50 Key Concepts in Theology

Ecotheology
Theology that affirms the primacy and importance of the natural cosmos.
In the past 30 years or so, the traditional doctrine of creation has faced a
fundamental challenge from ecological theologians who argue that the
Christian creation myth supports the supremacy of humanity over creation,
rather than the mutual interdependence of humanity and nature. The idea, set
out in the book of Genesis, that we have ‘dominion’ over nature and are
entitled to do what we like to the world, has allegedly given theological
justification to our abuse of nature and its resources:
We shall continue to have a worsening ecological crisis until we reject
the Christian axiom that nature has no reason for existence save to serve
man … Both our present science and our present technology are so
tinctured with orthodox Christian arrogance toward nature that no solution
for our ecological crisis can be expected from them alone. Since the roots of
our trouble are so largely religious, the remedy must also be essentially
religious, whether we call it that or not.
(Lynn White, ‘On the Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis’, in
Roger Gottlieb (ed.), This Sacred Earth, Routledge, 2003)
The human abuse of nature has become ever more obvious as our
industries and technologies have started to impact on the natural environment.
Global warming is an obvious example, but there are plenty of others: bio-
technology, intensive farming, deforestation, the exploitation of finite natural
resources, and pollution. As the negative, even catastrophic, effects of our
abuse of nature become clear, so theologians have begun to question the
theological premise that nature is ours to use as we wish. The traditionally
anthropocentric view of creation has been unsettled, and it is now suggested
that humans should be regarded as just another part of nature, rather than
nature’s crowning glory.
So-called ‘ecotheology’ offers an understanding of creation as a cosmic
system which incorporates humanity. Human beings do not have rights of
dominion over nature, but are within nature, and must look to it to understand
what it means to be human. This implies a revision of the traditional view of
God, which has emphasised God’s power over the natural world, rather than
his nurturing creativity within the cosmos.
Unlike some academic theology, ecotheology has direct implications both
for individual conduct and for policy at every level of government, from the
local council to the United Nations. It may be possible to study narrative

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theology, for example, and leave one’s personal and political life
unchallenged, but ecotheology concerns our global human livelihood and
cannot be a merely theoretical pursuit.
THINKERS
St Augustine (354–430) argued strongly against Gnostics, such as the
Manicheans, that God was the sole creator and that he had made a good
creation.
Sallie McFague (1933– ) argues that we need to coin new ‘immanental’
metaphors for God which do not portray him as a monarch, dominating and
controlling nature.
Lynn White (1907–87) published a seminal article in 1967, ‘The
Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis’. White argued that our modern
ecological difficulties originate in Christian ideas about humanity’s
relationship with nature.
IDEAS
Cosmic Christianity: a term used by Mircea Eliade to describe forms of
agrarian Christianity which emphasise the human relationship with the
cosmos, the cycle of the seasons and the use of symbols drawn from the
natural world.
Creation ordinances: a term which refers to the basic regulations set
down by God at the time of creation, such as keeping the Sabbath and the
institution of marriage.
Dominionism/dominion theology: a right-wing theology in the United
States that supports ideas of Christian theocracy and the Christian entitlement
to ‘subdue’ and ‘dominate’ the world.
Specieism: a term used by Peter Singer in his book, Animal Liberation, A
New Ethic for Our Treatment of Animals (1975). Specieism refers to the
exploitation of other animal species by human beings.
BOOKS
Sallie McFague, The Body of God: An Ecological Theology (SCM Press,
1993)
H. Paul Santmire, The Travail of Nature: The Ambiguous Ecological
Promise of Christian Theology (Augsburg Fortress Press, 1985)
David G. Hallman (ed.), Ecotheology: Voices from South and North
(Orbis Books, 1996)

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Matthew Fox, A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the
Transformation of Christianity (Inner Traditions, 2006)

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