What is "Dark Green Religion"?
In Bron Taylor's 2009 book entitled Dark Green Religion, the author defines this type of spirituality as “one where nature is sacred, has intrinsic value, and is therefore due reverent care.”
Here is the publisher's summary of the book(http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520261006):
"In this innovative and deeply felt work, Bron Taylor examines the evolution of “green religions” in North America and beyond: spiritual practices that hold nature as sacred and have in many cases replaced traditional religions. Tracing a wide range of groups—radical environmental activists, lifestyle-focused bioregionalists, surfers, new-agers involved in “ecopsychology,” and groups that hold scientific narratives as sacred—Taylor addresses a central theoretical question: How can environmentally oriented, spiritually motivated individuals and movements be understood as religious when many of them reject religious and supernatural worldviews? The “dark” of the title further expands this idea by emphasizing the depth of believers' passion and also suggesting a potential shadow side: besides uplifting and inspiring, such religion might mislead, deceive, or in some cases precipitate violence. This book provides a fascinating global tour of the green religious phenomenon, enabling readers to evaluate its worldwide emergence and to assess its role in a critically important religious revolution."
Different Kinds of "Dark Green Religion"
In the book, Taylor outlines 4 main groups of "Nature Worshippers" out there:
Animisms ("life forces aminate living things")
(1) Supernaturalistic Animism: example is Gary Snyder, self-proclaimed "Buddhist-Animist" and writer on "bioregionalism"; Joanna Macy and John Seed's "Council of All Beings" where humans may "channel" animal spirits and speak on their behalf
(2) Naturalistic Animism: empathy with animals, from evolution theory of all living beings linked by a common ancestor, examples Marc Bekoff, Jane Goodall, L. Freeman House's "Totem Salmom", Aldo Leopold's "think like a mountain" phrase
Gaian Earth Religions ("holistic and organicist worldview")
(3) Gaian Spirituality (supernaturalistic): the Universe is an expression of Brahmin, God or the Great Mystery (New Agey version)
(4) Gaian Naturalism: "express awe and wonder" at Nature, but skeptical of supernaturalism; example: James Lovelock's "Gaian Theory" and Paul Harrison's World Pantheist Movement
(entire online article found here: http://www.brontaylor.com/environmental_articles/pdf/Taylor--FromGroundUp.pdf)
Deep Dark Green fits in with the 4th category, closely aligned with Naturalistic Pantheists, while also learning from and empathising with the other categories of "Deep Green Religion".
"Dark Green Religion" in Indigenous Practice
In fact, "Deep Green" Spirituality is best exemplified by indigenous peoples. An great example of this is the Iroquois Confederacy's 1977 Address to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, entitled "Hau De No Sau Nee Address to the Western World / A Basic Call To Consciousness". Here is a quote comparing indigenous peoples with Westerners:
"Our roots are deep in the lands where we live. We have great love for our country, for our birthplace is there. The soil is rich from the bones of thousands of our generations. Each of us were created in those lands, and it is our duty to take great care of them, because from these lands will spring the future generations of the Ongwhehonwhe. We walk about with a great respect, for the Earth is a very sacred place.
We are not a people who demand, or ask anything of the Creators of Life, but instead, we give greetings and thanksgiving that all the forces of Life are still at work. We deeply understand our relationship to all living things. To this day, the territories we still hold are filled with trees, animals, and the other gifts of the Creation. In these places we still receive our nourishment from our Mother Earth.
We have seen that not all people of the Earth show the same kind of respect for this world and its beings. The Indo-European people who have colonized our lands have shown very little respect for the things that create and support Life. We believe that these people ceased their respect for the world a long time ago."
Dark Green Vs "Plain" Green Religion
In the Wikipedia article about Bron Taylor, there is a discussion of the difference between "Dark green versus green religion":
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bron_Taylor)
"Taylor makes a distinction between dark green religious phenomena (which emanate from a belief that nature is sacred), and the relatively recent "greening" of certain sectors of established religious traditions (which see eco-friendly activities as a religious obligation). Many of the central figures and seminal texts of dark green religion, as curated by Taylor, express a strong condemnation of Abrahamic theism, which, dark green religionists allege, as Lynn Townsend White, Jr. did in a famous Science essay[1] in 1968, is deeply linked to an anthropocentric worldview that sees human beings as above nature and divinely endowed with the right to dominion over the biosphere. Those aligned in the dark green religion camp have alleged that this cosmogony has played a major role in the desecration and exploitation of the natural world.
