ABSTRACT

In the late 1960s, when the environmental movement was still an emerging cultural phenomenon, Lynn White, Jr., a history professor from the University of California, published a seminal article titled “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crises” (White, 1967). White’s modest paper, which took contemporary western Christianity to task for contributing to the current ecological crises, marked a turning point in both the scholarly and public discussions of the roles of spirituality, religion, and religious leadership in the effort to construct sustainable models of environmental care (Santmire, 1985). White’s thesis was that spirituality and theology shape leadership and behavior towards the environment. If this thesis is correct, then a better understanding of the dynamic relationship between diverse forms of spirituality and the natural world will be helpful in the ongoing efforts of environmental leaders to motivate and engage with a wide variety of people (Ivakhiv, 2007). This chapter seeks to explore the relationships between spiritualities and environmental leadership in order to open new avenues for dialogue between those who have concern for the “sacred” (Kourie, 2006) and those that have a “tender regard” for the Earth (Kelley, 1982). The possible convergence of the most deeply held values of lived spiritualities and environmental leadership might hold the theoretical and practical keys to construct and energize an integrated, contemporary approach to leadership that could address the growing environmental crises from deeper, spiritual perspectives.