. Even if there were no global warming and no shortage of oil, we should not be destroying life, because life is sacred. And through gratitude to life we are enchanted and inspired and happy. Caring for the Earth community, which includes the human community, is a matter of joy, and not a matter of compulsion." - Satish Kumar [Resurgence, July 2006, p. 3].

"If we distort the Earth community, then we have ruined the very presence of the divine. We will simply never be able to be in communion if we do this. Saving the natural world is saving the divine presence. The whole Universe manifests the divine more than any single being. Above all, religion should attend to protecting the whole community of life.... I propose that we begin to celebrate the emergent Universe as a manifestation of the divine. We can celebrate the sacred moments, which are times of transition. Darkness to light. Night to day. The solstices. Springtime. We can build our liturgies around these events. We can celebrate a Universe that has gone through a sequence, moving from lesser to greater complexity, lesser to greater consciousness." - Thomas Berry [Interview, Wild Earth, Summer 2000, p. 96].

Real change of human behavior in relation to Earth and its systems cannot come about without a deep spiritual commitment. Permanent changes in life-style require a BELIEF in the need for change. It is a lot like the difference between going on and off a "diet" and making a permanent change in eating and exercise habits. Changing habits requires fundamental change in attitude and lifestyle; diets don't. Altered habits last; diets don't. Ecoshifters recognize that "saving the Earth" requires a fundamental change in the goals of human society, a change in what humans believe -- ethically, spiritually, and religiously.

Peter Seidel describes, in "Invisible Walls", the human need to explain the events of life and the purpose of existence. To satisfy this need we "believe" in certain ideas and concepts. Belief means acceptance of such ideas as being true without justification. At some level each of us has such unjustified beliefs that help us to function, to survive, and to be happy. As individuals, such beliefs constitute our "spirituality". Codification of a set of beliefs adhered to by a group of people creates a "religion". Seidel points out that "Conforming [to a codified set of beliefs] makes one more popular and acceptable; questioning is uncomfortable and risky" [p.135], and "to change a belief is an admission of having been wrong" [p.137].

Humanity has proven over and over that beliefs (spirituality) are stronger that facts (science) in determining individual behavior. An individual only changes personal beliefs when it becomes obvious that his/her current beliefs are not working for him/her. An individual must come to recognize that anthropocentric beliefs are not working before individual Ecoshift can begin.

Concern over the human relationship with the rest of Earth has generated new respect for ancient religions and fostered many modifications of current religions. Earth-based spirituality is developing rapidly across the whole religious spectrum. Just as the Golden Rule of human interactions permeates all religions, so now its ecocentric version, though reflected differently through different religions, is filtering into all of them.

Historically for most, if not all, of the world's great religions, Western or Eastern, the purpose of one's current existence is to earn a way into some glorious future existence. Whether the goal is Heaven, Nirvana, or Enlightenment, each religion spells out the pathway in great detail, usually with some negative hell or reincarnation as further incentive to follow the right path. Over recent centuries, religions have trended away from an emphasis on happiness in the next or "after" life to become more concerned with happiness in this life. As the industrial age and fossil fuel generated the possibility of "climbing out" of poverty for vast numbers of people, religions have become more concerned with raising the quality of this life and somewhat less concerned about the quality of the next life. The achievement of affluence by many and the desire for it by many more coincide with development of consumerism, the "Me" generation, and egoism. As described in this book, we are just now learning that we need to modify that egocentrism to ecocentrism.

Consequently, ecocentric authors emphasize the importance of belief about the human place in Creation. Cosmologist Joel Primack and his co-author Nancy Abrams say "There is no deeper source of meaning for human beings than to experience our own lives as reflecting the nature and origin of our universe" (ital. au.) ["The View from the Center of the Universe" p.203]. And Episcopal priest Matthew Fox reiterates "There can be no respect for our place in the environment and the environment's place in us without a spirituality that teaches us reverence for the cosmos in which we find ourselves." Unitarian Universalist Connie Barlow states "I believe that a greening of worldviews must take place at a level deep enough to alter (or even direct) one's religious outlook" ["Green Space, Green Time" p. 20]. In "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis" [Science 155: 1203-1207] Lynn White says "What we do about ecology depends on our ideas of the man-nature relationship. More science and more technology are not going to get us out of the present ecologic crisis until we find a new religion, or rethink our old one."

