Religion and Environment

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79952338221528379392012-01-26T04:09:10.304-08:00Religion and EnvironmentThe Spirit of NatureStudies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.comBlogger271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-44525867217086822772008-07-03T01:35:00.000-07:002008-07-03T01:39:08.250-07:00A video for you all

This documentary studies the unique combination of Judaism, Environmentalism and Vegetarianism to profound effect. While I hope you all watch it, I would warn you that about 45 minutes in, the footage becomes disturbingly graphic for a short while. It runs for just over an hour.With love, from Laura.

Belladonnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17730562378738745751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-43609693989925517752008-06-07T23:46:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:10:12.450-08:00Explore the practice of the “Wilderness Experience”. Explain why some Wilderness Experiences are more successful than others.

by stephen s4078770 Greenway (1995:184) writes that the Wilderness Experience is not a new phenomenon- people since antiquity have journeyed from civilization to nature for “peace and quiet, perspective, resolution of difficult choices, empowerment, vision, realignment with deities”. The scope of this paper is to examine why people today embark on the wilderness experience- what

The earth is home to many species great and small. Paganism is a rural religion that wants people to reconnect with the earth, the need to reconnect with home. This essay proposes to discuss how a nature religious practice can also be deemed an environmental or ecological practice. Also this essay will consider whether there is a difference between Eco-paganism and paganism. This will be achieved

Pilgrimage - Past, Present and FutureBy Tara RufflesPilgrimage is a sacred ritual and rite of passage for many, which has more recently become of the fastest growing areas of tourism. This essay will define and discuss the phenomena that is pilgrimage, explaining possible reasons for such significant modern growth. Secondly, this essay will examine both Muslim and Christian examples of

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-39175359874063038262008-05-29T16:45:00.000-07:002008-05-29T16:51:01.555-07:00How can modern animism, through the idea of ‘personhood’ and ‘giving, morality, and relations’ lead to a more effective care of the Earth?

Word Length:2000Due Date: 02/06/2008Lecturer: Dr. Sylvie ShawRaymond LamINTRODUCTIONThe ‘personhood’ of non-human entities is a concept common to many traditions of animism. A common theme emerges when applied to the context of modern environmental earth care. This essay will put forward an approach that abandons the commonplace anthropocentric worldview, and re-engage with the Earth and its

by stephen s4078770Religion 2010Ethnographic Research ProjectWith Marge EntermannSeventh Day Adventist Church, (SDA) Ipswich QLDANDMary (not her real name)Exclusive Brethren (Plymouth Brethren)Brisbane QLDIntroductionThis research project is made up of two interviews. The first, I conducted with Marge Entermann, an Adventist in her late 60s who has been a believing and practising member of the

The river valley sits shrouded in fog. Outside the valley the sun glows. In other places, other cultures and other religions, the river is the Goddess. Likewise, the living spirits of rivers are depicted as deities, for instance, as snake, python, anaconda, dragon. Frequently, these deities are female perhaps because the element of water is regarded as a feminine essence embodying 'life, birth

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-72111085442410835552008-04-13T04:45:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:10:13.569-08:00Downstream, it's a long way down by Sylvie Shaw

The mouth of the Brisbane River was carefully hidden from the early explorers. The entrance was narrow, sheltered by Fisherman's Island, tangled rain forest, a tightness of mangroves and the huge spreading Moreton Bay Fig. It was as if, states one historical account of the river, '[n]ature herself seemed to have made certain that the river would never be found' (ABC, 2008).It is said that the

Tiarna Jade Riches(Photography by myself)“Wilderness is a place to rediscover our own wildness”Peter Cock, from Monash University, validly wrote the above statement in his work called “Soulfulness from Place” (pg 6). I see this slightly differently however. I have always been fascinated by windows, and have found my own freedom and “wildness” by observing. In my mind, windows symbolize curiosity

Sylvie ShawThe wild is a place, a way to be, a process (i.e. to go wild) and a perception about what happens when wild land and wild waters are paved over, smothered or pulverised. This blog touches on some of the integral viewpoints of the effects of wild and wilderness. Drastic changes along the river, and to the river's ecosystem, have been largely directed by developers responding to

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-83385043475796646472008-03-29T23:11:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:10:14.600-08:00The Earth as Temple by Sylvie Shaw

Earth, The Forgotten Temple (2004) is the title of a book which addresses the deep religious connection that nature brings. Author Niki Collins-Queen was a counsellor but put her career on hold to explore her deepening relationship to nature and God. Her church is the outdoors, the mountain top and the backyard. In an article called 'Author finds God and spirituality in nature', Collins-Queen

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-62232967286137362102008-03-23T00:01:00.002-07:002008-12-11T06:10:14.761-08:00Place: The Sense of Spiritual Home

Sylvie Shaw Knowing place reflects an intimacy with the elements of that place, the trees, the animals, the human visitors and, in the case of this blog, the Brisbane River. American nature writer, novelist and preservationist Wallace Stegner (1992) says that: 'Your province is not the wilderness, where the individual makes contact with the universe, but the farm, the neighborhood, the community,

Sylvie ShawWalking in nature is good for your health. In 2007 the UK mental health charity known as Mind released the results of a study into the health effects of nature connecting. The study was conducted specifically on the impact of green exercise among people with mental health problems and involved a comparison between ecotherapy - a walk in the country and retail therapy - a walk in an

