Loving The World: Place Attachment and Environment in Pastoral Theology

Helsel, Philip Browning

doi:10.1080/10649867.2018.1475977

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Practices of care for children entail nurturing them in awareness of their embeddedness within that ecology toward the kind of deep commitment of faith that issues in wisdom-ecosophia-to heal the earth and live well within its diverse ecology.n the end, we are left with the practical theological question of what it would take to attend well to children experiencing eco-anxiety in the world that God created and loves? I am taken by the notion from Pope Francis' environmental manifesto, Laudato Si (Pope Francis 2015), that what is needed is nothing short of ecological conversion (See especially Ayres 2017; Calder and Morgan 2016;Hanchin and Hearlson 2020;Hearlson , 2021Helsel 2018;McCarroll 2020;Miller-McLemore 2020;Robinson and Wotochek 2021). Van Schalkwyk's "oikos cycle of care", for example, while not a prescription for "fixing" the anxiety children suffer over climate destruction, does suggest a pattern for the conversion that must take place for ecological justice to take root.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children and Climate Anxiety: An Ecofeminist Practical Theological Perspective

Mercer

2022

Religions

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As awareness grows of global warming and ecological degradation, words such as “climate anxiety”, and “eco-anxiety” enter our vocabularies, describing the impact of climate change on human mental health and spiritual wellbeing. Distress over climate change disproportionately impacts children, who also are more susceptible to the broader health, economic, and social effects brought about by environmental harm. In this paper, I explore children’s vulnerability to climate change and climate anxiety through the lens of ecofeminist practical theology. Ecofeminism brings the liberatory concerns of feminist theologies into engagement with those theologies focused on the life of the planet. Drawing on ecofeminism, practical theology must continue and deepen its own ecological conversion, and practical theologies of childhood must take seriously the work of making an ecological home, oikos, in which children are embedded as a part of the wider ecology that includes the more-than-human world. This requires foregrounding religious education with children toward the inhabitance of the earth in good and just ways. However, these theologies also must address children’s lived realities of increased anxiety over planetary changes that endanger life through practices of spiritual care with children that engage and support them in their distress toward participatory empowerment for change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children and Climate Anxiety: An Ecofeminist Practical Theological Perspective

Mercer

2022

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“…Third, methods of eco-psychology and eco-therapy provide many resources. Pastoral care providers can think critically about their own "environmental identity" (Clinebell 1996; in general, see Clayton and Opotow 2003;Doherty 2018) and utilize literature that encourages therapists to work with their own nature relationship (Lassloffy and Davis 2018;Rust 2020; for pastoral theological reflections, see also Clinebell 1996;Helsel 2018). There are both outdoor and indoor eco-psychological activities that can help with various ecoemotions (for general literature, see Jordan and Hinds 2016;Rust and Totton 2012;Buzzell and Chalquist 2009).…”

Section: Possibilities and Resources For Pastoral Carementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A special emphasis is given to the application of the emerging literature about therapy and eco-anxiety into pastoral care. While some scholars, including the author of this article, have made observations about eco-anxiety in the context of pastoral theology and pastoral care, as a whole, this subject has received relatively little attention (see Calder and Morgan 2016;Clinebell 1996;Pihkala 2016aPihkala , 2020bLaMothe 2019LaMothe , 2020LaMothe , 2021aMcCarroll 2020;Helsel 2018;LaMothe 2016LaMothe , 2021bLaMothe , 2021c.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-Anxiety and Pastoral Care: Theoretical Considerations and Practical Suggestions

Pihkala

2022

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The environmental crisis is producing an increasing number of both physical and psychological impacts. This article studies the challenge of eco-anxiety for pastoral care, drawing from both interdisciplinary research and ecological theology. The aim is to help both practitioners and researchers to encounter eco-anxiety more constructively. The rapidly growing research about eco-anxiety and therapy is discussed in relation to pastoral care. The various forms of eco-anxiety are briefly analyzed. The role of the caregivers is discussed by using sources that study the challenges of therapists in relation to eco-anxiety. The existential depths of eco-anxiety are probed in the light of recent research and older existentialist theory. It is pointed out that the political character of ecological issues, especially climate change issues, causes many kinds of challenges for pastoral care. As the constructive conclusion of the article, various possibilities and resources for encountering eco-anxiety in pastoral care are discussed, along with the connections with wider pastoral theology. It is argued that pastoral care providers should engage in self-reflection about their own attitudes and emotions related to ecological issues, preferably with the support of trusted peers or mentors. Various organizational developments are also needed to support caregivers. Dialectical thinking is one tool that can help to navigate the complex dynamics related to environmental responsibility, eco-emotions, and questions of hope or hopelessness.

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“…Disconnection from place, also termed place attachment disruption ( Counted et al, 2021a ), has a profound effect on our identity and our wellbeing ( Chen, 2020 ; Gladkikh et al, 2019 ; Pike and Crocker, 2020 ). Disconnection from place can occur for a variety of reasons, such as through migration ( Butcher, 2010 ; Gladkikh et al, 2019 ; Reis et al, 2020 ; Wood and Martin, 2020 ), natural disasters ( Greer et al, 2020 ; Helsel, 2018 ; Rahmayati et al, 2017 ), climate change ( Potter, 2013 ), or via changes in the experience of place without physically moving such as through gentrification or urbanisation of rural areas ( Dagg et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%