Christian Stewardship

"The greatest spiritual revolutionary in Western history, Saint Francis, proposed what he thought was an alternative Christian view of nature and man's relation to it; he tried to substitute the idea of the equality of all creatures, including man, for the idea of man's limitless rule of creation. He failed. Both our present science and our present technology are so tinctured with orthodox Christian arrogance toward nature that no solution for our ecologic crisis can be expected from them alone. Since the roots of our trouble are so largely religious, the remedy must also be essentially religious, whether we call it that or not. We must rethink and refeel our nature and destiny. The profoundly religious, but heretical, sense of the primitive Franciscans for the spiritual autonomy of all parts of nature may point a direction. I propose Francis as a patron saint for ecologists." -- ["The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis", 1967, Science 155: 1203-1207]

Many Christian groups are re-viewing the Bible, finding references to caring for Earth and all its beings in contrast to the famous "have dominion over them" statement of Genesis. Isaiah 5:8 says "Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place that they may be alone in the midst of the Earth." From Jeremiah 12:4 "How long must the country lie parched and its green grass whither? No birds and beasts are left, because its people are so wicked, because they say, 'God will not see what we are doing.'" The famous quote from John 3:16-17 "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" apparently has "cosmos" for "world" in the original Greek. The Christian Stewardship page of the Fund for Christian Ecology contains many more Bible quotes.

Fundamentalist and evangelical Christians are beginning to recognize the importance of protecting rather than destroying God's Creation. The Christian group Target Earth works in various ways to protect Earth; their Conscientious Consuming Page quotes the Bible about greed and wealth. Earth Ministry states its mission as:

"to engage individuals and congregations in knowing God more fully through deepening relationships with all of God's creation. We believe that through this experience our personal lives and our culture will be transformed. These transformations include simplified living, environmental stewardship, justice for all creation and a worldview which sees creation as a revelation of God. Together these lead to a rediscovery of the vitality of the Christian faith."

Former Dominican and now Episcopal priest, Matthew Fox, developed creation spirituality in the early 1980s in order to bring nature, the cosmos, creativity. compassion, and the panentheistic Divine back into Christian spirituality. The Fund for Christian Ecology states that "Creation spirituality attempts to help us recover the nature mysticism of some medieval Christians such as Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Hildegard of Bingen, and Francis of Assisi." These medieval Christian thinkers embraced ecocentric concepts, and though largely ignored for centuries are now, thanks to Matthew Fox, becoming revered in the Ecoshift movement.

The concept of humanity having stewardship responsibility for Earth arises directly from Biblical interpretations. Stewardship implies "caring for" rather than exploiting, maintaining rather than destroying, even loving nature rather than disdaining it. Although still anthropocentric because humans remain as controllers and manipulators, the stewardship concept at least moves away from the paradigm that God gave Earth to humanity for whatever purposes humanity chooses.

Some Christians have moved beyond stewardship to taking responsibility for their own impacts. A group of religious retreat directors wrote the "Shakertown Pledge" in 1973, which is quite early in Ecoshift terms:

"Recognizing that Earth and the fullness thereof is a gift from our gracious God, and that we are called to cherish, nurture, and provide loving stewardship for Earth's resources, and recognizing that life itself is a gift, and a call to responsibility, joy, and celebration, I make the following declarations:

• I declare myself a world citizen
• I commit myself to lead an ecologically sound life.
• I commit myself to lead a life of creative simplicity and to share my personal wealth with the world's poor.
• I commit myself to join with others in the reshaping of institutions in order to bring about a more just global society in which all people have full access to the needed resources for their physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual growth.
• I commit myself to occupational accountability, and so doing I will seek to avoid the creation of products which cause harm to others.
• I affirm the gift of my body and commit myself to its proper nourishment and physical wellbeing.
• I commit myself to examine continually my relations with others and to attempt to relate honestly, morally, and lovingly to those around me.
• I commit myself to personal renewal through prayer, meditation, and study.
• I commit myself to responsible participation in a community of faith."

