- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Preface Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
- Acknowledgments
- Part One Ethics, Conservation, and Animal Protection
- 1 The Infirm Ethical Foundations of Conservation
- 2 Venturing beyond the Tyranny of Small Differences
- 3 Ecocide and the Extinction of Animal Minds
- 4 Talking about Bushmeat
- 5 Conservation, Animal Rights, and Human Welfare
- Part Two Conservation Behavior and “Enlightened Management”
- 6 Why We <i>Really</i> Don't Care about the Evidence in Evidence-Based Decision Making in Conservation (and How to Change This)
- 7 Cautionary Wildlife Tales
- 8 Coyotes, Compassionate Conservation, and Coexistence
- 9 Why Evolutionary Biology Is Important for Conservation
- 10 Reintroductions to “Ratchet Up” Public Perceptions of Biodiversity
- 11 Przewalski's Horses and Red Wolves
- 12 Why Individuals Matter
- Part Three Conservation Economics and Politics
- 13 The Imperative of Steady State Economics for Wild Animal Welfare
- 14 Conservation, Biodiversity, and Tourism in New Zealand
- Part Four Human Dimensions of Social Justice, Empathy, and Compassion for Animals and other Nature
- 15 Anthropological Perspectives on Ignoring Nature
- 16 Nature and Animals in Human Social Interactions
- 17 Conservation Social Work
- 18 The War on Nature—Turning the Tide?
- 19 Consuming Nature
- 20 Children, Animals, and Social Neuroscience
- Part Five Culture, Religion, and Spirituality
- 21 Compassionate Conservation
- 22 Explaining China's Wildlife Crisis
- 23 A Triangular Playing Field
- 24 Conservation and Its Challenges in Kenya
- 25 Is Green Religion an Oxymoron?
- 26 Avatar
- Some Closing Words
- About the Contributors
- Contributors' Contact Information
- Index
Is Green Religion an Oxymoron?
Is Green Religion an Oxymoron?
Biocultural Evolution and Earthly Spirituality
- Chapter:
- (p.353) 25 Is Green Religion an Oxymoron?
- Source:
- Ignoring Nature No More
- Author(s):
Bron Taylor
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
This chapter first discusses how the greatest environmental thinkers in the Western world have criticized the dominant religions of their day, viewing them as promoting beliefs and priorities that lead inexorably to nature's destruction. It then turns to the sensory and sensual spiritualities of these environmental thinkers, which reflect an approach that is the opposite of ignoring nature, for they all depended on the close observation of it. It also argues that we can learn from the ecological wisdom that is often embedded in traditional cultures, which arose and maintained themselves as the result of long observation and experimentation within environmental systems. Both traditional ecological learning and modern scientific methods demonstrate that the flourishing of all species depends on the well-being of the entire environmental systems that all life forms are embedded in and partially constitute.
Keywords: religion, environmental thinkers, nature, conservation, traditional cultures, modern science
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- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Preface Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
- Acknowledgments
- Part One Ethics, Conservation, and Animal Protection
- 1 The Infirm Ethical Foundations of Conservation
- 2 Venturing beyond the Tyranny of Small Differences
- 3 Ecocide and the Extinction of Animal Minds
- 4 Talking about Bushmeat
- 5 Conservation, Animal Rights, and Human Welfare
- Part Two Conservation Behavior and “Enlightened Management”
- 6 Why We <i>Really</i> Don't Care about the Evidence in Evidence-Based Decision Making in Conservation (and How to Change This)
- 7 Cautionary Wildlife Tales
- 8 Coyotes, Compassionate Conservation, and Coexistence
- 9 Why Evolutionary Biology Is Important for Conservation
- 10 Reintroductions to “Ratchet Up” Public Perceptions of Biodiversity
- 11 Przewalski's Horses and Red Wolves
- 12 Why Individuals Matter
- Part Three Conservation Economics and Politics
- 13 The Imperative of Steady State Economics for Wild Animal Welfare
- 14 Conservation, Biodiversity, and Tourism in New Zealand
- Part Four Human Dimensions of Social Justice, Empathy, and Compassion for Animals and other Nature
- 15 Anthropological Perspectives on Ignoring Nature
- 16 Nature and Animals in Human Social Interactions
- 17 Conservation Social Work
- 18 The War on Nature—Turning the Tide?
- 19 Consuming Nature
- 20 Children, Animals, and Social Neuroscience
- Part Five Culture, Religion, and Spirituality
- 21 Compassionate Conservation
- 22 Explaining China's Wildlife Crisis
- 23 A Triangular Playing Field
- 24 Conservation and Its Challenges in Kenya
- 25 Is Green Religion an Oxymoron?
- 26 Avatar
- Some Closing Words
- About the Contributors
- Contributors' Contact Information
- Index
