'It's religion'

It's called the green movement, the party is the Greens, but green is not the only colour for ecological care and action. The Brisbane River flows brown at the moment after the heavy rain, the grey-white spider webs resemble small nets in the bushes, while the blue-focused 'Save Moreton Bay' campaign is hotting up. One passionate campaign member is the brilliant writer Tim Winton who speaks plaintively about the Bay and the threats to its health.

'Moreton Bay is turtle territory. But it’s already lost 50% of its saltmarshes and 20% of its seagrasses that are prime habitat. 200 turtles are found sick, injured or dead in the bay every year. That’s a bit of a shock to discover. I can also tell you that it was a shock to find out that half of one percent of the bay is protected by sanctuary zones. Maybe I should repeat that astounding figure. Half of one percent. I mean, bloody hell, what’s the story?' (my emphasis)

The story of Moreton Bay and the so-called 'green' or sanctuary zones is bound up with politics, with persuasive campaigns of recreational fishers, and with the will of governments, federal and state, to care for the blue environment, specifically to create a network of marine parks and be brave, innovative and far-reaching about it.

Winton calls Moreton Bay a 'treasure trove', a 'jewel' on Brisbane's doorstep resplendent with mangroves, dugong, turtle, corals, fish. But it is endangered. He recalls his own West Australian experience where he's seen the gradual dismantling of marine ecosystems and the disappearance of iconic fish species. This saddens him and he comments: 'I have witnessed a steady decline in marine habitat. Like many coastal dwellers I have felt places begin to slip through my fingers. And some places are gone for good: stripped, built over, poisoned, silted up, bleached out, fished to buggery.'

Winton singles out politically expedient government policies and inaction but also points to the role of recreational fishers who he claims have a 'sense of entitlement' to exploit the marine environment. As a fisher himself, he reflects on the rec fishers attitude of having a 'God-given right to take fish from any bay, any reef, any river we find.'

In relation to management measures such as bag limits, seasonal and zoning restrictions, Winton says:

'We’ll grumble about it and blame shiny-arsed bureaucrats and scientists and bloody greenies for overreacting ... as though fish losses have absolutely nothing to do with our own actions. ... Somehow ... the prospect of surrendering a bit of territory for the common good, for the health of an ecosystem, for future generations, that causes a brain-snap. ... What seems reasonable to the scientific community and to non-fishing 'stakeholders' is deeply threatening to organised fishers and their commercial interests. A modest proposal for reserving marine assets for the entire community is seen as an infringement of some mystical sacred liberty.'

Research into why recreational fishers fish though is quite different to this notion of 'mystical sacred liberty'. Studies into the motivations of rec fishers have shown that what's important to them are the non-catch activities - being in the outdoors, being with mates, escaping daily routines, connecting with nature and relaxating (Fedler and Ditton, 1994; Scham et al, 2003). Knowing they could catch a fish is important too but catching a fish is not their top priority.

However, there are also the trophy fish hunters, the high end, 'high consumptive users' (Arlinghaus, 2004) who are more likely to be the group of rec fishers Tim Winton is talking about. For them, he says, fishing speaks to the heart of their very being.

'You have to remember that there are people for whom rec-fishing is not a pastime, nor even a lifestyle but life itself. It’s religion.'

References
Arlinghaus R, 2004, On the apparently striking disconnection between motivation and satisfaction in recreational angling, http://www.igb-berlin.de/institut/deutsch/2004/3.4.4_Arlinghaus_164-176_final.pdf
Fedler AJ and RB Ditton, 1994, Understanding angler motivations in fisheries management. Fisheries, 19(4), 6-13.
Schamm H.L. Jr, PD Gerard , DA Gill, 2003, The importance of environmental quality and catch potential to fishing site selection by freshwater anglers in Mississippi. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 23, 512-522.

River Spirit and Religion

Contemplat-ive practices such as prayer and meditation can encourage greater care for others, including the natural world. Projects such as Faith in Action link deep theological reflection with awareness and knowledge practices embedded within a mainstream religious framework. Such projects hearten thoughts on oneness, impress 'seeing in a sacred manner' and enliven spiritual effervescence with what is holy (Samz, 2007).

The Faith in Action project lays out a four step process from awareness to action to become immersed in projects to protect the other. First become aware of the issues. Then analyse what's happening, who is affected, who is involved? Reflection comes next, for example, around projects such as Earth Charter or interfaith alliances. These three steps then lead to action, involvement, solidarity and regeration. So, Faith in Action implores: 'Follow where your heart leads.' 'Walk gently on the earth.' 'Be in touch with creation.'

Getting in touch with the river is a contemplative practice deepened by falling in step with the patterns and changes of the water, the tidal flow, the movement of birds, the slithering of lizards and, with recent rain, the regeneration of habitat (inlcuding problematic plants galore). These intricate shifts in the ecosystem become sacred signifiers for co-creative encounters. This is an additional step in the from awarenss to action process but is overlooked in the Faith in Action four step program - frequent and meaningful communion with the riverscape.