Statement of The Patriarch, Bartholomew

Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, moved considerably beyond Christian stewardship in his November 8, 1997 address at the Environmental Symposium, Santa Barbara, California and his environmental protocol of Sept. 1, 2002 . Here are selections from November 1997:

"[The Ecumenical Throne of Orthodoxy] view[s] with alarm the dangerous consequences of humanity's disregard for the survival of God's creation....

By reducing our consumption ... we come to ensure that resources are also left for others in the world. As we shift our will we demonstrate a concern for the third world and developing nations. Our abundance of resources will be extended to include an abundance of equitable concern for others.

We must challenge ourselves to see our personal, spiritual attitudes in continuity with public policy[, to free] us of our self-centered neediness, that we may do good works for others. We do this out of a personal love for the natural world around us. We are called to work in humble harmony with creation and not in arrogant supremacy against it. Asceticism provides an example whereby we may live simply.

Asceticism is not a flight from society and the world, but a communal attitude of mind and way of life that leads to the respectful use, and not the abuse of material goods. Excessive consumption may be understood to issue from a world-view of estrangement from self, from land, from life, and from God. Consuming the fruits of the earth unrestrained, we become consumed ourselves, by avarice and greed. Excessive consumption leaves us emptied, out-of-touch with our deepest self. Asceticism is a corrective practice, a vision of repentance. Such a vision will lead us from repentance to return, the return to a world in which we give, as well as take from creation....

[T]o commit a crime against the natural world is a sin. For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God's creation -- for humans to degrade the integrity of Earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the Earth of its natural forests, or destroying its wetlands -- for humans to injure other humans with disease -- for humans to contaminate the Earth's waters, its land, its air, and its life, with poisonous substances -- these are sins.

In prayer, we ask for the forgiveness of sins committed both willingly and unwillingly. And it is certainly God's forgiveness, which we must ask, for causing harm to His Own Creation.

Thus we begin the process of healing our worldly environment which was blessed with Beauty and created by God. Then we may also begin to participate responsibly, as persons making informed choices in both the integrated whole of creation, and within our own souls."

Ecotheology

In 1994 David Hallman edited a collection of primarily Christian writings titled "Ecotheology", which was published by the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America. Later books expanded ecotheology to other major religions. The Forum on Religion and Ecology has published an influential series of books on the ecological beliefs and practices of all the world's major religions. Mary Evelyn Tucker, editor of the series, has spark-plugged a great deal of thinking and writing about ecotheology. Essays in "The Greening of Faith", edited by John Carroll et al., come from all religious backgrounds and produce great hope for Ecoshift. John Carroll has also written or edited several books on ecotheological concepts. When I found out about these works in the late 1990s, I finally began to see some hope that humanity could change its ways. No matter whether the magnificence of Earth and its beings was produced by God a few thousand years ago or by evolution over several billion years, all religions can question whether humanity should destroy this creation in just 200 years.

Numerous groups are now working ecumenically to bring the concepts of Ecoshift into religion. The National Religious Partnership for the Environment sees the natural world as a sacred work of divinity. Religious Witness for the Earth aims to grow a movement dedicated to public witness in defense of Creation. The Web of Creation is an ecumenical Lutheran effort emphasizing ecojustice and environmental ministry.

For many but not all religionists, the Universe Story of the Big Bang and evolution (see the Universe Story chapter) have become accepted truths. Religion and science are not at odds, but the findings of science are being incorporated into religion. Michael Dowd emphasizes that the specifics of a religion are not relevant. He says "All religions make sense given the bioregions and cultures in which they emerged" but they can change in response to new knowledge. Dowd goes on to say that "All of reality is sacred and science is our method of understanding it" and explains the difference between day language (facts) and night language (meanings). Night language interprets the facts of day language into myths (belief stories) and thus into spirituality and religion.

