The Gift of Spirituality

cosmology." [13] Scholars have argued that "the modern perspective is based on science
and focused on the human self with everything else being outside, resulting in the
demise of the metaphysical world and the disenchantment with the cosmos." Therefore,
ecospirituality originates as a rebuttal to the emphasis on the material as well as
Western separation from the environment, where the environment is regarded as a set
of material resources with primarily instrumental value.
Ecological Crisis
Ecospirituality became popularized due to a need for a reconceptualization of the
human relationship with the environment. Terms such as environmental crisis,
ecological crisis, climate change, global warming all refer to an ongoing global issue
that needs to be addressed. Generally the ecological crisis is referring to the destruction
of the earth’s ecosystem. What this encompasses is a highly controversial debate in
scientific and political spheres. Globally we are faced with pollution of our basic needs
(air, and water) as well as the depletion of important resources, most notably food
resources.
Annette Van Schalkwyk refers to the environmental crisis as “man-made”. It is arguably
the result of a “mechanistic and capitalistic world view”. Whether it is man-made, or as
some argue, a natural occurrence, humans are not helping. Pollution and depletion of
resources play a major role in the ecological crisis. Bringing religion into the ecological
crisis is controversial due to the divide between religion and science. Ecospirituality is
prepared to acknowledge science, and work in tandem with religion to frame the
environment as a sacred entity in need of protection.
Mary Evelyn Tucker notes the importance of religion and ecology connecting with
sustainability. Due to the environmental crisis, perceptions of sustainability are
changing. Religion and ecology, and the way people experience ecospirituality, could
contribute to this changing definition of sustainability.
Research on ecospirituality
Ecospirituality has been studied by academics in order to understand a clearer definition
of what individuals label as ecospirituality and the framework in which they create this
definition. One study focused on holistic nurses, who themselves characterize their
profession as having a fundamentally spiritual nature and a sense of the importance of
the environment. Researchers performed a phenomenological study where they
assessed the nurses' ecospiritual consciousness. For the purpose of their study, they
defined ecospiritual consciousness as "accessing a deep awareness of one's
ecospiritual relationship." They then narrowed down their findings to the five principles
of ecospiritual consciousness, which are: tending, dwelling, reverence, connectedness,
and sentience.
1. Tending was defined as "being awake and conscious," with "deep, inner selfreflection."
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