Thomas Berry (1914-2009) was an historian of religions and an early and significant voice awakening religious sensibilities to the environmental crisis. He is particularly well-known for articulating a New Story of the universe that explores the world-changing implication of evolutionary sciences. This course investigates the life and thought of Thomas Berry in relation to the field of religion and ecology as well as the Journey of the Universe project. As an overview course it draws on his books, articles, and recorded lectures to examine such ideas as: the New Story, the Great Work, and the Ecozoic era. In addition, the course explores his studies in world religions including Buddhism, Confucianism, and Indigenous Traditions. Finally the course will highlight his challenge to Christianity to articulate theologies of not only divine- human relations, but also human-Earth relations.
Required Texts:
- The Dream of the Earth. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1988. Reprint Berkeley: Counterpoint Press, 2015.
- The Great Work: Our Way Into the Future. New York: Harmony/Bell Tower, 2000.
- Thomas Berry: Selected Writings on the Earth Community. Edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2014.
Website: Thomas Berry website: www.thomasberry.org
Selections from:
- Thomas Berry, Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as Sacred Community. Edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker, San Francisco and Berkeley: Sierra Club and University of California Press, 2006. Reprint Counterpoint Press, 2015.
- Thomas Berry, The Sacred Universe: Earth, Spirituality, and Religion in the 21st Century. Edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker, New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.
- Thomas Berry, The Christian Future and the Fate of Earth. Edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009.
- Teilhard in the 21st Century. Edited by Arthur Fabel and Donald St John, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003.
- Living Cosmology: Christian Responses to Journey of the Universe. Edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2016, online.
Recommended Readings:
- Thomas Berry, Buddhism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989.
- Thomas Berry, Religions of India. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
- Thomas Berry, Befriending the Earth: A Theology of Reconciliation Between Humans and the Earth (with Thomas Clark), Mystic, CT: Twenty-third Publications, 1991.
- Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry, The Universe Story. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992.
- The Intellectual Journey of Thomas Berry: Imaging the Earth Community. Edited by Heather Eaton, Lexington, KY: Lexington Books, 2014.
- Worldviews: Environment, Culture, and Religion (Issue on The Great Work) http://www.thomasberry.org/Essays/