Greening God? Christian Ecotheology,Environmental Justice,and Socio-Ecological Flourishing

Abstract

Abstract

This article provides a broad mapping of some ways in which a group of thinkers, many of whom identify as ecotheologians, argue for the importance of seeing God (understood as the first person of the Christian Trinity), Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in a green manner at this time in our planetary history. It simultaneously ties that mapping into issues that are relevant to green, socio-ecological action. Important to the reflections that constitute the field of ecotheology has been a framing of “responding to the ecological crisis.” The present article begins by briefly introducing that feature of the field before offering an alternative, which is informed by principles of environmental justice. That alternative, namely a socio-ecological framing, is shown to be helpful in moving beyond a crisis-response dynamic. The accompanying discussion will be of interest for those who seek explicitly Christian theological bases for incarnating an environmental justice praxis that supports socio-ecological flourishing.