"Man,
as he came from the hand of his maker, was poetic in both mind and
body, but the gross heathenism of Civilization has generally destroyed
nature and poetry, and all that is spiritual. I am tempted at times to
adopt the Calvinistic doctrine of total depravity."
The Contemplative John Muir
I find it fascinating to note that a high percentage of classical American Nature Writers and activists were raised in the Protestant Reformed tradition, the one that originated with the Puritans. This tradition includes denominations such as the Congregational (now United Church of Christ), Presbyterian, Unitarian, American Baptist, Disciples of Christ, and the Church of Christ. Even though many of the environmental writers who were raised in these traditions ended up jettisoning their childhood faith, the flavor of Reformed spirituality stuck with them, motivating much of their work. Examples are John Muir (Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ), Sigurd Olson (Swedish Baptist, an offshoot of the American Baptist Church) - and Annie Dillard, Rachel Carson, Robinson Jeffers, Edward Abbey, David Brower and Dave Foreman, all of whom were raised Presbyterian.
In one way or another, all of these writers and activists continued the Puritan conviction that, while humanity is basically deformed by "sin", the world of Nature remains a relatively unspoiled sacred temple. For these authors and activists, the Calvinistic belief in the "total depravity of man" is converted into a tendency to see human beings - especially en masse, and particularity in society's industrial phase - as basically greedy, short-sighted and destructive of all that is good. These authors also continued the "fire and brimstone" tradition of Reformed Spirituality, transforming the passionate Puritan concern over personal evil into a condemnation of societal evil. Muir, sounding increasingly like his fundamentalist father in later life, referred to developers as "Satan," viewing them as a modern embodiment of the "moneychangers" whom Christ drove out of the Temple in Jerusalem.
In "American Wilderness: A New History," historian Mark Stoll tells us that "Jeffers and Abbey took the solitary Reformed love of wilderness and suspicion of man and his works to the edge of misanthropy. Son of a Presbyterian minister, Jeffers wrote brilliant poetry that celebrated nature and a transcendentalistic God and denigrated man and his works as transient and even contemptible . . . Abbey transmuted the Reformed fire-and-brimstone sermon into fiery, cantankerous, if thoroughly secular defenses of wilderness and condemnations of those who would develop it." David Brower, a major figure in the Sierra Club, reminded some of his associates of Billy Graham. In fact, Brower himself referred to his standard environmental speech as "The Sermon." Dave Foreman, founder of "Earth First," aspired early on to become a preacher in the Church of Christ, but then transferred his energies to wilderness preservation. His secular yet evangelical speaking style has been described as "rabble-rousing, foot-stomping, fundamentalist-preacher speechifying."
With the recent waning of the popularity of Reformed churches and the dramatic increase in age of the average backcountry user, Mark Stoll wonders what kind of future the tradition of wilderness spiritual activism has. As he says, "The growing Protestant denominations, including Pentecostal, Southern Baptist, and Mormon, propagate few doctrines productive of wilderness spirituality. Has the nation seen the last Dillard, the last Brower, the last Foreman?"
Perhaps the torch is passing to writers influenced by Asian spirituality, like Gary Snyder? Will a person like Pope Francis - whose spirituality is rooted in part in a Franciscan love of Nature - or a contemplative environmental scholar like David Backes encourage more Catholics to stand at the forefront of concern for environmental issues? Will the growing number of those who consider themselves "Interspiritual" - blending several different spiritual traditions into one - raise up a community of modern John Muirs or Sigurd Olsons? Or - perhaps most importantly - will the current upswing in "Nones" - those who answer "none" in surveys about religious affiliation, yet who often find their spiritual sustenance in Nature - become the prominent environmental activists of the future?
Photo: Red cliffs with Ponderosa Pine trees killed by the human-caused Galena fire; Lory State Park, CO; December 11, 2013
The Contemplative John Muir
I find it fascinating to note that a high percentage of classical American Nature Writers and activists were raised in the Protestant Reformed tradition, the one that originated with the Puritans. This tradition includes denominations such as the Congregational (now United Church of Christ), Presbyterian, Unitarian, American Baptist, Disciples of Christ, and the Church of Christ. Even though many of the environmental writers who were raised in these traditions ended up jettisoning their childhood faith, the flavor of Reformed spirituality stuck with them, motivating much of their work. Examples are John Muir (Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ), Sigurd Olson (Swedish Baptist, an offshoot of the American Baptist Church) - and Annie Dillard, Rachel Carson, Robinson Jeffers, Edward Abbey, David Brower and Dave Foreman, all of whom were raised Presbyterian.
In one way or another, all of these writers and activists continued the Puritan conviction that, while humanity is basically deformed by "sin", the world of Nature remains a relatively unspoiled sacred temple. For these authors and activists, the Calvinistic belief in the "total depravity of man" is converted into a tendency to see human beings - especially en masse, and particularity in society's industrial phase - as basically greedy, short-sighted and destructive of all that is good. These authors also continued the "fire and brimstone" tradition of Reformed Spirituality, transforming the passionate Puritan concern over personal evil into a condemnation of societal evil. Muir, sounding increasingly like his fundamentalist father in later life, referred to developers as "Satan," viewing them as a modern embodiment of the "moneychangers" whom Christ drove out of the Temple in Jerusalem.
In "American Wilderness: A New History," historian Mark Stoll tells us that "Jeffers and Abbey took the solitary Reformed love of wilderness and suspicion of man and his works to the edge of misanthropy. Son of a Presbyterian minister, Jeffers wrote brilliant poetry that celebrated nature and a transcendentalistic God and denigrated man and his works as transient and even contemptible . . . Abbey transmuted the Reformed fire-and-brimstone sermon into fiery, cantankerous, if thoroughly secular defenses of wilderness and condemnations of those who would develop it." David Brower, a major figure in the Sierra Club, reminded some of his associates of Billy Graham. In fact, Brower himself referred to his standard environmental speech as "The Sermon." Dave Foreman, founder of "Earth First," aspired early on to become a preacher in the Church of Christ, but then transferred his energies to wilderness preservation. His secular yet evangelical speaking style has been described as "rabble-rousing, foot-stomping, fundamentalist-preacher speechifying."
With the recent waning of the popularity of Reformed churches and the dramatic increase in age of the average backcountry user, Mark Stoll wonders what kind of future the tradition of wilderness spiritual activism has. As he says, "The growing Protestant denominations, including Pentecostal, Southern Baptist, and Mormon, propagate few doctrines productive of wilderness spirituality. Has the nation seen the last Dillard, the last Brower, the last Foreman?"
Perhaps the torch is passing to writers influenced by Asian spirituality, like Gary Snyder? Will a person like Pope Francis - whose spirituality is rooted in part in a Franciscan love of Nature - or a contemplative environmental scholar like David Backes encourage more Catholics to stand at the forefront of concern for environmental issues? Will the growing number of those who consider themselves "Interspiritual" - blending several different spiritual traditions into one - raise up a community of modern John Muirs or Sigurd Olsons? Or - perhaps most importantly - will the current upswing in "Nones" - those who answer "none" in surveys about religious affiliation, yet who often find their spiritual sustenance in Nature - become the prominent environmental activists of the future?
Photo: Red cliffs with Ponderosa Pine trees killed by the human-caused Galena fire; Lory State Park, CO; December 11, 2013
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