Sylvie ShawThe Brisbane River is undergoing tremendous changes along its banks. According to criticism from Associate Professor Peter Skinner of The University of Queensland, the state government has been ''suckered into' allowing developers ... to treat the Brisbane River as if it were a 'vacant lot'' (Robinson, 2008).What I'm reminded of here are the lyrics of the poignant Joni Mitchell song,

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-517274929155966092008-03-16T23:53:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:10:15.465-08:00Islam, Hinduism, Ecology and Religion

Article Review by Owen BrownRichard Foltz (2003) says in his article 'Islamic environmentalism in theory and practice' that the only thing one should take into account when trying to understand the Islamic perspective on ecology is the Koran and, for Sunni Muslims, the Hadith. And such environmentally friendly sources, argues Foltz, abound. For example, the Koran says that man is the steward

Laura Ennis I live in a small single story wooden house, sitting on what used to be a dry creek bed at the foot of a small hill. I have called this place my home for all of my life and just like in William Wordsworth's poem, I carry a memory of it with me wherever I go. The garden is spacious, and the house is comfy. Situated behind my home are the leafy hills of Taylor Range; the annexed

Belladonnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17730562378738745751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-75931565412062144722008-03-16T19:27:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:10:16.439-08:00My Sacred Place – Can I Go Deeper?

Aleya AbdullaThe ocean is my source of sacred calm, of inner expansiveness, of being able to…breathe. I grew up on the west coast of Canada, and the water has always been a visual part of my life. When I lived there, I saw it almost everyday…so much so that I didn’t even notice how integral a presence it was, until I was contemplating a move elsewhere in the country; upon visiting that

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-48342062459030187712008-03-16T16:34:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:10:16.632-08:00Sense of Sacred Space: Harmony of Humanity and Nature

Due Date: 17/03/2008 By Raymond LamIn my paper, I hope to do a short study of the Bodhi Tree at Mahabodhi Temple in Bodghaya and how it brings humanity and nature together in one entity of both symbolic and literal beatitude.Having spent my life in cities, I have little experience of a sacred space or environment that is completely of nature. This can be a loss to some extent: in the

website review by stephen s4078770 New car sales figures for 1st century Bethlehem may be hard to find- so we can't be sure what Jesus himself would make of our obsession with the automobile but one web site is doing its best to guide today's Christians in their buying and driving habits. 'What would Jesus drive?' http://www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org/ is an initiative of the Evangelical

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-60184483867231922702008-03-16T15:46:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:10:17.795-08:00Leisure or Essential Essence by Sylvie Shaw

Shhrrrtumpth, shhrrrtumpth, shhrrrtumpth - a strange squwelchy, hoarsey, staccato call emerges from the tree canopy. I think it must be a fledgling Coucal rasping its call for food as I have not seen a bird like this along the river before. As I peer among the branches an adult Turkey is resting on one of the low branches overlooking the water, while young Turkeys fossick in the leaf litter

Andrew BoneThe place that I find that is the most sacred place to me is my Grandfather’s farm in Bundaberg. This is a place where I found that I was most at peace and it is a very nostalgic place for me. The memories of going there for holidays when I was a child are some of the best memories I have. When I feel down and depressed, I just think about the farm and I calm down and centre myself.

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-8451383581085347262008-03-15T21:31:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:10:18.060-08:00Soul of a Big Black Land - By Carla McNaughton

It was in my solitude as a child that my favourite place revealed itself to me through the process of hierophany (Eliade, 1959) its belonging to the realm of sacred. Despite my lack of understanding exactly what that sacrality was, I was consistently instilled with a sense of wonder and awe whilst passively or actively engaged with the land. This short essay will describe my sacred place, and

Sylvie ShawYoung leaves along the river trail glow in the aftermath of rain. Crimson. Bronze. Copper. As the new leaves grow they change colour due to the green pigment that is Cholorphyll. Cholorphyll is a natural molecule engaged in an intimate tango with the sun and the wider ecosystem. It is also a very clever molecule. Its role is to capture the sun's energy so that it can be harvested for

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7995233822152837939.post-55009275500375991802008-03-13T21:23:00.000-07:002008-03-13T21:43:08.161-07:00Christian Vegetarian Association

Tara RufflesThe Christian Vegetarian Association(CVA) are an international, non-denominational ministry of Christians who “respectfully encourage healthy, God-honouring, plant-based nutrition" (CVA,2008). The CVA communicates to followers primarily through its website, which can be found online at: http://www.all-creatures.org/cva/. The website clearly outlines the mission of the Association,

Sylvie ShawThe crescent hangs in the pale evening sky. The river breathes. The last carrolling of the Magpie and the laughter of the Kookaburra fade as darkness falls. Flying Foxes perform their sunset exodus up from the river valley and out across the rooftops, flying fast in search of blossoms and fruit. At dusk, the environs of the Brisbane River are indeed alive with movement and sound as

Sylvie ShawThe river valley is awash with rain, green growth exploding, birds dancing in the branches, water gleaming in the morning sun.Where is the spirituality within this place?For me, spiritual connection is found embedded in place, in the movement of the tidal waters, in the glorious sound of bird song, in the changing patterns of the weather, in the strong plant growth since the rains came

Hello and welcome to the course blog for Religion and Environment: The Spirit of Nature, held at The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Semester 1, 2008. This course explores two main areas - the responses of mainstream and other contemporary religions to the environmental crisis and the spiritual and religious responses of individuals to the natural world. If you have any queries or need any

Studies in Religion and Spiritualityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04885930293910644065noreply@blogger.com0