Eco-religious Studies

Eco-religious Studies

• Authors: Laurel Kearns & Kate Rigby • Living reference work entry • Open Access • First Online: 28 October 2025 • Published on Springer Nature Link: Eco-religious Studies | Springer Nature Link

Abstract

Eco-religious studies, also known as the study of religion, nature and culture, or ‘religion and ecology’, examines the role of religious and spiritual texts, traditions, worldviews, ethics, practices and movements in shaping human perceptions of, and interactions with, non-human others and our shared environs. This chapter gives an overview of the formation and development of this multidisciplinary and cross-cultural field from the early 1990s, in conjunction with the rise of faith-based environmental activism. We highlight the place of religion and religious studies in the critique of anthropocentrism and the role of religious organisations and ideas in the emergence of concerns around (gender-, class-, race-, and/or species-based) environmental injustice. We proceed to outline the key methods, questions and concepts in eco-religious studies, noting points of tension arising from different disciplinary approaches, discourses, and matters of primary concern. In the final section, we point to some new directions in the field relating to biodiversity conservation, climate change and religion and ecology in the Global South.