RELGST 1519 - RELIGION, NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT

Minimum Credits: 3
Maximum Credits: 3
When is religion good for the environment? When is it not? In this course, students will become acquainted with how religious traditions throughout the world have addressed specific ecological problems. They will explore ways in which religious institutions are an important organizational hub in struggles for environmental justice. They will compare the structural features shared by environmentalism and religiosity, both of which are interested in making meaning of the world by appealing to an ultimate authority, such as God or Nature; and in forming identities and building communities by promoting guidelines, norms, and ritualized behaviors. The very construction of Nature as a concept, and its reverence in the context of the sustainability movement, can be informed by theoretical discourse from the field of Religious Studies. After a survey of approaches to the natural world in major religious traditions, students will focus on themes such as garden spiritualties, gendered Nature reverence, and eco-justice. They will also acquire the skills to assess the scripturally inspired indifference-or even antagonism-to environmental science, and the long shadow it has cast on the global economy.
Academic Career: Undergraduate
Course Component: Lecture
Grade Component: Letter Grade
Course Attributes: DSAS Cross-Cult. Awareness General Ed. Requirement, SCI Polymathic Contexts: Global&Cross Cul GE. Req.

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