spiritualnaturalist

[spiritualnaturalist]

Indigenous Peoples, Environmental Racism, and Ecojustice

Hi Everyone I have some sad news : ( unfortunately this will be my last blog post. I hope you all enjoyed this series as much as I did , but everything good must come to an end. I cannot think of a better way to end this series than with a call to action ! So let’s talk about ecojustice ! Today we will be talking about Robert D. Bullard and Charles Mills. Robert Bullard is an American academic and professor at Texas Southern University, he has authored books such as The Quest for Environmental Justice and The Wrong Complexion for Protection, today we will be discussing his piece Worst Things First ? Charles Mills was a philosopher, born in London and raised in Jamaica, much of his work focuses on racial interactions. He has authored books such as The Racial Contract and Black Rights/ White Wrongs, today we will discuss his piece Black Trash. 

Mills first wants everyone to know that at its root, environmentalism is inherently political. In his piece Mills discusses the socio-political status of black bodies , essentially discussing how they are equivalent to waste. A big part of this piece, and I think a big part of the topic of environmentalism is the idea of space. How much space we take up, what we do in that space, and how we change that space are all very important aspects to be evaluated. When discussing space , Mills talks about the invasion of white people into non-white spaces. This lack of awareness for the people and the environments around you, as discussed by Mills, can be applied to the environment as well. We often see companies and corporations commandeering and destroying land for profit and use without regard for the people they may be displacing or the long term effects that it may have. 

Switching gears a bit we take a look at Bullards work. Bullard talks about the ethics and fairness of the current environmental decision making processes. He talks about how a large part of the lack of ethics and fairness in these decisions is due to a lack of information.  Bullard critiques the EPA when they state that environmental protection is implemented equally and without bias, something Bullard points out is simply not factual. Bullard even goes further to say that the EPA has never really worked well in management or protection, it mostly just reinforces pre existing divides. Some of the things we can work on and be aware of in order to better this issue are: 

Understanding environmental protection is a right 

Creating a public health model of prevention 

A shift of the burden of proof to polluters

The interference and discrimination using disparate impact and statistical weights 

Redressing discrimination by targeting action and resources 

The roots of institutionalized racism are tied hand in hand with the issues of environmental racism, the system we set up to protect our environment was set up to protect the white environment. As we have seen in our previous blog postings , when evaluating the world's religions we see that the predominantly white ones have not taken that privilege very seriously in the past. Today we are going to take a look at a group whose spiritual beliefs are embedded in their day to day lives and have every influence on how they interact with the world around them. As of 2023 there are 456 million Indigenous people residing in 90 countries, separated into over 5,000 tribes. These peoples have been the victims of institutional and environmental racism since the start and they have also been one of the leading advocates for change in this arena. According to the UN, Indigenous peoples often lack reliable infrastructure, meaning they sometimes have little or no access to water, transportation, sanitation, disaster response, or healthcare. Despite these challenges ( due to the past environmental racism and land stripping they’ve already suffered) Indigenous peoples remain at the top of the list for the most active in the fight against climate change, the fight for better EPA policies, the fight against land privatization, and so much more. I'm sure many of us remember the Keystone Pipeline Protests, in which the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe led the charge in the fight against its installation. This tribe suffered directly as a result of this pipeline, as it split their available resources in half and any potential spill could wipe out their remainder entirely. Another great example of Indigenous peoples being at the forefront of this movement for change is in Latin America, in which the CONAIE Indigenous peoples covered themselves in red paint to protest the mining practices in their countries which was destroying the ecosystem above the mines. Lastly we see that this fight has been going on for a long time, and that Indigenous peoples are only getting more passionate about their cause. This most recent year marked the anniversary of the longest indigenous protest in history. The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a permanent occupation site in Australia which focuses on protecting the rights of Aboriginal Australians. First established in 1972 and still running today has it at the top for the longest indigenous protest coming in at 50 years. 

So why do we see these groups fighting so hard ? What is driving them? The belief systems that exist within many Indigenous communities have a profound spiritual connection to the land. Native American Law, Aboriginal Law, and many others are directly tied to their people and to their culture, their connection with the land is at the core of their communities. Most Native American spiritualities are polytheistic , with a belief in one ultimate creator called The Great Spirit. A core part of their belief system is that all objects - living and nonliving- have an individual spirit, additionally they believe the universe is made up of one larger soul and that all of the individual spirits are smaller pieces of that one soul. 

