This Sacred Earth

Roger S. Gottlieb is Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institiute and is widely recognized for his work in environmentalism. He has a regular column in Tikkun, and has published in popular venues such as the Sunday Boston Globe and Orion Afield. He has written and edited books on Marxism, Religion and Environmentalism.

"The updated edition of This Sacred Earth brings together an impressive selection of recent insights on Religion As If the Earth Mattered. We dare not settle for less." -- Charlene Spretnak, author of The Resurgence of the Real"A rich and valuable compendium assembled around the premise that Judeo-Christian belief is moving from belief to disbelief in the inherent value of earth and its creatures. Writings that support this premise in the central text are introduced with spiritual and nature writings and followed by writings from Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Animal Rights, Ecofeminist and Deep Ecology perspectives. A fine sourcebook for a wide range of religious and spiritual environmental writings." -- Calvin B. DeWitt, University of Wisconson-Madison"I welcome this second edition of This Sacred Earth, more comprehensive and inclusive than ever, probing the opportunities--and the pitfalls--in bringing religious experience to bear on caring for nature. Can Earth's marvelous religious diversity help to save Earth and its marvelous biodiversity? We can inherit the Earth only in justice and love. The promise of religion is splendidly and urgently documented here." -- Holmes Rolston, III, University Distinguished Professor Colorado State University"The Second Edition of This Sacred Earth documents the exponential acceleration of the greening of religion. Back in 1967, Lynn White Jr. could plausibly claim that the "historical roots of our ecologic crisis" were the Abrahamic religions. Now those religions and practically all the others of the world are uniting to resist the real roots of our ecologic crisis, the worship of Mammon and the cult of Consumerism. Roger Gottlieb has done a masterful job in covering the diversity of the spiritual responses to this newest form of idolatry--from traditional world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism to new ecology-inspired spiritual movements such as Deep Ecology and Ecofeminism. It remains THE TEXTBOOK for college courses that focus on the link between religion and environment." -- J. Baird Callicott Professor of Philosophy and Religion Studies University of North Texas

• Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction: Religion in an Age of Environmental Crisis Introduction to the Second Edition: Good News/Bad News Part I: The Moment of Seeing: Selections from Nature Writers Linking Nature and Spirit 1.1 From the Halibun: (trans. David Barnhill): Matshuo Basho 1.2 On the Lure of the Country: William Hazlitt 1.3 From Walking: Henry David Thoreau 1.4 Nature: Ralph Waldo Emerson 1.5 From Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf: John Muir 1.6 From A Sand County Almanac: Aldo Leopold 1.7 Nature: Luther Standing Bear 1.8 Seeing the Light: Robert Finch 1.9 The Kill Hole: Linda Hogan Part II: How Have Traditional Religions Viewed Nature? 2.1 The Creation: Fanetorens (Ray Fadden) 2.2 Death and the Rebirth of the Universe (Hindu): Joseph L. Henderson and Maude Oaks 2.3 The Parade of Ants (Hindu): Joseph L. Henderson and Maude Oaks 2.4 The Five Suns (Aztec): Joseph L. Henderson and Maude Oaks 2.5 Persephone:Joseph L. Henderson and Maude Oaks 2.6 From Forests: the Shadow of Civilization: Robert Pogue Harrison 2.7 From the Tao Te Ching: Lao Tzu 2.8 Selections: Hebrew Bible 2.9 Selections: Qur'an 2.10 Jews, Jewish Texts, and Nature: A Brief History: Daniel Swartz 2.11 From Legends of the Bible: Louis Ginzberg 2.12 From In and of the World: Christian Theological Anthropology and Environmental Ethics: Anna Peterson 2.13 Traditional Native Hawaiian Environmental Philosophy: Michael Kioni Dudley 2.14 Early Buddhist Views on Nature: Chatsumarn Kabilisingh 2.15 Illuminating Darkness: The Monk-Cave-Bat-Ecosystem Complex in Thailand: Leslie E. Sponsel and Poranee Matadcha-Sponsel 2.16 Satyagraha for Conservation: Awakening the Spirit of Hinduism: O.P. Dwivedi 2.17 Islamic Environment: Ethics, Law, and Society: Mawil Y. Izzi Deen (Samarrai) 2.18 Central African Voices on the Human-Environmental Relationship: Richard B. Peterson 2.19 An Aboriginal Perspective on the Integrity of Creation: Stan McKay 2.20 Biodiversity and Tradition in Malaysia: Patrick Segundad 2.21 Lea