Thomas Berry, a Catholic priest, is rightly revered by Ecoshifters for combining the new story of science with the spirituality of religion in his many writings on the wonders of the Universe and humanity as its voice. "The Dream of the Earth" has greatly influenced me and thousands of others in searching for an ecospirituality that returns humanity into communion with the non-human world and emphasizes the critical nature of our dependence on the natural processes that support and gladden us. The search is aided by Stephen Bede Scharper in "Redeeming the Time", which examines the contributions of the Gaia hypothesis, process theology, the New Cosmology, ecofeminism, and liberation theology to ecotheology in a Christian context. He sees liberation theology, a movement that originated to empower poor South Americans, as a component of ecotheology. John Carroll and Keith Warner in "Ecology and Religion: Scientists Speak" have collected writings by various environmental scientists about the interconnection between their religion/ethics and their science. Other books that seek to connect the sacred spirituality of Earth with the Universe Story of science include "The Sacred Depths of Nature" by Ursula Goodenough and "Cosmology and Creation" by Paul Brockelman.

Buddhism and Jainism

I personally feel more connected to ancient Jainism of northwestern India. The most spiritual Jains, those closest to true Enlightenment, are monks who work exceedingly hard to avoid causing death to any living creature. The Jain tradition of equality of a human life with the life of any other organism has been part of the religion for 2600 years or more. O Books publicizes a new book by Aiden Rankin, "The Jain Path: Ancient Wisdom for the West.", with the statement:

"Jainism is India's oldest spiritual tradition, and one of the world's oldest religions. It is not well known in the West. But it embodies many of the ideas underlying current thinking on the interconnectedness of all living systems, the principle of non-violence and the need to live simply.

It is perhaps the most demanding, rational and radical of all religions, attaching great importance to individual responsibility. Today we are questioning our own inherited values and also rediscovering ancient traditions. We are looking for continuity and balance -- a 'return to the centre.' Understanding of Jain principles can point us towards the elusive 'paradigm shift', giving spiritual and intellectual strength to a new global ethic of compassion and interdependence.

Based around the individual's own spiritual journey and the choices he or she makes, Jainism, more than other spiritual tradition[s] alive today, can bridge the gap between eastern and western patterns of thought."

The Jain concept of ahimsa, which means "do no harm" implies pursuing a rigorously ecocentric lifestyle, with consumption kept to a minimum and a special effort to avoid harming other life forms. The concept of anekant or many-sidedness implies that there are many paths to truth. So Jains are tolerant and flexible, and they recognize that all faiths are part of human spiritual searching. Jains value both reason and emotion, believe in teaching by example, and believe that the acts of an individual can and do make a difference. Anekant also means that true dichotomies, even "right" and "wrong", do not exist; realities are a continuum or a spectrum, so strong positions on any issue are anathema. This leads to acceptance of paradoxes such as being vegetarian, even though plants, as well as animals, have souls, and achieving prosperity while avoiding materialism.

Just as with Hinduism and Buddhism, Jainism bases its beliefs on a kind of reincarnation. Each living being possesses a jiva, which is immortal and passes from one being to another, accumulating or losing "good" karma over time. Ultimately, a jiva, after passing through many lives, may accumulate enough good karma to reach an enlightened state in which continuous rebirth or samsara no longer happens. Because the jiva is not limited to human life, it provides connectedness with non-human organisms of all kinds, and illustrates the recycling principle of life. Even for someone like me who does not believe in jivas or samsara, Jainism has much to contribute to ecocentric thinking, not the least being its long history.

