Nature, History and the Sacred - Judeo-Christian Motifs in Late Twentieth Century Environmentalism

Abstract

It is a common contention of late twentieth century environmentalist writers that the Judea-Christian tradition, in creating a split between the human person and the natural world, and in valuing the former over the latter, can be seen as bearing a "huge burden of guilt" (White, 1967:1211) for the contemporary environmental crisis. Importantly, such assertions are often accompanied by the valorisation of a 'pagan' approach to the non-human natural world, over and against a Judeo-Christian one. The following discussion will be addressing this late twentieth century environmentalist opposition between a 'pagan' conception of the natural world and a Judeo-Christian one in two ways. Firstly, it will be shown that it is based on an inaccurate dichotomy between oversimplified conceptions of both 'pagan' traditions, and the 'Judea-Christian' tradition. Secondly, in an ironic twist, it will be shown that the late twentieth century environmentalist framework within which such contentions are made actually employ and affirm central Judea-Christian notions, even whilst such notions are ostensibly being critiqued and discarded. Finally, the implications of this irony for the theory and practice of the early twenty-first century environmentalist movement will be outlined.