religion

Stefan Skrimshire considers the ethical question of how to communicate with future human societies in terms of long-term disposal of radioactive fuel. He proposes that the confessional form (as propagated by Saint Augustine and critiqued by Derrida) may become increasingly pertinent to activists, artists, and faith communities making sense of humanity’s ethical commitments in deep time.

Vital Reenchantments takes up E. O. Wilson’s Biophilia (1984), James Lovelock’s Gaia (1979), and Carl Sagan’s Cosmos (1980), to show how each work fleshes out scientific concepts with attention to “affective wonder.”

Deborah Bird Rose aims to bring Val Plumwood’s philosophical animism into dialogue with Rose’s Australian Aboriginal teachers.

Practicing Relativism in the Anthropocene addresses a set of contemporary issues involving knowledge and science from a constructivist-pragmatist perspective often labeled “relativism.”

Deane-Drummond’s article for the Special Commentary section focuses on Pope Francis’s statements about Catholicism, the environment, and social issues. She analyses how his choice of terminology and the concepts he engages set him apart from others speaking out on climate and inequality, and recognizes his contribution to environmental humanities literature.

Northcott’s article for the Special Commentary section discusses the content of Pope Francis’s Laudato si’, highlighting the economic implications of the Pope’s statements and the theological basis for them in the Christian tradition and elsewhere.