Earth-based Spirituality

Though Akhenaton failed in his praise-worthy but injudicious effort, a variety of other ancient religions have succeeded in maintaining an intimate relation between humanity and Earth. We Westerners have called these Earth-based religions "pagan" and dismissed them as inferior, but Ecoshift now incorporates believers in Wicca, Shamanism, and Native American or other indigenous spiritualities. As with Jainism, we need not profess acceptance of all aspects of any one religion, but can learn important lessons from it.

Jerry Mander in "In the Absence of the Sacred", Thomas Berry in various writings, and many others, praise Native American and other shamanistic traditions for a deeply spiritual sense of place, a vital understanding of provision from nature, a total lack of individual ownership of land, and living a simple but spiritually rewarding life-style. "Indigenous peoples", who are fighting worldwide to retain their freedom and independence in the face of globalization and consumerism, might be defined as peoples who do not have a word for "environment" in their language. They see no separation between "us" humans and "it" nature. In "Animism: Respecting the Living World" Graham Harvey describes a spirituality based on an ecocentric view that other-than-human beings are "persons" deserving of respect, and what this means for ethics and life-style.

Wicca and other neo-paganism developed from feminism (see the Ecofeminism chapter) and its efforts to bring the right brain and emotion back into human endeavors. Such Earth-based spirituality honors the Sun and the seasons that the Sun-Earth relationship creates. The pagan holidays of Samhain (Nov. 1), Yule (Dec. 15), Imbolc (Feb. 1), Ostara (March 15), Beltane (May 1), Litha (June 15), Lugnasa or Lammas (Aug 1), and Mabon (Sep.15) celebrate the changing solar seasons and the cycles of nature that control human food supply and shelter needs. Some of these ancient holidays have left their mark on Western calendars, as Samhain as All Souls Day or Halloween, Yule as Christmas, Imbolc as Candlemas or Groundhog Day, Ostara as Easter, and Beltane as May Day. Starhawk's book "The Spiral Dance" has greatly influenced the neopagan movement. In my denomination the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans promotes the practice and understanding of Pagan and Earth-centered spirituality within Unitarian Universalism and fosters healing relationships with the Earth and all the Earth's children. Pagan celebrations are an integral part of Ecoshift for some people.

Pantheism and Unitarian Universalism

• "We revere and celebrate the Universe as the totality of being, past, present and future. It is self-organizing, ever-evolving and inexhaustibly diverse. Its overwhelming power, beauty and fundamental mystery compel the deepest human reverence and wonder.
• All matter, energy, and life are an interconnected unity of which we are an inseparable part. We rejoice in our existence and seek to participate ever more deeply in this unity through knowledge, celebration, meditation, empathy, love, ethical action and art.
• We are an integral part of Nature, which we should cherish, revere and preserve in all its magnificent beauty and diversity. We should strive to live in harmony with Nature locally and globally. We acknowledge the inherent value of all life, human and non-human, and strive to treat all living beings with compassion and respect.
• All humans are equal centers of awareness of the Universe and nature, and all deserve a life of equal dignity and mutual respect. To this end we support and work towards freedom, democracy, justice, and non-discrimination, and a world community based on peace, sustainable ways of life, full respect for human rights and an end to poverty.
• There is a single kind of substance, energy/matter, which is vibrant and infinitely creative in all its forms. Body and mind are indivisibly united.
• We see death as the return to nature of our elements, and the end of our existence as individuals. The forms of "afterlife" available to humans are natural ones, in the natural world. Our actions, our ideas and memories of us live on, according to what we do in our lives. Our genes live on in our families, and our elements are endlessly recycled in nature.
• We honor reality, and keep our minds open to the evidence of the senses and of science's unending quest for deeper understanding. These are our best means of coming to know the Universe, and on them we base our aesthetic and religious feelings about reality.
• Every individual has direct access through perception, emotion and meditation to ultimate reality, which is the Universe and Nature. There is no need for mediation by priests, gurus or revealed scriptures.
• We uphold the separation of religion and state, and the universal human right of freedom of religion. We recognize the freedom of all pantheists to express and celebrate their beliefs, as individuals or in groups, in any non-harmful ritual, symbol or vocabulary that is meaningful to them."

