The first chapter of Devoted to Nature is dedicated to
explaining the evolution of society’s relationship to nature, how it has been
connected to religion, specifically Christianity, throughout history, and how
the relationship between nature and the Christian notion of salvation has
changed throughout history. Berry begins
with Augustine’s Confessions, which
labeled nature as a diversion when one should focus on devoting themselves to
God. Augustine’s argument’s against the enjoyment of nature hinges on the idea
of humans as inherently evil with salvation coming from the isolating humanity
from nature and anything deemed sinful. Berry
argues that Christianity began to embrace nature during the Enlightenment. Berry cites Jean-Jacque Rousseau’s Confessions as an example of the embrace
of nature. Contrary to Augustine,
Rousseau argued that humans were inherently good, and humanity’s downfall could
be blamed on social problems instead of nature.
Rousseau further argued that the study of nature and meditation would
lead “to self-knowledge and to moral redemption,” (38). Unlike Augustine’s teachings of isolation,
Rousseau embraced nature, especially as a means of knowing God and of
salvation. Because Rousseau believed
that humanity’s sins stemmed from society, rather than from humanity itself,
returning to nature was essentially returning to God.
Rousseau’s embrace
of nature has continued to today’s Christianity. In May 2015, Pope Francis published the
encyclical Laudato si’ which focused
on many topics including environmentalism. In the encyclical, Pope Francis
refers to the earth as “our common home,” and criticizes the damage done to the
earth by humanity. Pope Francis argues
that the not only has pollution and degradation of nature harmed the earth, but
it also harms humanity as a whole. By
addressing problems with the environment and working towards a solution,
humanity is also working towards salvation.
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