- Winston-Salem, United States
Lucas Johnston
Wake Forest University, Religion and Environmental Studies, Faculty Member
- Education, Anthropology, Environmental Sustainability, Religion, Higher Education, Ecolology and Religion, and 16 moreScience and Religion, Cognitive Science of Religion-Ancient Religions, Indigenous Knowledge, Sociology of Religion, Anthropology of Religion, New Religious Movements, Music And Religion, Religion and Music, Quantum Physics and Religion, Education for Sustainability, Human-Animal Relationships, Religion and nature, Cultural and Social Anthropology, Deep Ecology, Religion and Ecology, and Environmental Studiesedit
- Dr. Johnston’s interdisciplinary educational background includes degrees in Religion and Nature (PhD), Environmental ... moreDr. Johnston’s interdisciplinary educational background includes degrees in Religion and Nature (PhD), Environmental Ethics (Graduate Certificate), Theology (MA), and Psychology (BA). His research focuses on the relationships between biocultural evolution and religion, with particular attention to environmental social movements and cross-cultural political dialog related to ideas about nature. He is the author of Religion and Sustainability: Social Movements and the Politics of the Environment (2013), co-editor of Science and Religion: One Planet, Many Possibilities (2014), and editor of Higher Education for Sustainability: Cases, Challenges and Opportunities Across the Curriculum (2012). Other current research projects include:*an exploration of Moravian environmental ethics, particularly as they relate to the history of the North Carolina Piedmont*the emergence of environmental and social activism among performance-oriented subculturesHe currently serves as Co-Editor for the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture and is on the Steering Committee of the Religion and Ecology Group of the American Academy of Religion.edit
Drawing on the five-fold revision of the concept of “worldview” offered by the issue editors, I investigate whether some nonreligious modes of cultural production might be profitably investigated using such a typology. Inmy comparative... more
Drawing on the five-fold revision of the concept of “worldview” offered by the issue editors,
I investigate whether some nonreligious modes of cultural production might be profitably investigated
using such a typology. Inmy comparative study of religious and secular sustainability-oriented social
movements I offered skeletal definitions of the categories “religion” and “sustainability,” and suggested
ways in which public deployments of such termsmight offer fertile ground for collaboration between
individuals and groups with different value sets. In more recent work among particular rock music and
festival scenes, I have found it necessary to offer a dramatically different understanding of the category
“religion.” In a sort of thought experiment, I imagine whether the revised concept of “worldview” might
be applicable, and indeed whether it offers some advantage over the category “religion.”My conclusions
are that in general, in some cases the category of worldview may have some advantages, but it may also
gloss over or ignore important cultural contestations over terms such as religion, and at best underplay
important affective activators of belonging and identity. The notion of “ways of life,” or “lifeways” may
offer a term which avoids some ethnocentric impositions, but would require greater elaboration to be
broadly useful to ethnographers.
I investigate whether some nonreligious modes of cultural production might be profitably investigated
using such a typology. Inmy comparative study of religious and secular sustainability-oriented social
movements I offered skeletal definitions of the categories “religion” and “sustainability,” and suggested
ways in which public deployments of such termsmight offer fertile ground for collaboration between
individuals and groups with different value sets. In more recent work among particular rock music and
festival scenes, I have found it necessary to offer a dramatically different understanding of the category
“religion.” In a sort of thought experiment, I imagine whether the revised concept of “worldview” might
be applicable, and indeed whether it offers some advantage over the category “religion.”My conclusions
are that in general, in some cases the category of worldview may have some advantages, but it may also
gloss over or ignore important cultural contestations over terms such as religion, and at best underplay
important affective activators of belonging and identity. The notion of “ways of life,” or “lifeways” may
offer a term which avoids some ethnocentric impositions, but would require greater elaboration to be
broadly useful to ethnographers.
Many facets of the university system in North America are fundamentally unsustainable, developing and perpetuating knowledge practices that not only do not sustain the biospheric conditions in which our species evolved, but actually... more
Many facets of the university system in North America are fundamentally unsustainable, developing and perpetuating knowledge practices that not only do not sustain the biospheric conditions in which our species evolved, but actually defray them. This analysis proceeds in three ways: (a) highlights the historical entanglement of religion and sustainability discourse and the now global concern over climate disruption; (b) it interrogates assumptions regarding whether, when, and to what extent scholars of religions should advance politically significant arguments; (c) explores problem-based learning and integrative curricular development, which may be fostered by focusing on complex wicked problems such as climate disruption.
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Tracing the development of the religious dimensions of sustainability and sustainable development discourse, this article highlights the participation of religious individuals and groups in sustainability advocacy, and the man-ufacture of... more
Tracing the development of the religious dimensions of sustainability and sustainable development discourse, this article highlights the participation of religious individuals and groups in sustainability advocacy, and the man-ufacture of sustainability narratives which perform religious work. Since their inception, sustainability and its cognate, sustainable development, have been utilized in the public sphere to promote certain value sets and manage citizen populations. The religious dimensions of sustainability dis-course have been some of the primary levers through which the social func-tions of sustainability have been realized. The term sustainability often acts as a shorthand reference to the core values, beliefs, and practices that par-ticular individuals or groups would like to see persist over the long term. Focusing on the notion that it is largely the absence of conversations across these differing value structures and desirable futures that drives unsustain-ability, I h...
