The Cambridge Companion to Christianity and the Environment

How one of the world's most important religions, Christianity, shaped one of the important issues of our time, the environment.

Alexander J. B. Hampton (Edited by), Douglas Hedley (Edited by)

9781108816823, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 August 2022

300 pages
22.7 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.5 kg

'very varied and wide-ranging' Church Times

Christianity has understood the environment as a gift to nurture and steward, a book of divine revelation disclosing the divine mind, a wild garden in need of cultivation and betterment, and as a resource for the creation of a new Eden. This Cambridge Companion details how Christianity, one of the world's most important religions, has shaped one of the existential issues of our age, the environment. Engaging with contemporary issues, including gender, traditional knowledge, and enchantment, it brings together the work of international scholars on the subject of Christianity and the Environment from a diversity of fields. Together, their work offers a comprehensive guide to the complex relationship between Christianity and the environment that moves beyond disciplinary boundaries. To do this, the volume explains the key concepts concerning Christianity and the environment, outlines the historical development of this relationship from antiquity to the present, and explores important contemporary issues.

1. Introduction Alexander J. B. Hampton
Part I. Concepts: 2. Naturalism, supernaturalism, and our concern for nature Fiona Ellis
3. From disenchantment to enchantment: Mind, nature, and the divine spirit Jörg Lauster
4. Human and nonhuman animals from secular and sacred perspectives Charles Taliaferro
5. Anthropocentrism, biocentrism, stewardship and co-creation Robin Attfield
6. Participation and nature in christian theology Andrew Davison
7. The Book of nature Jacob Holsinger Sherman
Part II. Histories: 8. Environmental perspectives in ancient greek philosophy and religion Crystal Addey
9. Medieval nature and the environment Kellie Robertson
10. Natural philosophy in early modernity Nathan Lyons
11. Protestantism, environmentalism, and limits to growth Mark Stoll
12. Romanticism, transcendentalism, and ecological thought Laura Dassow Walls
13. Contemporary religious ecology Sean J. McGrath
Part III. Engagements: 14. The sublime and wonder Emily Brady
15. Religious traditions and ecological knowledge Michael S. Northcott
16. Venerating earth: Three sacramental perspectives Jame Schaefer
17. Nature and aesthetics: Methexis, mim?sis and poi?sis Alexander J.B. Hampton
18. Sophia and the world Soul Douglas Hedley
19. Creation and gender: A theological appraisal Willemien Otten.

Subject Areas: Conservation of the environment [RNK], History of religion [HRAX], Religious issues & debates [HRAM]