This is why they fight so hard and for so long, this is the driving force behind the movement. They are advocating for change, they are sticking up for themselves and for other marginalized groups that have been affected by the same racism that they have been subjected to. Their religion is their power and it is very strong. 

[spiritualnaturalist]

In relation to my last post ! Here's all the different epochs scientists have identified : )

[spiritualnaturalist]

Religion and the Anthropocene

Hi Guys ! Welcome back for today’s blog : ) Today we will be discussing the works of Simon L. Lewis and Mark A. Maslin. Simon Lewis is a professor of Global Science at the University College of London. He is the Author of The Human Planet: How we created the Anthropocene. Mark Maslin is a professor of climatology at the University College of London. He has authored books such as How to Save our Planet and Climate : A Very Short Introduction. Today we will be discussing a piece they authored together entitled Defining the Anthropocene. 

So I keep throwing around the word Anthropocene, so let's define it ! The Anthropocene is a period of time in which human activities have impacted the environment enough that it has resulted in distinct environmental changes. So now that we know what it is let's talk about how relative that is !? If you are anything like me when I heard that I was like what is significant ? What is an environmental change ? What is the difference between an Anthropocene and just like standard evolution ? Are they the same thing ? It’s all very vague but we’ll try to clear some of it up ! 

The current estimation for when the anthropocene began is sometime after the last glacial melting period into somewhere in the 1960’s so they’ve really narrowed it down! A great example of the impacts human activity can have on the world is when we look at carbon emissions. Humans have released over 555 pentagrams of carbon since 1750. This has resulted in a delay of Earth's next glaciation period as well as increased ocean acidity at a rate higher than has occurred in the last 300 million years. Furthermore, the lifespan of a species is typically 1–10 million years, based on the fact that the rates of anthropogenic environmental change in the near future may exceed the rates of change encountered by many species in their evolutionary history. It is clear that human activity has altered the land surface, the oceans, and the atmosphere. 

Lewis and Maslin’s piece has set out to outline and explain the different epochs the earth has been in and the current epoch it is in now. Currently we are in the Holocene Epoch, the main characteristic of the holocene is that it is the rise of humanity. There is a current debate stating that we may actually be in a completely new epoch called the anthropocene epoch. While unofficial it operates under the idea that in the more recent years we as humans have made significant impacts on the environment that qualify us as being in a separate epoch. 

In their piece they propose different start dates to this new epoch. One potential start date is the Industrial Revolution in the 1800’s. The other is the Great Acceleration which happened in the 1950’s. The Great Acceleration is considering an upshift in the activity of humans across the globe, more activity means more emissions and more impact. But what does that mean in regard to the topic of this blog ? Well this one is kind of a catch 22, cause one religion in and of itself is not responsible for all of the human activity ever, so this blog is dedicated to all the religions around the world, we couldn’t have got here without you. 

When looking at the industrial revolution we see a roughly equal number of Catholics and Protestants, both very anthropocentric and capitalistic in nature so that's not really much of a shocker. In a more general sense when we look at the concept and history of human expansion we see that it is often tied to or justified by people's belief in God. A great example of this is the idea of a manifest destiny, or a heaven sent mission instilled in people to expand their reign and show the other parts of the world the errors of their ways. In other words, let me conquer your country and have you adopt my religion because I think my god is better than your god. 

At the end of the day, no matter how you want to define our current epoch , or how you want to look at the factors that contribute to our effects on the environment, it is undeniable that at the root of it all is religion. 

[spiritualnaturalist]

Buddhism and Deep Ecology

Hi everyone ! Welcome back to the blog : ) I hope you’ve been enjoying this series so far , I know I have. Today we will be discussing Arne Naess, Julie Gregory, and Samah Sabra. Arne Naess was a Norwegian philosopher and prolific figure in the environmental ethics industry. He has authored works such as Ecology of Wisdom and Philosophical Dialogues, today we will be discussing his piece The Deep Ecology Movement Some Philosophical Aspects. Julie Gregory is an American Author, she authored a very moving novel about her story as someone who suffered abuse by Munchaussens by proxy. Samah Sabra is a Canadian Author and feminist, today we will be discussing a piece Sabra and Gregory authored together entitled Engaged Buddhism and Deep Ecology Beyond the Science/Religion Divide. 

