Inhabitance - by Jennifer R Ayres (Hardcover)

About the Book

And even as humans live more lovingly, courageously, and attentively within their particular places, their lives are opened up to the deepest sources of human well-being--for when God's world around us flourishes, so do we.

Book Synopsis

Like other creatures, human beings are inhabitants of their ecosystems. But are humans good inhabitants? According to Jennifer Ayres, the way of inhabitance is stubbornly elusive. The work of understanding, loving, and tending God's world is constrained by patterns of alienation, exploitation, and systemic neglect and injustice.

Faced daily by evidence of ecological death and decay, Ayres determines that this important work of inhabitance is constantly threatened by ecological despair. Ecological despair stems from alienation from the natural world, acute and generational grief resulting from loss of home places, and, for many, an overwhelming guilt at having been complicit in the planet's suffering. In Inhabitance: Ecological Religious Education, Ayres proposes a solution to this increasing alienation: the way of inhabitance. Just as other animals live and thrive within their ecosystems, so do humans live in a habitat created, sustained, and loved by God. This God perpetually invites us to become better inhabitants.

Many religious communities already cultivate inhabitance as a way of life, work that they consider to be central to their deepest theological commitments. Inhabitance examines a diverse array of such practices that foster more intentional engagement with the particular places in which people live. Ecological religious education, Ayres demonstrates, nurtures a disposition of loving commitment toward God's creation.

Inhabitance demands a willingness to love other beings and a willingness to courageously encounter the human and ecological suffering of the world and be fully present to that suffering. And even as humans live more lovingly, courageously, and attentively within their particular places, their lives are opened up to the deepest sources of human well-being--for when God's world around us flourishes, so do we.

Review Quotes

[Inhabitance] is a well-written and interesting monograph, which provides both a considerable scholarly discussion (including nearly 60 pages of notes and references) and many illuminating accounts of relevant practice.

--Jeff Astley "Scottish Journal of Theology"

Inhabitance--from its wide-ranging theoretical grounds in theology, philosophical ethics, and environmental studies to its captivating case studies of educational practice in faith communities--is an excellent work of practical theology that can be widely read. For teachers and students of theological education, the sheer comprehensiveness of this book will highlight the importance of engaging in a grounded theological practice like this 'pedagogy of inhabitance' that deeply understands and responds to particular contextual challenges. For lay leaders and members in churches, this book will lead to metanoia, 'turning toward God, ' in order to fall in love again with God's creation.

--Eunil David Cho "Reading Religion"

While ecological concerns have long been of research interest to religious education, this urgent topic is seriously underrepresented in the North American practical theological community. That is why Ayres' contribution is a rare and welcome addition. Inhabitance can be used togenerate more conversations on ecological faith and commitment in the classroom and faith communities, and also to inspire further research in the larger scholarly community of practical theology.

--Eunil David Cho "Reading Religion"

Inhabitance should be read by anyone engaged in theological education today. Although Jennifer Ayres writes for an American readership, her book speaks to all those who are concerned about how best to respond to the reality of the climate crisis that faces the planet. She offers a wise theological pedagogy that takes seriously the grief and vulnerability that is increasingly felt among those seeking to express their faithfulness to Jesus Christ by developing habits and character in the service of the world.

--Frances Ward "Modern Believing"

About the Author

Jennifer Ayres is Associate Professor of Religious Education at Candler School of Theology and Emory University, where she also directs the Doctor of Ministry Program. She is also the author of Good Food: Grounded Practical Theology.