Embracing The Sacredness of a Wounded Earth

For millennia, nature has inspired profound spiritual experiences—filling people with wonder, gratitude, and peace. Today, however, the natural world is increasingly threatened by fire, pollution, and extinction. In his latest book, Roger S. Gottlieb poses a pressing question: Can nature still serve as a source of spiritual inspiration in the face of ecological crisis? Drawing on decades of original scholarship in environmental ethics, religious environmentalism, contemporary spirituality, and fiction, Gottlieb examines how the current environmental emergency is reshaping spiritual life. He explores the sense of loss and vulnerability that arises when what once nourished humanity—and was expected to sustain future generations—is now imperiled. As people seek refuge from the harshness and chaos of human society, they are confronted with vanishing bird species and oceans choked with plastic. Gottlieb begins by clarifying the concept of spirituality and explaining why nature has long held a principal place in spiritual practice for both religious and secular individuals. He then analyzes the environmental crisis as a civilizational rupture, one that transforms our understanding of hope, grief, meaning, and moral responsibility. According to Gottlieb, nature-based spirituality must adapt to ecological loss and fragility. Despite the challenges, he argues that it is possible to cultivate a spirituality in which grief is balanced by gratitude, compassion is paired with moral outrage, and acceptance is joined with active solidarity and love for all living things. He is the author of "Nature Spirituality and Environmental Crisis: Embracing a Sacred, Wounded Earth."  https://www.rogersgottlieb.com/ http://www.yourlotandparcel.org Support the show