The ideas of deep ecology discussed in these pieces can be highlighted using the 8 principles.

The 8 principles being : 

1. The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth have value in themselves that are independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes.

2. Richness and diversity of life-forms contribute to these values and are also values in themselves.

3. Human beings have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital needs.

4. The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. 

5. Current human interference with the nonhuman world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening.

6. Policies must therefore be changed. The resulting state of affairs will be deeply different from the present state of affairs.

7. The ideological change is mainly that of appreciating life quality rather than adhering to an increasingly higher standard of living. 

8. Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an obligation directly or indirectly to try to implement the necessary changes.

This week was made a bit easier for me in the sense that one of our pieces already is discussing religion so I'm going with the cop out and picking that religion to be the topic of this blog. Buddhism is one of the world's largest religions and is around 3000 years old. The ideas of Buddhism operate around the idea that our human existence on this Earth is one of suffering and that through constant meditation and prayer and vigorous physical and spiritual labor, we can reach enlightenment. As our authors Gregory and Sabah argued in their piece, the connections between Buddhism and the principles of Deep Ecology can help push us further in our pursuits and allow us to reflect on ourselves, society , and nature. 

The dichotomy of “Western” vs “ Eastern” worldviews, with Buddhism being on the Eastern side. Gregory and Sabah argue that it is crucial that we move away from this separation between eastern and western in order to advance our thinking and mindsets. When looking at Buddhism we see that there are two main strands, Mahayana and Theravada. A large ideology within both of the branches is that only through the cessation of ignorance, which is caused by desire for and attachment to material goods, can we end our suffering. A large idea discussed in this piece is replacing the term no-self with we-self to help us better grasp and feel the interrelatedness we all share. Tying that into this Deep Ecology , daily meditation can help us identify where we are in this world and where we ought to be going. There is also a large focus on the relationship between the individual and the whole, for without the whole the individual would not exist. Thus it is crucial to preserve the whole. In the concept of Deep Ecology the whole is the entire non-human sphere that we as humans operate in and survive by using. 

An interesting twist in this piece that I want to address is that this idea of a radical ecology calls for awareness and appreciation of human and non-human life, Buddhism on the other hand calls for respect for the sentient ie: human life. In relativity one could propose that placing an importance on human life would mean wanting to preserve it and thus you would be willing to commit to this idea of deep ecology if it ensured human survival, but I’ll allow you guys to sit on that thought and let me know what you think !

I don’t want to overwhelm you all and I think we discussed a lot today, tune in next week for a discussion on the Anthropocene ( if you don’t know what that is, you will next week ! ) 

[spiritualnaturalist]

[spiritualnaturalist]

Protestantism and Capitalism

Hi guys ! I hope you’ve been enjoying the blog so far ! Today we’re venturing into the realm of economics which is a bit out of my wheelhouse so bear with me. Nancy Fraser is a political philosopher from Baltimore. She is a critical theorist who is currently a professor of political science and philosophy at The New School. She has authored books such as Cannibal Capitalism and Capitalism: A Conversation in Critical Theory. In this blog post we will be discussing her text Climates of Capital. 

As environmental catastrophe plague the world we are seeing now more than ever the economic and social effects that they have. Floods, Famines, Heat Waves, and Torrential weather have no conscious thought, they do not choose to target the rich or the poor. They do not decide where to land based on the community's ability to bounce back, they just land. We saw it with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, The Haiti Earthquake in 2010, The Afghanistan Blizzard in 2008, even the European heat wave in 2003; these are varying regions of the world with varying levels of economic stability, yet they have all been plagued in some way by environmental disasters.  What we see arising from this is just how deep the disparities are, the level of support and the speed of recuperation for the events in Europe were light years ahead of those for places like Haiti. 

