Eco-Spirituality and Human-Animal Relationships (Earth Spirit)

In "Eco-Spirituality and Human-Animal Relationships," author Mark Hawthorne explores humanity's multilayered relationship with animals in six key areas: animals raised and killed for food; animals in captivity; animals used for research; animals used for sport; animals used for labor; and those animals we admire, especially wildlife and the household companions with whom we form mutually beneficial bonds. He examines each of these categories through the lens of eco-spirituality, which is simply another way of centering the sacred in Nature. This study is important, he argues, because humanity's relationship with Nature in general and animals in particular has resulted in devastating consequences, including climate change, species extinction, deforestation, pandemics, and a fractured connection to Mother Earth.