For this reason, those engaged in dark green religion are often skeptical that conventional religions can play a constructive role in halting and reversing ecological degradation. While the environmentalist efficacy of the stewardship model, which some think is mandated by Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike, remains a hotly disputed issue,[2] many dark green thinkers believe that efforts to preserve the ecosystem will not succeed unless underlying spiritual attitudes are shifted towards a more biocentric perspective. To this point, in a 2010 interview with the online magazine Religion Dispatches, Taylor stated, "Although it is not my intent to annoy those with conventional religious understandings, few such religionists will welcome the evidence assembled in Dark Green Religion, or my supposition based on this evidence, that eventually their religions are likely to be supplanted by naturalistic forms of nature spirituality."[3] Taylor has thus drawn criticism from those who believe that conventional religious ethics and infrastructure can be effective agents of environmental preservation."
References for Wikipedia article on Bron Taylor:
(1) White, Lynn Townsend Jr. "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis",Science, Washington, D.C., 10 March 1968
(2) Jacobs, Tom. "A New Genesis: Getting World Religions to Worship Ecologically", Miller-McCune, 29 April 2009
(3) Taylor, Bron. "Losing Old Gods, Finding Nature", Religion Dispatches, 21 January 2010.
Related Websites:
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Green-Religion-Spirituality-Planetary/dp/0520261003
http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1493
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppt59
http://books.google.ca/books?id=wAswiTYwU74C&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=dark+green+religion&source=bl&ots=AAtJKQb-Nf&sig=gmjbAg6er_4w4zwxHIQ71jalzRY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uh70UvrpLpGEogTz0YKABg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwATgU#v=onepage&q=dark%20green%20religion&f=false
http://against-postmodern.org/sleboda-m-dark-green-religion-and-deep-ecology-moving-towards-synthesis-traditionalism-and-green-the
In Bron Taylor's 2009 book entitled Dark Green Religion, the author defines this type of spirituality as “one where nature is sacred, has intrinsic value, and is therefore due reverent care.”
Here is the publisher's summary of the book(http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520261006):
"In this innovative and deeply felt work, Bron Taylor examines the evolution of “green religions” in North America and beyond: spiritual practices that hold nature as sacred and have in many cases replaced traditional religions. Tracing a wide range of groups—radical environmental activists, lifestyle-focused bioregionalists, surfers, new-agers involved in “ecopsychology,” and groups that hold scientific narratives as sacred—Taylor addresses a central theoretical question: How can environmentally oriented, spiritually motivated individuals and movements be understood as religious when many of them reject religious and supernatural worldviews? The “dark” of the title further expands this idea by emphasizing the depth of believers' passion and also suggesting a potential shadow side: besides uplifting and inspiring, such religion might mislead, deceive, or in some cases precipitate violence. This book provides a fascinating global tour of the green religious phenomenon, enabling readers to evaluate its worldwide emergence and to assess its role in a critically important religious revolution."
Different Kinds of "Dark Green Religion"
In the book, Taylor outlines 4 main groups of "Nature Worshippers" out there:
Animisms ("life forces aminate living things")
(1) Supernaturalistic Animism: example is Gary Snyder, self-proclaimed "Buddhist-Animist" and writer on "bioregionalism"; Joanna Macy and John Seed's "Council of All Beings" where humans may "channel" animal spirits and speak on their behalf
(2) Naturalistic Animism: empathy with animals, from evolution theory of all living beings linked by a common ancestor, examples Marc Bekoff, Jane Goodall, L. Freeman House's "Totem Salmom", Aldo Leopold's "think like a mountain" phrase
Gaian Earth Religions ("holistic and organicist worldview")
(3) Gaian Spirituality (supernaturalistic): the Universe is an expression of Brahmin, God or the Great Mystery (New Agey version)
(4) Gaian Naturalism: "express awe and wonder" at Nature, but skeptical of supernaturalism; example: James Lovelock's "Gaian Theory" and Paul Harrison's World Pantheist Movement
(entire online article found here: http://www.brontaylor.com/environmental_articles/pdf/Taylor--FromGroundUp.pdf)
Deep Dark Green fits in with the 4th category, closely aligned with Naturalistic Pantheists, while also learning from and empathising with the other categories of "Deep Green Religion".