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Student and employer demand, high-level institutional commitment, and faculty interest are inspiring the integration of sustainability themes into higher education curricula and research agendas. Generally, Education for Sustainability... more
Student and employer demand, high-level institutional commitment, and faculty interest are inspiring the integration of sustainability themes into higher education curricula and research agendas. Generally, Education for Sustainability (EfS) has evolved from the study of the environment to a broader study of humans’ relationship with the environmental resources that support life on this planet. The growth and expansion of this fi eld has created synergetic relationships between the life sciences, social sciences, humanities, and professional schools. Scholarship is crossing disciplinary boundaries to draw on the resources needed to craft answers to society’s most pressing challenges. Organizing principles, like problem-based learning, facilitate this cross-disciplinary work and illustrate the interconnectedness of issues and fi elds of practice. Because moving toward sustainability requires multidisciplinary collaboration, questions and challenges arise around tenure track and promo...
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Spirituality, Gary Holthaus argues, is at the heart of the complex and related social and ecological crises that face humans. It is the key to creating a sustainable culture, and yet Holthaus observes that ‘‘I have yet to attend a... more
Spirituality, Gary Holthaus argues, is at the heart of the complex and related social and ecological crises that face humans. It is the key to creating a sustainable culture, and yet Holthaus observes that ‘‘I have yet to attend a meeting, lecture or workshop on sustainability that addresses it [spirituality]’ ’ (2008: 6). Holthaus sets out to convince his readers that this spiritual dimension is crucial for the dramatic culture changes necessary to move toward a sustainable society. As the poem from Gary Snyder that opens the book states, ‘‘In making the handle/Of an axe/By cutting wood with an axe/The model is indeed near at hand’ ’ (x). The ‘‘axe handles’ ’ that our culture has on hand as existing models of sustainability are the indigenous societies of the world. This book is one installment in a series published by the University Press of Kentucky titled Culture of the land: A series in the new Agrarianism (Norman Wirzba, ed). The series is dedicated to an interdisciplinary art...
We are in the early stages of a fundamental and globally pervasive transformation in the interactions of humans, their institutions, the technologies they have created, and the environment that provides both the home and the resources... more
We are in the early stages of a fundamental and globally pervasive transformation in the interactions of humans, their institutions, the technologies they have created, and the environment that provides both the home and the resources that make it all possible. In this new world, change is to be expected and desired as much or more than stability and this change will often be nonlinear, complex, and hard to predict with the tools we have at hand. Just as we may be frustrated in our attempts to predict the future we, as a global society, ...
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Part I offers a brief description of trends that are widely considered unsustainable, and then relates them to analyses of the religious and spiritual dimensions of social movements related to correcting these trends. The academic... more
Part I offers a brief description of trends that are widely considered unsustainable, and then relates them to analyses of the religious and spiritual dimensions of social movements related to correcting these trends. The academic background for the ethnographic portion of the study is explained, including some of the intellectual tributaries that influenced the method utilized. In addition, some of the common themes that emerged from the ethnography are discussed in greater detail to frame the following chapters on defining the key terms, and finding religion in social movements that are not obviously all about religion. Some of the key metaphors and tropes used to advertise sustainability in the public sphere are detailed with an eye to how these highly affective concepts are transmitted through and across cultures. These first three chapters which comprise Part I are intended to lay the groundwork for the historical and ethnographic work that follows. They also, however, offer so...
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Since the 1960s, various types of international commissions and summits have met throughout the world to address sustainability. Although initially based in the global North (the socioeconomic and political division of wealthier developed... more
Since the 1960s, various types of international commissions and summits have met throughout the world to address sustainability. Although initially based in the global North (the socioeconomic and political division of wealthier developed nations) and facilitated by their politicians, attention increasingly shifted with the infl u-ence of religious groups to the less-developed global South and the indigenous peoples aff ected by the environmental crisis. I nternational commissions and summits have been central in articulating the standards of sustainability. e contested terrain of sustainability has been debated perhaps most heatedly in these international venues where nation-states, international political bodies, nongovernmental organizations, multilateral development organizations, and grassroots social and ecological activists meet. For many in the global North (a term used to designate wealthier developed nations, most of which are located in the Northern Hemisphere) and the in...
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Drawing on the five-fold revision of the concept of “worldview” offered by the issue editors, I investigate whether some nonreligious modes of cultural production might be profitably investigated using such a typology. In my comparative... more
Drawing on the five-fold revision of the concept of “worldview” offered by the issue editors, I investigate whether some nonreligious modes of cultural production might be profitably investigated using such a typology. In my comparative study of religious and secular sustainability-oriented social movements I offered skeletal definitions of the categories “religion” and “sustainability,” and suggested ways in which public deployments of such terms might offer fertile ground for collaboration between individuals and groups with different value sets. In more recent work among particular rock music and festival scenes, I have found it necessary to offer a dramatically different understanding of the category “religion.” In a sort of thought experiment, I imagine whether the revised concept of “worldview” might be applicable, and indeed whether it offers some advantage over the category “religion.” My conclusions are that in general, in some cases the category of worldview may have some ...
