Spiritual Ecology: On the Way to Ecological Existentialism
Spiritual ecology is closely related to inquiries into religion and ecology, religion and nature, and religious environmentalism. This article presents considerations of the unique possibilities afforded by the idea of spiritual ecology. On one hand, these possibilities include problematic tendencie...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/11/580 |
| _version_ | 1797548859822440448 |
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| author | Sam Mickey |
| author_facet | Sam Mickey |
| author_sort | Sam Mickey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Spiritual ecology is closely related to inquiries into religion and ecology, religion and nature, and religious environmentalism. This article presents considerations of the unique possibilities afforded by the idea of spiritual ecology. On one hand, these possibilities include problematic tendencies in some strands of contemporary spirituality, including anti-intellectualism, a lack of sociopolitical engagement, and complicity in a sense of happiness that is captured by capitalist enclosures and consumerist desires. On the other hand, spiritual ecology promises to involve an existential commitment to solidarity with nonhumans, and it gestures toward ways of knowing and interacting that are more inclusive than what is typically conveyed by the term “religion.” Much work on spiritual ecology is broadly pluralistic, leaving open the question of how to discern the difference between better and worse forms of spiritual ecology. This article affirms that pluralism while also distinguishing between the anti-intellectual, individualistic, and capitalistic possibilities of spiritual ecology from varieties of spiritual ecology that are on the way to what can be described as ecological existentialism or coexistentialism. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:05:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1e36bda0a0f34f60b96beed672fd2994 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:05:48Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-1e36bda0a0f34f60b96beed672fd29942023-11-20T19:43:34ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442020-11-01111158010.3390/rel11110580Spiritual Ecology: On the Way to Ecological ExistentialismSam Mickey0Theology and Religious Studies, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94117, USASpiritual ecology is closely related to inquiries into religion and ecology, religion and nature, and religious environmentalism. This article presents considerations of the unique possibilities afforded by the idea of spiritual ecology. On one hand, these possibilities include problematic tendencies in some strands of contemporary spirituality, including anti-intellectualism, a lack of sociopolitical engagement, and complicity in a sense of happiness that is captured by capitalist enclosures and consumerist desires. On the other hand, spiritual ecology promises to involve an existential commitment to solidarity with nonhumans, and it gestures toward ways of knowing and interacting that are more inclusive than what is typically conveyed by the term “religion.” Much work on spiritual ecology is broadly pluralistic, leaving open the question of how to discern the difference between better and worse forms of spiritual ecology. This article affirms that pluralism while also distinguishing between the anti-intellectual, individualistic, and capitalistic possibilities of spiritual ecology from varieties of spiritual ecology that are on the way to what can be described as ecological existentialism or coexistentialism.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/11/580spiritualityexistentialismecologyanimismpluralismknowledge |
| spellingShingle | Sam Mickey Spiritual Ecology: On the Way to Ecological Existentialism Religions spirituality existentialism ecology animism pluralism knowledge |
| title | Spiritual Ecology: On the Way to Ecological Existentialism |
| title_full | Spiritual Ecology: On the Way to Ecological Existentialism |
| title_fullStr | Spiritual Ecology: On the Way to Ecological Existentialism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spiritual Ecology: On the Way to Ecological Existentialism |
| title_short | Spiritual Ecology: On the Way to Ecological Existentialism |
| title_sort | spiritual ecology on the way to ecological existentialism |
| topic | spirituality existentialism ecology animism pluralism knowledge |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/11/580 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sammickey spiritualecologyonthewaytoecologicalexistentialism |