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FREE RECORDING of the Celebration of the New Edition of this Oxford Classic!

Biologist & Religious Naturalist

URSULA GOODENOUGH

Free Event took place on:

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

To watch the recording, click here!

We engaged with eminent biologist and religious naturalist Ursula Goodenough in a conversation about how nature itself is sacred and how the modern scientific understanding of reality can be a source of solace, hope and purpose inside the Epic of Evolution. 

We looked at the emergence of emotions, intimacy, the self and a moral imperative for our time right now.   First published in 1998, the new edition published by Oxford University Press has been extensively revised, integrating rigorous science with deep spiritual wisdom.

The Great Evolutionary Story of Planet Earth

We are embedded in the great evolutionary story of planet Earth, the spare, elegant process of mutation and selection and bricolage. And this means that we are anything but alone.

— Ursula Goodenough

Humans need stories . . .

Humans need grand compelling Narratives/Myths that help to orient us in our lives and in the cosmos. The Epic of Evolution is such a Myth, beautifully suited to anchor our mindful search for planetary consensus, telling us of our nature, our place, our context. Moreover, responses to this Myth— what we are calling a religious naturalist orientation — can yield abiding interpretive grounding, spiritual experience, ecomoral commitment, and celebration.  And then there are other stories on offer as well, human-centered Myths that embody our ideals and our passions. These come to us, often via experiences called revelation, from the spiritual and artistic and wisdom traditions of past and present times, and they burnish our souls.    — Ursula Goodenough

 

Deep Time Video Awards Butterfly, Deeptime Leadership, Personal Empowerment Leadership, Climate change, Evolution Leadership, Big Bang Theory

Who is a religious naturalist?

The religious naturalist orientation combines a naturalist worldview with ideals, perceptions, and values that have been long associated with traditional religions. Religious naturalists find religious meaning in the natural world.

The Religious Naturalist Association (RNA) is a 501c3 that was founded in 2014 and initially co-founded by Ursula Goodenough and colleagues as an online resource to bring together those who have adopted this orientation and those curious to learn about it.  For info, click here!

Podcast with Ursula Goodenough, Religious Naturalist

The Moral Imperative of our Time . . .

One can start from the perspective of a religious naturalist or from the perspective of the world religions and arrive at the same place: a moral imperative that this Earth and its creatures be respected and cherished.

— Ursula Goodenough

The Sacred Depths of Nature (New Edition)

Deeptime Leadership, Personal Empowerment Leadership, Climate change, Evolution Leadership, Big Bang Theory

Chapter Headings

1 Origins of the Earth
2 Origins of Life
3 How Life Works
4 How an Organism Works
5 How Evolution Works
6 The Evolution of Biodiversity
7 Awareness and the I-Self
8 Interpretations and Feelings
9 Sex
10 Intimacy
11 Multicellularity and Death
12 Human Evolution
13 Human Morality & Ecomorality

Epilogue: Emergent Religious Principles
Epilogue: The Religious Naturalist Orientation

Extensively revised and in full color. Each chapter begins with an accessible story about the dynamics of Nature: the origins of the universe, the planet, and life; the workings of cells and organisms; the patterns of biological evolution and the resultant biodiversity; awareness and feelings; sex and intimacy; multicellularity and death; and two new chapters on human evolution and morality/ecomorality. Each is followed by a reflection on the spiritual sensibilities elicited by these science-based understandings, generating the foundations for a non-theistic religious naturalist orientation. 

To order the book, click here!

 

What if we truly saw nature as sacred?

How would that change everything? 

 

If you’re able to read

SACRED DEPTHS OF NATURE

before we gather, do

come to the celebration with

thoughts about what’s

arising in you!

 

 

Deep Time Video Awards Butterfly, Deeptime Leadership, Personal Empowerment Leadership, Climate change, Evolution Leadership, Big Bang Theory

About Ursula Goodenough . . .

Ursula Goodenough is Professor of Biology Emerita at Washington University who retired to Martha’s Vineyard in 2017. She taught cell biology and evolution and engaged in research that focused on the sexual cycle of the green soil alga Chlamydomonas, on ciliary motility, and on algal biofuel precursors. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Microbiology Society, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and served as president of the American Society for Cell Biology. She and many others are developing what is called a religious naturalist orientation https://religious-naturalist-association.org and a new edition of her book, The Sacred Depths of Nature: How Life Emerged and Evolved (Oxford University Press) http://sacreddepthsofnature.com, describes her understandings of this orientation.

 

Questions? 

Write to us at hello@dtnetwork.org.

 

 

Anthony Robert Zelle, Esq., Tony is an Earth lawyer. While serving as Chair and President of the Earth Law Center, following 30 years in private practice trying cases and arguing appeals, he served as lead editor and author of the only comprehensive book on the subject: Earth Law: Emerging Ecocentric Law-A Guide for Practitioners. Developed for law school curricula, and now part of developing LLM programs internationally, the book has also become the primary reference source for practitioners.

The focus of Tony's current work is developing Earth law in practice and creating revenue-generating opportunities for Earth lawyers.

Learn more about Tony’s journey from a recent Boston College Law School Magazine profile.https://lawmagazine.bc.edu/2025/02/voice-for-the-earth/

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Maisie Paddon, Maisie is spearheading the advancement of Earth Law by integrating its principles into transformative policies and business strategies that resonate with Earth-centric practices and Nature's patterns. At the helm of Project 2040, she seeks to revolutionize financial systems, foster circular economies, and develop regenerative food systems. Her extensive experience in top-tier management consulting, with roles at Ernst & Young and Capgemini, showcases her ability to lead complex innovation programs and engage with C-suite leaders. With a solid foundation in Philosophy and Climate Science, Maisie is deeply committed to beneficial systemic change. She champions the inclusion of Nature's voice in discussions that tackle the multifaceted crises of today's modern world, while aligning her efforts with global frameworks like UN SDGs, ESG principles, and ISO standards. Her holistic and emotionally intelligent approach underscores her pursuit of sustainable and equitable solutions.

