The Sacred Depths of Nature

The book presents an accessible and engaging account of our science-based understandings of Nature, with a focus on biology and ecology, and then suggests ways that this account can elicit abiding and enriching non-theistic spiritual responses, generating a religious naturalist orientation. Each chapter begins with a story about the dynamics of Nature, recounting what has been called “The Epic of Evolution” or “Everybody’s Story”: our current understandings of the origins of the universe and the planet; the origins of chemistry and life; the workings of cells and organisms; the patterns of biological evolution and the resultant biodiversity; awareness and feelings; sex and intimacy; multicellularity and death; and human evolution. Each chapter then concludes with a “reflection” that articulates spiritual sensibilities elicited by these understandings, many of which are also central to traditional religions and to indigenous peoples. For example, the existence of the Cosmos invokes a sense of mystery; the exuberance of biodiversity invokes humility and reverence; the evolution of consciousness opens pathways to experiences called immanence and transcendence; and the evolution of death offers important ways to think about our forthcoming death. The final chapter, Morality and Ecomorality, explores ways that a religious naturalist orientation can anchor our quest for planetary social and environmental justice and sustainability. The book builds on the well-received first edition but has been extensively updated and revised to expand and deepen both the science-based accounts and the avenues they offer to an immersion in the sacred.

Aesthetics · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Humility · Immanence · Naturalism · Reverence · Sociology · Transcendence (philosophy) · Philosophy · Religion, Ecology, and Ethics · Bioethik · Biologie · Biology · Evolutietheorie · Natur · Naturalisme · Nature · Nature (Aesthetics) · Religieuze aspecten · Religion · Religious aspects · Religious aspects of Biology · Religious aspects of Naturalism · Religious aspects of Nature

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  Open Access•Marilyn Ahearn•Australian Journal of Environmental…•2025

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