As you all know by now, this blog is about religion. Assuming you didn’t read the title, what religion do you think we are going to be discussing today ? ……..that's right, Protestantism ! Protestantism is a branch of Christianity which was formed after the Protestant reformation in the 1500’s. It is composed of the religious groups in the faith of Christianity who do not subscribe to the Roman Catholic Church due to their different doctrines. But why are the Protestants relevant to Capitalism ? Why are they relevant to environmentalism ? We can tie the main ideals of the Protestant Ethic can be directly tied to the development of the Capitalist belief system. The main beliefs of the Protestant Ethic are the living of an Ascetic lifestyle, the dedication of long hand manual labor to give attributes to the glory of God, idleness is a sin, and money is to be valued and saved for oneself. Ideals have led to the conception of capitalist ideals such as the development of the workforce, the intrinsic value for productivity over ethics, and the compulsion to save money or hoard one's wealth. There is a clear tie in between Capitalism and Protestantism, and as Fraser will soon show us, that means a tie into the environment and the communities that are affected by it. 

One of the main structural arguments in Fraser’s work is that Capitalism harbors ecological contradiction at its very core. One is either on the planet's side, or the investors side. In Frasers writing she discusses that what an environmentalist would see nature as having intrinsic values, a capitalist would see nature as having extrinsic values as raw material or a disposal site. As we discussed in our anthropocentrism blog ( which also happened to discuss a closely related religious denomination) we saw the ideas that humans are responsible for generating value. As Fraser discusses, humans have taken that power and operated under the assumption that nature is self-replenishing and here for the disposal of those who have the technology to utilize it. Frasers implements this idea of the 4 D’s of Capitalism and how they relate to our interactions with the environment. 

Dependence - upon nature as a resource but also for general survival

Division - of human values , we are either economically oriented or sustainably oriented

Disavowal - of the costs and wastes of Capitalism , on top of this I would personally add a disavowal for human life. 

Destabilization - of ecosystems for capital gain and lack of regard for the effects of that 

Now I don’t want to drone on as this blog post could really be a novel on its own but I like to think I gave you guys something to ruminate on and think about ! Have  a great rest of your day and tune in next week for a discussion on Deep Ecology : ) 

[spiritualnaturalist]

Judaism and the concept of the Feminine Divine

Hi everybody ! Welcome Back : ) Today we are going to be discussing the work of Karen J. Warren and Carolyn Merchant. Karen J. Warren was an American philosopher and ecofeminist. She authored books such as Ecofeminism: Women, Culture, and Nature as well as Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective on what it is. Today we will be discussing her work, The Power and Promise of Ecological Feminism. Carolyn Merchant is an American Ecofeminist Philosopher and she is also a professor of Philosophy at The University of California, Berkeley. She has Authored books such as Radical Ecology and Earthcare. Today we will be discussing her piece, Feminism and the Philosophy of Nature. This blog post will probably be the most near and dear to my heart. As a woman and as a Jew I think this specific intersection is probably the blog I am most excited about but also most disappointed to talk about. No Jewish people want to hear and no Jewish people want to say it but the divine feminine in Judaism doesn’t exist , in fact the feminine is just something to wash away to make more room for the divine. 

Merchant’s work focuses largely on the historical contexts that led up to the issues ecofeminists are tackling today. One of her main arguments is that we as a society have turned nature into a commodity and that the side effect of that was detrimental to women and other marginalized groups. But where has this separation of woman and state started ? Why does society have this intrinsic belief , where do we even develop our beliefs ? you guessed it ! Religion. 

Let's be real here, Judaism is one of the most contradictory religions when it comes to women. On one hand you have rules about women's health and safety. One brought into public controversy recently is the laws regarding abortion. In Judaism, not only are women allowed to have abortions, but in cases where the mothers life is put at risk, it is required. On the flip side when a woman is on her period she is to sleep in a different bed , preferably in a different room, and she is to replace everything that her menstruating body comes into contact with due to the fact that she was “ dirty” when she touched it. In my personal opinion, there is nothing Jews find grosser than blood. It's in our homes and it invades our food , and here is where I really think Judaism gets not only anti feminist, but wasteful as well. 

