The Gift of Spirituality

VII. Ecospirituality
Ecospirituality connects the science of ecology with spirituality. It brings together
religion and environmental activism. Ecospirituality has been defined as "a
manifestation of the spiritual connection between human beings and the environment."
The new millennium and the modern ecological crisis has created a need for
environmentally based religion and spirituality. Ecospirituality is understood by some
practitioners and scholars as one result of people wanting to free themselves from a
consumeristic and materialistic society. Ecospirituality has been critiqued for being an
umbrella term for concepts such as deep ecology, ecofeminism, and nature religion.
Proponents may come from a range of faiths including: Islam; Christianity (Catholicism,
Evangelicalism and Orthodox Christianity); Judaism; Buddhism and
Indigenous traditions. Although many
of their practices and
beliefs may differ, a central claim is that there is "a
spiritual dimension to our present ecological
crisis." According to the
environmentalist
Sister Virginia Jones, "Eco-spirituality is
about helping people
experience 'the holy'
in the natural world
and to recognize their
relationship as human
beings to all creation.
Ecospirituality has been influenced by the
ideas of deep ecology,
which is characterized
by "recognition of the
inherent value of all living
beings and the use of this view in shaping
environmental policies". Similarly to ecopsychology, it refers to the connections
between the science of ecology and the study of psychology. 'Earth-based' spirituality is
another term related to ecospirituality; it is associated with pagan religious traditions and
the work of prominent ecofeminist, Starhawk. Ecospirituality refers to the intertwining of
intuition and bodily awareness pertaining to a relational view between human beings
and the planet.
Origins
Ecospirituality finds its history in the relationship between spirituality and the
environment. Some scholars say it "flows from an understanding of cosmology or the
story of the origin of the universe." There are multiple origin stories about how the
spiritual relationship with people and the environment began. In Native America
philosophy, there are many unique stories of how spirituality came to be. A common
theme in a number of them is the discussion of a Great Spirit that lives within the
universe and the earth represents its presence.
Ecospirituality has also sprung from a reaction to the Western world's materialism and
consumerism, characterized by ecotheologian Thomas Berry as a "crisis of
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