Spiritual Practices for Ecological Survival: Rituals of Resistance - Paperback
Spiritual Practices for Ecological Survival: Rituals of Resistance - Paperback
by Cláudio Carvalhaes (Author)
Carvalhaes invites readers into a spiritual practice of resistance and renewal for our climate-challenged world. At its heart lies a simple yet profound ritual of three gestures-rising, bowing, and prostrating-performed within one's own bioregion as a way to reconnect body, spirit, and land. These embodied actions ground us in our places, teaching us to attend to the skies and trees above, to honor human and nonhuman neighbors around us, and to remember the histories beneath our feet.
Carvalhaes situates this practice within a sweeping analysis of our global crises. He shows how ecological destruction, political violence, economic injustice, and social fragmentation all stem from a deeper spiritual crisis: our captivity to the spirit of capitalism. By tracing the colonial roots of our broken relationship with the earth and naming the ongoing struggles between destructive global forces and local lifegiving spirits, he exposes the urgent need for new forms of ritual and spirituality. Drawing on theology, philosophy, indigenous wisdom, and ecology, the book develops key concepts such as bioregion, relationality, and "molecular revolutions"-small acts that can spark wide transformation. Alongside theory, Carvalhaes provides practical tools: reflective exercises, a bioregional quiz, and ritual guidance that make the work accessible for both classrooms and communities. Weaving scholarship and practice, critique and hope, Carvalhaes redefines what it means to live faithfully in our time. With poetic vision and prophetic urgency, he calls us to decolonize ourselves, reorient our desires, and embody gestures that generate new forms of communal life. This book offers students, professors, clergy, and general readers alike a path toward reconnection with the earth-and with one another-through ritualized practices of care, resistance, and hope.Author Biography
Cláudio Carvalhaes is Professor of Worship at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. A theologian, liturgist, artist, and native Brazilian, he writes and teaches on liturgy, ecology, decoloniality, and ritual performance. He has authored several books, including Liturgies from Below and Rituals at World's End, and holds a Ph.D. from Union. He has taught at McCormick, Louisville, and Lutheran seminaries.