Warren's work focuses a lot on the policies and interjections being made during the current ecological crisis, and how it is critical to take into account how gender discrimination affects policy. Women are disproportionately affected by natural disasters when they occur, they are greatly affected by degradation and exploitation of resources and yet they are not listened to or consulted with when it comes to making decisions in these arenas. The result of this is continued marginalization and suffering but also damage to the environment, a lot of the current products for women are not ecologically sustainable and many don’t care to address it. But we are not here to discuss pink taxes or single use plastics ( although they are important ) but let's address the elephant in the blog here, religion. How does Judaism approach this problem, spoiler alert is not well. 

I think many people are familiar with the more day to day dietary regulations for Jewish people, no pork , no shellfish, the more orthodox will even not cross contaminate meat and dairy. The part many do not know about , and the part I am going to focus on is blood. Now we all know red meat can sometimes be bloody, and in Judaism you rinse it under water until all the blood is run out and then you must cook it until all the red is gone in order to keep the meat “clean”. Some Jewish people ignore that rule , and some just don’t eat red meat to make it easier. The surprise twist a lot of people do not see coming isn’t in meat , it is in eggs. When a hen lays an egg and that hen is going through their version of menstruation there can sometimes be blood in the yolk of the egg. According to Jewish law, blood is unclean, and therefore the egg must be thrown away. But how many of us inspect the egg in a separate container before adding it to our food ? not many, and so what happens if you notice the blood in the egg a bit too late? You guessed it , the whole thing has to be thrown away ! start over, the food isn’t clean anymore. This food law, not only adding to the stigma against people who menstruate, but also creating massive amounts of food waste and potentially placing people in food sensitive situations in a position where they have to choose between their health and their religion. This perpetuates the inequities highlighted in the concept of environmental feminism, the general attitudes towards the environment are inherently disproportionately affecting women, and now imagine you are a Jewish woman, already riddled with the inequalities coming from your own environment but now your religion is demanding you increase food waste, encourages the wastefulness of practicing “ clean menstruation habits” and calls a natural cycle you go through in tandem with the other women in your environment unclean. 

[spiritualnaturalist]

Taoism and the Fight for Social Ecology

Hey Guys- Hope all is well and that you're ready to get into today’s blog ! Today we are looking at Murray Bookchin and James O’Connor! Murray Bookchin was an American philosopher from NYC. He is credited with formulating and developing the idea of Social Ecology and Urban Planning. He has authored books such as Social Ecology and Communalism as well as The Ecology of Freedom, today we will be discussing his piece What is Social Ecology ?  James O’Connor was an author of novels such as Natural Causes: Essays in Ecological Marxism and Ecosocialism, today we will be discussing his piece Socialism and Ecology. Murray Bookchin discusses the development of hierarchy and class in the scheme of transitioning from biological to human. Author James O’Conner goes into the political sphere and discusses red vs green politics. This week brings up an interesting dichotomy in the realm of religion and politics. 

Now I know you guys have been here for a while so you already know what's coming next, but can you guess the topic ? I think you totally can because I'm sure you read the title ; ). When looking at the beliefs of the Taoists, based on the teachings of Lao Tzu, we see this concept of Tao and how we as humans live in balance with the Tao. A large concept of the Tao is the idea of spiritual immortality. The soul has lived in the world throughout multiple bodies and when we die, our souls finally reconnect with the Tao. When we look at Taoism and this idea of social ecology we see the development of the concept of yin and yang. The idea of the yin and yang is that these two opposing forces exist in tandem and that when they are able to reach equilibrium, the energy of life is created. The doctrines of Taoism state that a Toaist who understands this equilibrium would never exploit or abuse their standing in nature. 

Taoism , as a less popular religion in the west, is mostly practiced in China and Taiwan. Based on current census data there are around 8.7 million practicing taoists in the world. The religion is at an interesting location due to the fact that China is considered one of the least environmentally friendly countries, and the taoist peoples have made their opinions on that known by stating that the practices are disrupting the yin and yang in the country. Chinese Taoists monks are hoping to change the public's minds about the country's current practices. 

