Embodied Ecumenical Eco-spirituality: Revised Christian Attitudes Toward the Creation

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article argues that what is currently perceived as an ecological turn in Christian theology is actually a re-turn to ancient beliefs going back at least one thousand years. These eco-theologies lend themselves in embodied ways to the fight against climate change. To prove its point, this essay does a literary study of selected texts by prominent theologians' and thinkers' ecologies. To establish an equity among female and male theologists, this essay has chosen two women and two men. To obtain some geographical diversity, it includes one North American, one Swede, one German, and one Latin American; two are Catholic, two are Protestant. They are brought together across space and time in an ecumenical dialogue. They are Hildegard von Bingen, Olov Hartman, Pope Francis, and Sallie McFague. Applying theatricality and performativity, in combination with Hjalmar Sundén's psychological role-playing theory and understanding of worship- and spirituality-driven identity-formation as the basis for an embodied ecumenical eco-spiritual program. At the end of the article, this program is outlined.