Thank you Jason. As a non-religious person, I am often skeptical of words like "sacred". I almost skipped your piece because of the title. I'm glad I didn't. As a biologist and outdoors person who cares deeply about biodiversity and the natural world, I'm happy for any help we can get! Perhaps organized religions can help make up for all the havoc they've caused through the centuries by motivating their adherents to know about, care about, and treat with respect (= "sacred"?) the natural world and its endlessly diverse living parts. I spent over 40 years of my life trying to help people come to better understand the biological world and, given the current trends, I sometimes feel like I failed miserably. But we must keep trying. It's impossible to love and care about something you don't know exits. We need as many people as possible who love and care the natural world and its biodiversity.
Thanks, Jim, for tuning in. It's funny, despite my essay here, "sacred" isn't a word I use much at all. I should have made that clearer in the writing. The connotations for me have always been religious, which I've never been, or precious, in the non-pragmatic sense. But what I hoped to convey here is the idea that sacralizing the world is actually a fundamentally sensible idea, regardless of anyone's spiritual framework (or lack thereof). Even atheist naturalists feel a reverence for the living world, right? I don't think the essay has matured to its full potential, but it's me working out some ideas.
Thank you, again, for a life devoted to the real world and our relationship to it. That's such important work.
I’ve thought for a long time that one of the few forces powerful enough to move humans away from our disastrous use and ruin of natural environments is religion. I like how you call it ‘sacral’ because it means that same force, which not every human feels as a religious impulse, is nevertheless potentially present in all of us. I also have wondered how and whether Pope Francis’ ‘Laudato si`’ will move Catholics.
That realization about the potential force of faith/religion in this age of destruction hit me hard a while back too. And yes, it's not just about formalized faiths only, though those have the advantage of hierarchical structure and its ability to turn spirituality into community action. As Neural Foundry notes above, there's a natural reverence in all of us if its allowed to emerge. "A part of something greater" and all that, however defined.
The Laudato Si' Movement is real, but I don't have a real gauge for its impact. Here's their site: https://laudatosimovement.org/
"There's a kind of reverence that naturally emerges" is exactly it. That's why exposure and engagement for all of us is so important (and esp. for kids). If that reverence leads to a little thoughtfulness, our ideas of what the world is and what underpins Indigenous culture become less 2-dimensional. Thanks so much for the elegant phrasing.
Yes. Re-sacralization of Earth 🙏
One of the best works on one of the most important issues I’ve read in the past decade. Thank you for sharing your gifted talent with me and others.
It’s very uncommon for me to use such effusive words. That’s how much I enjoyed this piece.
That's very high praise, Peter. Thank you. I'll do my best to live up to it. And thank you for being here and paying attention.
Thank you Jason. As a non-religious person, I am often skeptical of words like "sacred". I almost skipped your piece because of the title. I'm glad I didn't. As a biologist and outdoors person who cares deeply about biodiversity and the natural world, I'm happy for any help we can get! Perhaps organized religions can help make up for all the havoc they've caused through the centuries by motivating their adherents to know about, care about, and treat with respect (= "sacred"?) the natural world and its endlessly diverse living parts. I spent over 40 years of my life trying to help people come to better understand the biological world and, given the current trends, I sometimes feel like I failed miserably. But we must keep trying. It's impossible to love and care about something you don't know exits. We need as many people as possible who love and care the natural world and its biodiversity.
PS: Love it that you referenced Daniel Quinn.
Thanks, Jim, for tuning in. It's funny, despite my essay here, "sacred" isn't a word I use much at all. I should have made that clearer in the writing. The connotations for me have always been religious, which I've never been, or precious, in the non-pragmatic sense. But what I hoped to convey here is the idea that sacralizing the world is actually a fundamentally sensible idea, regardless of anyone's spiritual framework (or lack thereof). Even atheist naturalists feel a reverence for the living world, right? I don't think the essay has matured to its full potential, but it's me working out some ideas.
Thank you, again, for a life devoted to the real world and our relationship to it. That's such important work.
I’ve thought for a long time that one of the few forces powerful enough to move humans away from our disastrous use and ruin of natural environments is religion. I like how you call it ‘sacral’ because it means that same force, which not every human feels as a religious impulse, is nevertheless potentially present in all of us. I also have wondered how and whether Pope Francis’ ‘Laudato si`’ will move Catholics.
That realization about the potential force of faith/religion in this age of destruction hit me hard a while back too. And yes, it's not just about formalized faiths only, though those have the advantage of hierarchical structure and its ability to turn spirituality into community action. As Neural Foundry notes above, there's a natural reverence in all of us if its allowed to emerge. "A part of something greater" and all that, however defined.
The Laudato Si' Movement is real, but I don't have a real gauge for its impact. Here's their site: https://laudatosimovement.org/
“One-step solution”
to our home planet’s problems?!
“Informed reverence.”
...
Learn from church forests...
sacralized sites protect life.
Honor mystery.
...
Animism helps...
islands of wildness, seeds, starts.
Up to us to spread.
"There's a kind of reverence that naturally emerges" is exactly it. That's why exposure and engagement for all of us is so important (and esp. for kids). If that reverence leads to a little thoughtfulness, our ideas of what the world is and what underpins Indigenous culture become less 2-dimensional. Thanks so much for the elegant phrasing.