Taoists have turned to taking matters into their own hands and using their religious freedoms to try and turn the tides. A popular example of this is Mao mountain in China. On this mountain Toaist monks have built an entirely eco-friendly temple, far away from the industrialized city. It is powered by solar panels and is covered in nitrogen fixing plant life. The abbot of Mao Mountain has stated they have grown frustrated by indifference to a crippling pollution crisis that has left the land barren and the sky riddled with smog. The leaders of the temple state “China doesn’t lack money — it lacks a reverence for the environment,” and when speaking about the people they state “Our morals are in decline and our beliefs have been lost” ( new york times ). 

I think this is a very good example of operating under a social ecology as well as advocating for green environmental policy. And more so I think the Taoists have gone about it in an incredibly interesting way where the activism they chose to do is directly related to their religious beliefs, it is not just protests or avocating, which is also important, but they build temples and spread their beliefs through action. Taoism highlights the statements and beliefs of Bookchin and Murray quite well and I also think that as a mostly eastern religion they provide a unique non westernized viewpoint, unlike many of the other major religions that have been previously discussed. 

Tune in next week for a discussion about Ecofeminism , I hope you’re as excited as I am ! 

[spiritualnaturalist]

Hey Guys- Here's a photo of my personal favorite National Park Lassen Volcanic ! Hope you like it : )

[spiritualnaturalist]

Islam and The Land

Hi everyone ! Thanks for tuning back in for this week's blog post ! I’m going to try a bit of a different flow for today’s blog so let me know if you guys like it ! Today we are going to be discussing the works of Aldo Leopold and J.Baird Callicott ( what a cool name right !? ). Aldo Leopold was an environmental ethicist and conservationist from Iowa. He authored novels such as Thinking like a Mountain and A Sand County Almanac , today we will be discussing his piece The Land Ethic. J.Baird Callicott is a philosopher from Memphis, Tennessee who has been spearheading the field of environmental ethics and philosophy. He has authored books such as Thinking like a Planet ( I'm sensing a theme here ) and Environmental Philosophy: From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology, today we will be discussing his piece The Conceptual Foundations of the Land Ethic. 

The Idea of a Land Ethic, as told by Aldo Leopold and J.Baird Callicott, states that all individuals within a given community have their own individual parts, and their own individual roles to play, and all those roles have equal value in the community. Leopold writes that the land ethic “ enlarges the boundaries of the community to include the soils, waters, plants, and animals, collectively called the land”.  We are expanding our ethical minds to include the natural world that surrounds us, this is another example of trying to move away from past Antropocentric ideology. Now I said I was trying a new thing so rather than splitting it all up I'm going to just throw it right at you, relatively speaking that is. So without further ado, I give you…….Islam ! Islam holds the idea that the role that humans are meant to play is Khalifah, or protectors of the planet, and that they are at the will of God if they do not perform their duties as Khalifah. 

What I really love about Leopold’s work is this idea he poses which essentially boils down to don’t bite the hand that feeds you. He proposes the idea of the land pyramid, with soil, plants, and water at the base, and it gets steeper and steeper until we see humans at the top. This is an interesting take because it still has humans “ at the top”. But what is different about Leopold’s approach is that he states that if you refuse or fail to cultivate and appreciate the layers below you, the pyramid will fall, and then there will be no top of the pyramid because you will be dead.  Thus conservation and Preservation are critical to maintain the pyramid. When we look at the ideas of conservation of land, or the concept of wilderness preservation, we can also see it highlighted in the stories of the Quran. The story goes that in order to protect the land , the prophet created inviolable zones, also called Hima. which are patches of land, patches of wilderness that are to remain untouched. These areas tend to exist mostly near watch sources and areas of natural resources. To further this idea the Hadith, or declarations of Mohammed, state that Muslims shall not cut down or destroy plants and that they are forbidden from abusing natural resources. 

Leopold discusses the idea of the ecological conscience, the idea of conservation is harmony between people and the land. Leopold states that no change in conscience is successful without a change in what we internally find morally acceptable. In Islam, the moral conscience states that we as humans are born pure as well as with a natural morality that the community around us is sacred. The belief system operates under the idea that if you are to abuse your god-given gifts and that if you are to abuse the natural resources that your community gives you, then you will be stripping away your purity. 