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Kristina Tiedje and Lucas Johnston introduce this special issue of Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture on Ecocosmologies and 'Western' Epistemologies: Contestation, Conflict and Collaboration.
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Research Interests: Economics, Climate Change, Behavior, Culture, Coral Reefs, and 15 moreEcology, Conscience, Community, Beliefs, Cultural, Crisis, Difference, Correlation, Action, Ecosystems, Ecological, Coral, Deregulation, Enemy, and Devaluation
In the Preface to his own Gifford Lectures (2001), Stanley Hauerwas remarks that they are 'best done on a large canvas'. RJ Berry plainly took the same view in his 199798 series: in twelve chapters and with a bibliography of... more
In the Preface to his own Gifford Lectures (2001), Stanley Hauerwas remarks that they are 'best done on a large canvas'. RJ Berry plainly took the same view in his 199798 series: in twelve chapters and with a bibliography of over 500 works, he surveys the history and current ...
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Although it is well known in the United States that there are several Protestant churches and organization which have been exceptionally effective at raising money to spread their message, religious justifications for accruing and... more
Although it is well known in the United States that there are several Protestant churches and organization which have been exceptionally effective at raising money to spread their message, religious justifications for accruing and sometimes hiding financial wealth are widespread. Taking as qualitative data analyses of the ways in which exchange relations and their theological justifications impacted various efforts to map, classify and conquer, this analysis focuses on the nexus of economic activity, specifically investments, colonialist expansion and contested spaces. First is a discussion of the historical relationship between capital investment and a capitalist-democratic society. We provide a representative (not exhaustive) history of the relationship between religion and investment. Second, we review some specific examples how religious individuals and organizations have highlighted the supposed authenticity of their religious identity for personal or community gain. It becomes clear that currency, property and investments are not doing only God’s work. Rather, their accrual and exchange have long provided material expressions of the authenticating discourses deployed by various religious authorities. Finally, we endeavor to examine in broad strokes the legal limitations on the investments owned by religious non-profit organizations and the use and abuse of non-profit legal status in obtaining and sustaining wealth. Included are specific cases which illustrate the religious and theological reasoning behind the acquisition and growth of financial wealth and power among tax exempt religious organizations.
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This paper is a review of the scholarly conversation relating Buddhism to environmental issues, primarily in the United States. Topics of particular concern include important scholarly benchmarks in the field, and the nature of Buddhist... more
This paper is a review of the scholarly conversation relating Buddhism to environmental issues, primarily in the United States. Topics of particular concern include important scholarly benchmarks in the field, and the nature of Buddhist ethics. Also considered are the relationships between Buddhism and other schools of thought that have been important in thinking about nature and the environment. In particular I focus on Deep Ecology and related philosophies, Buddhism and Christianity in Process thought, and the relationship between Buddhism and the natural sciences. I outline current practices performed worldwide by people who self-identify as Buddhists that clearly demonstrate environmental consciousness, sometimes actively participating in environmental movements in efforts to resist globalization and, often, Westernization. In the end, this survey perspective illustrates that there is no monolithic Buddhist tradition, but rather a substantial number of adapted (and adapting) Bud...
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From 27 to 29 October 2005, 35 experts in higher education for sustainability (HES) representing 17 countries, gathered in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This consultation represents the first gathering of HES researchers in Canada, and brought... more
From 27 to 29 October 2005, 35 experts in higher education for sustainability (HES) representing 17 countries, gathered in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This consultation represents the first gathering of HES researchers in Canada, and brought Canadian and international researchers together to further intellectual understanding of HES research and to explore the development of research priorities for the future. The Delphi Technique was used at this workshop in order to aid in the development of a preliminary research strategy for HES research. The Delphi exercise was the primary focus of the workshop. This report summarises both the workshop information and results.
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... Exploring Religion, Nature and Culture (continued): The Growing Field, Society, and Journal. Joseph D Witt, Lucas Johnston, Bron Taylor. Full Text: PDF.
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Beginning with the first wave of environmentalism in North America and Europe around the turn of the 20th century, this article briefly characterizes the emergence and globalization of the idea of sustainable resource management, and... more
Beginning with the first wave of environmentalism in North America and Europe around the turn of the 20th century, this article briefly characterizes the emergence and globalization of the idea of sustainable resource management, and later sustainable development and sustainability, focusing specifically on the religious dimensions of these social movements. Religious ideation, language, imagery, and metaphor have been important in the ways that sustainability has been framed in the public sphere, particularly in the past one hundred years. Interestingly, it is through the medium of these spiritualized public discourses that disparate, affectively oriented sustainability narratives contact each other and sometimes cross-pollinate. Manifestations of sustainability and sustainable development discourse from the global North intersect the religious dimensions of sustainability discourse deployed by indigenous and other marginalized cultures, which have advanced their own understandings of such terms and their own constitutive values. In such cases, sustainability discourse is both decidedly religious and highly political.