"Dark Green Religion" in Indigenous Practice
In fact, "Deep Green" Spirituality is best exemplified by indigenous peoples. An great example of this is the Iroquois Confederacy's 1977 Address to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, entitled "Hau De No Sau Nee Address to the Western World / A Basic Call To Consciousness". Here is a quote comparing indigenous peoples with Westerners:
"Our roots are deep in the lands where we live. We have great love for our country, for our birthplace is there. The soil is rich from the bones of thousands of our generations. Each of us were created in those lands, and it is our duty to take great care of them, because from these lands will spring the future generations of the Ongwhehonwhe. We walk about with a great respect, for the Earth is a very sacred place.
We are not a people who demand, or ask anything of the Creators of Life, but instead, we give greetings and thanksgiving that all the forces of Life are still at work. We deeply understand our relationship to all living things. To this day, the territories we still hold are filled with trees, animals, and the other gifts of the Creation. In these places we still receive our nourishment from our Mother Earth.
We have seen that not all people of the Earth show the same kind of respect for this world and its beings. The Indo-European people who have colonized our lands have shown very little respect for the things that create and support Life. We believe that these people ceased their respect for the world a long time ago."
Dark Green Vs "Plain" Green Religion
In the Wikipedia article about Bron Taylor, there is a discussion of the difference between "Dark green versus green religion":
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bron_Taylor)
"Taylor makes a distinction between dark green religious phenomena (which emanate from a belief that nature is sacred), and the relatively recent "greening" of certain sectors of established religious traditions (which see eco-friendly activities as a religious obligation). Many of the central figures and seminal texts of dark green religion, as curated by Taylor, express a strong condemnation of Abrahamic theism, which, dark green religionists allege, as Lynn Townsend White, Jr. did in a famous Science essay[1] in 1968, is deeply linked to an anthropocentric worldview that sees human beings as above nature and divinely endowed with the right to dominion over the biosphere. Those aligned in the dark green religion camp have alleged that this cosmogony has played a major role in the desecration and exploitation of the natural world.
For this reason, those engaged in dark green religion are often skeptical that conventional religions can play a constructive role in halting and reversing ecological degradation. While the environmentalist efficacy of the stewardship model, which some think is mandated by Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike, remains a hotly disputed issue,[2] many dark green thinkers believe that efforts to preserve the ecosystem will not succeed unless underlying spiritual attitudes are shifted towards a more biocentric perspective. To this point, in a 2010 interview with the online magazine Religion Dispatches, Taylor stated, "Although it is not my intent to annoy those with conventional religious understandings, few such religionists will welcome the evidence assembled in Dark Green Religion, or my supposition based on this evidence, that eventually their religions are likely to be supplanted by naturalistic forms of nature spirituality."[3] Taylor has thus drawn criticism from those who believe that conventional religious ethics and infrastructure can be effective agents of environmental preservation."
References for Wikipedia article on Bron Taylor:
(1) White, Lynn Townsend Jr. "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis",Science, Washington, D.C., 10 March 1968
(2) Jacobs, Tom. "A New Genesis: Getting World Religions to Worship Ecologically", Miller-McCune, 29 April 2009
(3) Taylor, Bron. "Losing Old Gods, Finding Nature", Religion Dispatches, 21 January 2010.
Related Websites:
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Green-Religion-Spirituality-Planetary/dp/0520261003
http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1493
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppt59
http://books.google.ca/books?id=wAswiTYwU74C&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=dark+green+religion&source=bl&ots=AAtJKQb-Nf&sig=gmjbAg6er_4w4zwxHIQ71jalzRY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uh70UvrpLpGEogTz0YKABg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwATgU#v=onepage&q=dark%20green%20religion&f=false
http://against-postmodern.org/sleboda-m-dark-green-religion-and-deep-ecology-moving-towards-synthesis-traditionalism-and-green-the