When we analyze Callicott separately from Leopold we see a higher emphasis on intrinsic value of the land. Intrinsic value when it comes to religion usually has to do with its proximity to divinity and as we have read about above, in Islam nature and ecology are pretty close. Something also highlighted in his work is this idea of egoism and moral entitlement, he discusses the slow pace change has been taken and attributes part of it to these factors. In Islam these ideas are not only discouraged but directly weeded out in the faith. The daily prayer, the Jihad, all of it is designed to humble the devout and create a community oriented group of individuals who believe no one is above anyone else; a system directly in line with what Callicott is saying we should aim for.

[spiritualnaturalist]

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Paganism and Respecting Nature

Hey Guys! Welcome back : ) Today we will be discussing the works of William Cronon and Paul W. Taylor. William Cronon is an environmental historian from Connecticut and is currently a professor of History and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. He has authored works such as Changes in the Land and Nature’s Metropolis. Today we will be Discussing his essay , The Trouble with Wilderness. Paul W. Taylor was an Environmental Ethicist from Pennsylvania. He has authored books such as The Moral Judgement and Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics. Today we will be discussing his work, The Ethics of Respect for Nature.

A large focus of Cronon's piece is on American Environmentalism and how many of our conservation efforts, while noble, are naive to the socio economic interminglings that they have. In the United States a large example of this is our National Parks system. We throw a large portion of our government funds for conservation towards these pre-outlined pieces of land and thus will often ignore the surrounding areas that may need those funds just as much if not more. He argues that we throw our resources into the conservation and support efforts towards “ tourist traps” and the things that are bringing in revenue instead of throwing it to the actual residents of that area or those who would actually deeply benefit from receiving those resources. This piece hit hard for me as someone from California. A large portion of California comprises state and national parks ( about 15% ) and it receives about 35% of the state's budget annually. The result of this is the less aesthetic areas like skid row and the south side of market street are, for lack of better words, left to rot.  

Paul W. Taylors piece looks at bioethics and the justifications of respecting nature. He discusses that rather than thinking that humans are the top of the pyramid, we think of it as just one block that we all stand on, humans equal to the rest. My favorite part of the biocentric approach is that Taylor demands awareness of the interconnectedness of nature. We often segment parts aways from each other in order to shunt away guilt and blame, Taylor says that we must stop doing that and fully become aware and appreciative of just how intertwined everything in nature really is. So one would think that if nature is a large part of our incomes that we as a capitalist society would worship at the feet of the Earth, sadly that isn’t quite the case. But some people have been doing just that for a long time and today’s blog post is about highlighting them ! 

Many of the larger mainstream religions have commandeered and commercialized pagan religious practices and holidays. Beyond that, they have painted a picture of paganism that is “ evil” and sacreligious, isolating the practice from the rest of the religious world. But Paganism is a religion practiced by about 1.2 million people in the United States alone and it is focused around the idea that nature is at the heart of everything we are and everything we do ( consider this Taylor approved ). Pagans operate on the tenant of cycles , the cycle of death, the cycle of birth, and the cycle of growth. All cycles contain various holidays and rituals in them. Some of the most important Pagan holidays include Samhain, Yule, Beltane, and Spring Equinox. One of the more popular Pagan holidays that has been commandeered by the general public is Samhain, known to many as Halloween. A lesser known connection is that St.Patricks day is actually based on the Pagan Spring Equinox. 

I think one of the most effective ways of seeing the ways Pagans respect nature compared to their religious counterparts is in their holidays. In many religious communities Halloween is celebrated with trick or treating and pumpkin carving, in the more extreme religious communities Halloween is actually banned from being celebrated due to its connection with the devil, an interesting reason considering Pagans don’t believe in the devil. When we look at how Pagans celebrate Samhain we see a stark contrast, they dance to the moon, build altars to honor their ancestors, and hold bonfires in order to cleanse the earth to make room for the new gifts it can bring. Samhain, while being a holiday where Pagans honor the dead, has nothing to do with sacrifice or the devil as the other major religions have painted it out to be. The traditional Pagan holidays are also not confined to various regions or locations, Pagans wish to celebrate and appreciate all of the earth all of the time. Thay are also strong advocates for environmental equality and not prioritizing profit over care for the earth, a belief held and advocated for by Cronon as well. 