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Kerry Hudson, Hudson works as an activist and public interest lawyer with a focus on social justice, and an academic and employment history addressing heirs' property reform and protections of the Florida aquifer. He served as co-founder and manager for a medical practice that focused on Environmentally Acquired Diseases, and the effects of that most macro of human phenomenon—climate change, on the most granular, personal issues—individual health and the chronic and intractable maladies brought on by changing climate. He has served as Education Director for Rights of Nature and eco-centric education, creating informational content addressing topics such as environmental protections and property law, and the Public Trust Doctrine, and creating supplemental educational content for the law school textbook Earth Law: A Practitioner’s Guide. He holds an MFA in writing, has a publication history with both fiction and non-fiction, and has authored funded grants examining strategies to mitigate generational heirs' property abuses. He holds a J.D. with a focus on Environmental Justice, social equity, and restorative justice and has created informational and educational content addressing the intersection of environmental and legal issues such as the one-percenters' climate change preparations. Currently based in London, He works on a long-form manuscript addressing the importance of property law, social justice, and the climate change crisis.

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April Elizabeth Finlayson, April Elizabeth Finlayson is an “Edu-neer” dedicated to designing holistic and transformational learning experiences. She has a fervent commitment to reimagining education, promoting lifelong learning and creating uniquely curated, humanizing educational experiences for youth, and the young at heart. This has led to the development of nearly a dozen innovative schools and numerous educational programs in the K-12, after-school learning, adult development and Higher-Ed spaces.

April’s style of leadership and service is rooted in making space for learner voice, agency and empowerment. She believes that the best teaching and learning is reciprocal, interwoven and interchangeable. April asserts that “if a learner knows that they are seen, affirmed, “in-powered” and protected while learning, they will feel loved, and will henceforth thrive!”

April's students and graduates have gone on to international and national renown in philanthropy, entrepreneurship, professional athletics, entertainment, and being great, enjoyable people. April was cross culturally raised and educated between The Bahamas, the USA and Canada. She completed her undergraduate degree in International Development Studies, Political Science and Management from McGill University, and earned both her Master's Degree in Mind, Brain and Education and her Doctorate Degree in Education Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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Tara A. Pierce, Tara holds degrees in painting, the humanities, a J.D., and an LL.M. in Oceans, Environment, & Sustainability. This transdisciplinary background enriched her legal studies and contributed to the successful publication of several papers on Earth Law and Restorative Ocean Farming. Her latest thesis synthesised her entire academic and hands-on experiences into an approach to transforming the law into a healing practice. Tara regularly guest lectures on Ocean & Coastal Law developments for various institutions in the United States and Europe.

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Cat Haas, Cat Haas is the Director of the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor (EJM), where she oversees the research and development of the world’s most comprehensive database of ecological jurisprudence initiatives globally. Since 2022, she has led efforts to document and analyze the global evolution of Earth-centered law, with a particular focus on the Rights of Nature movement, ecological law, and Indigenous ontologies. Cat holds an M.A. in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where her research explored the influence of Indigenous cosmologies and pluriversal ontologies on the development and globalization of the Rights of Nature movement.
She also serves on the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) Academic Hub, an interdisciplinary network of scholars specializing in ecological law and governance.
With a background in environmental education, Cat is passionate about fostering awareness and advocacy for sustainable, equitable legal frameworks that address the climate crisis and center ecological well-being

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Ava Roche, Ava is currently a pre-law focused senior at Columbia University studying Political Ecology, conducting her senior thesis on the socio-political effects of deep-sea mining in the Cook Islands. She is attending Columbia University’s Climate School next fall, and aspires to be an earth lawyer, with experience as the student director of the Earth Law Centers, “Earth Law: Emerging Ecocentric Law- a Guide for Practitioners” course last summer. She is an avid scuba diver who is passionate about protecting earths vital oceanic ecosystems, and is interning at Columbia Law Schools, "Sabin Center for Climate Change Law” this coming summer under Michael Gerrard. Above all, she can’t wait to TA with Earth Law Practice and work in such an impactful environment.

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Joseph O’Brien, Joseph recently graduated from Brown University with a concentration in environmental studies. At Brown, he organized an experimental climate negotiation simulation featuring non-human, non-state, and state actors. With a background in regenerative agriculture, political theory, and contemplative education, he is excited to support this year's cohort jump into the chaotic, beautiful, and generative world of Earth Law.

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Janet Marley is completing an MA in Ecopsychology at Naropa University. She is currently researching styles of governance in traditional indigenous societies of Turtle Island and how such wisdom ways can positively influence modern ecocentric regenerative residential communities and bioregional initiatives. She has a BA in Religious Studies from Brown University. Janet is a community organizer with an abiding interest in designing and co-creating intentional living and learning centers that model and teach connection, communication, and reciprocity with the natural world. Her gifts and roles include Teacher, Naturalist, Healer, Event Producer, and Facilitator of ceremony, council, rites of passage, vision quests, ecotherapy, and trauma integration work. She is a Montessori-trained educator and mom of two young children. She currently serves as a board member for The Circle for Change Initiative and is the Director of Programming and Events at the Manitoulin Eco Park, an indigenous-led nature connection facility in Ontario, Canada.

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