Although historically separate from pantheism, many Unitarian Universalists like me call themselves pantheists. The similarity can be seen by comparing the pantheist statement above with the seven U-U Principles, given here in a children's version by Mary Ann Moore and Helena Chapin:

1. Each and every person is important.
2. All people should be treated fairly and kindly.
3. We should accept one another and keep on learning together.
4. Each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life.
5. All persons should have a say about the things that concern them.
6. We should work together for a peaceful, fair, and free world.
7. We should care for our planet earth, the home we share with all living things.

Personal Ethics

Richard Louv writes in "Last Child in the Woods" [p. 290] that "Eventually, most of us figure out that it's people, not nature, who create morality, values, ethics -- and even the idea that nature itself is something worth preserving." Earth itself and the Universe don't care! They will carry on regardless of what humanity thinks and does. No matter how we treat Earth and its finely tuned ecosystems and inhabitants, creation here will continue one way or another, and creation in the vast Universe around us will continue virtually undisturbed.

Personally I do not feel compelled to determine the purpose of the Universe or of Creation. It exists, and that is enough for me. Furthermore, it is wonderful, amazing, awesome, and therefore deserves respect and love. It has produced my life, and I enjoy living. Among all humans Creation has produced a strong innate urge to LIVE even when living is very hard.

The continuing creative power of the Universe is neither bad, nor good, it just exists. When one galaxy captures a billion stars from another galaxy it is neither "bad" nor "good"; it just happens. When thousands of meteorites pockmark the surface of the moon, it (creation) is neither bad nor good, it just happens. When a great blue heron swallows a fish, alive and whole, it is only "bad" or "good" depending on the point of view - heron or fish. When a mosquito lands on my arm and starts sucking my blood, it is bad for me and good for the mosquito. If I kill it, the outcome becomes bad for the mosquito and good for me. Yet I maintain that the whole situation is neither bad nor good with respect to the creative power or to the rest of the universe. Apparently then a "bad" or "good" act ( or "good" versus "evil") depends on the point of view of each participant in that act, and does not derive inherently from the creative power. As pointed out by Primack and Abrams in "The View from the Center of the Universe", "the very idea of being 'defective' is a purely human opinion."

Different species of life, or different groups within a species, apparently develop their own set of ethics, its list of "good" and "bad"; and these ethics can change over time. Starlings and swallows have their rules about spacing between individuals perched on a wire. Hierarchies in a lion pride or a monkey group, schooling of fish, communal child-rearing by eider ducks, dog greetings -- each seems to represent a communal selection or designation of "bad" and "good" behavior. (Ethicists may argue whether such behavior really represents ethics and morality in non-human species; I take the ecocentric view that it does.) A specific view of morality (a set of ethics) thus is established by a group of individual beings, that is, by a society, and is relative to that society. It is not an absolute demand derived from the Creative Power. In humans, religion has developed as a means to enforce morality, to emphasize a group's determination of what is "bad" or "good". A religion contains a set of assumptions about the Universe, which are developed to support that religion's morality, and a set of practices designed to teach the assumptions and the ethics.

Yet, all of Earth's human religions seem to reach one fundamental or "Golden" rule. Christians state it as "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and normally apply it only to intra-human behavior. My statement of the rule, "Respect; not arrogance" applies to both human-human and human-nature interactions. Respect means trying to understand and not judge other people's beliefs and behaviors. Arrogance means deciding for others what they should believe and do. Respect means allowing organisms and ecosystems to live and do their own thing. Arrogance means willfully using and even destroying organisms and ecosystems for personal or societal benefit. Expanding the Golden Rule to include human interactions with the other-than-human world may be a requirement for Ecoshift to succeed.

Ecospirituality and the greening of religion indicate changes at the fundamental level of beliefs that drive human behavior. The increasingly widespread recognition among all religions that human thinking about Earth's systems and beings must change provides considerable hope that a paradigm shift can really occur.