Egalitarian Biocentrism , an ideology constructed by Paul Taylor as well as Peter Singer, is the idea that animals and nature not only intrinsically have value but that they have just as much value as the humans around them. Pagans operate around a biocentric ideology. When we look at Singer and his description of the biocentric ideology he says that they operate on a tripartite basis. The three legs of biocentrism are a belief system , an ultimate moral attitude, and a set of rules that are to be followed. Those elements all being interconnected and resulting in the betterment and advocation of the environment. 

Now while Pagans aren’t the only ones who understand and respect nature, the reason they are the topic of this blog is because their Catholic and Christian counterparts who have been responsible for ostracism have also been deemed incredibly anthropocentric and the antithesis of the ideologies in Paganism. Also as my previous blog post was about Catholicism I thought it fitting to do an opposite viewpoint.  The ideas highlighted in Taylor's article about respect for nature and a biocentric ideology are exactly the practices and belief systems held by Pagans and criticized by religions like Catholicism and Christianity. 

[spiritualnaturalist]

Anthropocentrism and Catholicism

Hey Guys! Welcome to the blog : ) This blog is going to be looking at the interminglings between the world's religions and various environmental issues and ethical issues. I hope you’ll tune in and find it interesting because I'm super excited for this !

In today's blog we are going to be talking about the workings of Peter Singer, an Australian ethicist and moral philosopher. He is currently a professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and has authored works such as Animal Liberation and Practical Ethics, today we will be discussing his essay All Animals are Equal. 

The main discussion of this work is the realm of Anthropocentrism, or for lack of better wording, humans first. What is the reasoning behind that ? The root of the belief is that humans are the only living creatures capable of rational thought. This concept is a bit hilarious to me because as most people know, modern day equality is a bit of a tit for tat between the different groups of humans, not even discussing environmental equality. When looking at and discussing the criteria and needs for Anthropocentrism, Singer brings up a major point. The question for Anthropocentrism is not can they think ? or can they talk? But can they suffer ? it is critical that you think about the ability of something to suffer, as animals undoubtedly have the capacity for, just as much as humans do. 

How did this belief of human superiority develop ? Did one person just say it and we all ran with it ? Where did this basis come from? Many philosophers, theologians, and ethicists have come to many different conclusions. But as I said before this blog is about religion so I’m assuming you know where this is going. 

Many people are aware of the major teachings and writings of Christianity, Genesis, Deuteronomy, Exodus, Leviticus, and many more all form the foundations of this religion and its beliefs. A less commonly referred to piece of work but a piece that has monumental impact is Gaudium et Spes, otherwise known as the constitution of the Second Vatican Council. Yes, you read that correctly, the catholic church has their own constitution. What it roughly translates to meaning is ‘ the only creature on Earth that God has willed for its own sake’ or in layman's terms, humans are better because God says so. This ethos has been around within the church well before it was officially declared in Gaudium et Spes. In Genesis 1:24-31 it states “ On the sixth day of creation, God created the land animals and the pinnacle of his creative work, Humans”. So this is an idea that has been reiterated within the church for a very long time. 

So what is the problem with this? Why can’t Christians have their heavenly superiority complex and eat it too? Well it's very simple, humans will thrive at the expense of everything else, and that is not sustainable. The idea that all other living things exist for the service of humans as the “ pinnacles of god's creative work” creates a waste industry in which humans consume the resources around them without worrying about the consequences. 

I will give credit to the fact that along with many other things, the church is attempting to remedy its more problematic aspects and its anthropocentric history is no exception. Pope Francis issued his statements of the anthropocentric nature of the church when he became aware of the dangers of it. He stated that the idea of humans being the pinnacle of God's creation was not to say that they are superior but rather to say that they hold the responsibility of upholding God's image and will. In Pope Francis’ declaration as well as declarations from Pope Benedict XVI the main thesis can be summed up as “ Environmental responsibility has two moral objects: other human beings, who share in creation and for whose common good it is given; and God, who has bestowed an order on creation, whose gift creation is and who is disrespected if its integrity is violated.” This statement can definitely be interpreted as a move away from anthropocentrism. Rather than animals existing for humans, humans exist in order to uphold and protect god’s creations: i.e. animals. The Catholic church still is considered the most anthropocentric religious institution in the west but hopefully it can move away from that image into something more sustainable.