Sustainability Studies: Beyond the Denial of Religion and Theology as Resources—An Introduction

Abstract

The devastation of the ecosphere is inextricably linked to unsustainable economic, ecological, societal, geopolitical, cultural, and ethical perspectives. The Covid-19 global pandemic, Climate Calamity, and the Sixth Mass Extinction are diverse facets of a single cause—the extreme malrelationship between human civilization and the ecosystems of the Earth. Existence itself is in the process of being reduced to the point where commerce and consumption intersect. The ability of the human imagination to creatively absorb and be informed by wilderness, sentience, and the cosmos is diminishing. This diminution is evident in the rendition of the arts and humanities as increasingly irrelevant. To enable the restoration and flourishing of human communities and the ecosystems of the biosphere, more and newer technology will be helpful but inadequate. More and better data will also be inadequate because numerical computations forecasting disaster have been shown to be insufficient in the face of human denial and recalcitrance. Human societies need to be reimagined and restored in ways that acknowledge the significance of the moral, ethical, aesthetic, and spiritual dimensions of human experience. The epistemic paradigms based on radical commercialism—which have led to catastrophic climate change, global pandemic, and the ravaging of the Earth and its life-support systems—are not likely to lead to the healing of the same. New imaginaries need to arise that can elicit the wonder and reverence needed to inspire care. Humility and gratitude in the face of the majestic mystery of creation is a shared element across diverse religious traditions.