RLG105H1

Spirituality, Religion, and the Environment

In diverse cultures and throughout history, people have felt a deep connection to their environments. This search for a feeling of connection, or oneness, with nature has led humans into canyons and caves, up mountains and rock faces, and across deserts and oceans. Sometimes nature spirituality occurs within religious traditions, sometimes outside of them, and sometimes even in opposition to ‘religion.’ This course explores the phenomenon of nature spirituality, and the wonder often associated with it. Readings will engage mystics and mountaineers, poets and painters, and farmers and foresters, all exploring the human-nature connection, often in the context of environmental crisis.