The most pressing problems of our time are environmental—our world is plagued with the effects of climate change, water contamination and depletion, species extinction, and food insecurity. How do we, as individuals, grapple with those anxieties, and, as a community, approach these issues?
Author Norman Wirzba addresses this question by drawing upon the connections between agrarianism and spiritual life. The idea that human life is inextricable from creatures and the land we call home stands at the core of Wirzba’s argument. He explores how agrarianism can shape theological understandings of prayer, humility, and generosity. Moreover, Wirzba demonstrates that agrarian practices have the power to alter the negative effects political and economic policies might have on our environment.
Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land not only offers a compelling examination of the intersection between agrarianism and religion, it also invites readers to consider how they can live in communion with each other and the land the midst of ecological crisis. As Reading Religion concludes, Wirzba “prompts readers to think more deeply about themselves as but one creature among many in God’s creation and to live more lovingly and gently in creation as a result. . . . Readers will find this a source of inspiration for pursuing a more bountiful way of life among God’s other creatures.”
The new paperback edition is available for purchase on the Notre Dame Press website.
Norman Wirzba is the Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology at Duke Divinity School and senior fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. He is the author and editor of sixteen books, including This Sacred Life: Humanity’s Place in a Wounded World.
Learn More:
Read:
• An Interview with Norman Wirzba, Author of “Agrarian Spirit”
• An Excerpt from “Agrarian Spirit” by Norman Wirzba
Watch:
• AGRARIAN SPIRIT with Norman Wirzba and Jeffrey Bilbro” on Youtube
• NDP Shorts: Norman Wirzba, author of AGRARIAN SPIRIT