Sometimes it seems as if the river is alerting me to the damage along the banks and, with the 'green' drought, the sparsity of the tree canopy, the decline in small birds and the disappearance of small mammals and carpet snakes. Through connecting to this sacred waterway, the river itself offers the opportunity for deep reflection about the health of the ecosystem and the sorts of actions needed to create healthy waterways - like getting involved in replanting, weeding and water monitoring rivercare projects.

There is a link here between the religious and spiritual practice of contemplative reflection, nature engagement and holding an action orientation towards environmental and social justice. Yet there is limited Australian research into the dimensions of this relationship between nature connection, awareness and environmental responsibility. There is little information on the meanings people attribute to natural environments (e.g. the sanctification of nature) or how this stimulates their interest in taking responsbility over water resource issues.

What research exists about these links from a religion point of view comes from the US where studies reveal low levels of environmental concern related to Christian ‘biblical literalism’ (Greely, 1993) and church attendance (Guth et al, 1993), although Boyd (1999) found that pro-environment behaviour amongst Christians, Jews and even those expressing no religion increased with the increasing frequency of prayer.

Being involved in a religion and attending church were also found to be indicators of ecological awareness. For example, research on Presbyterian church adherents in the US operationalised participants’ views on the sanctification of nature inquiring whether nature is sacred because it was created by God, whether it is sacred in its own right, or whether there was any sense of the sacred or spiritual at all in nature (Tarakeshwar et al, 2001). Responses were then linked to environmental concern and behaviour.

Sanctification of nature, considered by participants as a significant dimension of religious life, plus their level of religious involvement, were positively associated with pro-environment beliefs, attitude and behaviours. However, none of these American studies, as well as more recent research on the interplay of religion and environment, has considered nature connectedness as a variable in their research (e.g. Biels and Nilsson, 2005: Skerkat and Ellinson, 2007).

What emerges from this brief interdisciplinary exploration of research is that engagement with nature, in this case with the Brisbane River system, is located within a complex, multi-faceted relationship with water resources and nature generally, in which physical, sensory, cognitive and spiritual experiences interact with cultural meanings and values as an engaging and effervescent ‘lived experience’ of the river environment.

References
Biels A. and A. Nilsson, 2005, ‘Religious Values and Environmental Concern: Harmony and Detachment,’ Social Science Quarterly, 86, 1, 178-191.
Bouma G.D., 2006, Australian Soul. Religion and Spirituality for the Twenty-First Century, Port Melbourne, Cambridge University Press.
Boyd H.H., 1999, ‘Christianity and the Environment in the American Public,’ Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 38, 36 - 44.
Department of Environment and Conservation, 2007, Who Cares about the Environment in 2006? A Survey of NSW People’s Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours, Sydney: Department of Environment and Conservation.
Greely A., 1993, ‘Religion and Attitudes toward the Environment,’ Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion, 32, 1, 19-28.
Guth J.A., L.A. Kellstedt, C.E. Smidt, and J.C. Green, 1993, ‘Theological Perspectives and Environmentalism Among Religious Activists,’ Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 32, 4, 373-382.
Kearns L., 2004, ‘The Context of Eco-theology,’ in G. Jones, Ed., Blackwell Companion to Modern Theology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Sherkat D.E. and C.G. Ellison, 2007, ‘Structuring the Religion-Environment Connection: Identifying Religious Influences on Environmental Concern and Action,’ Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 46, 1, 71-85.
Samz, M., 2007, Visioning the Circle of Life: Our Oneness, http://hillconnections.org/ra/visioningthecircle7nv.htm
Tacey D., 2000, ReEnchantment: The New Australian Spirituality, Sydney, HarperCollins.
Tarakeshwar N., A.B. Swank, K.I Pargament, and A Mahoney, 2001, ‘The Sanctification of Nature and Theological Conservatism: A Study Opposing Religious Correlates of Environmentalism,’ Review of Religious Research, 42, 4, 387-404.
Taylor B., 2004, ‘A Green Future for Religion?’ Futures, 36, 991-1008.

Enfaithed in RiverSpirit

Swathed within the river valley I watch as high in the sky the Brahminy Kites circle on the eddies, coming lower and lower over their old nesting site. My heart bleeds with the memory of the day I saw Currawongs and Ravens continually dive-bombing the kites' perfect home site, a messy twiggy nest overlooking the water. As one Kite sat on the nest guarding either eggs or tiny offspring, the other Kite was in the air, trying to chase the birds away. Not long after this occurred, the Kites abandoned their nest.

Being part of the ecosystem, part of the changing patterns of bird fight and flight, and being witness to these events in the wild are sacred acts. As I get to know more about this place I begin to feel not only 'enswathed' within the valley's ecological processes but also 'enfaithed' within the lived and living river-spirit.

The meaning manifested through river connecting in a spiritual sense is reflective of the concept of 'lived religion'. Religion theorist Robert Orsi (2003) questions whether the study of lived religion is relevant 'to the world we live in'. He suggests that oft made distinctions in mainline religion between the sacred and the profane are blurred within the practice of lived religion, where everyday experience is celebrated as religious experience.

To explore this notion further, and to question the dynamics of river spirituality as a lived and living religion, I turn to an article titled 'The Literature of Nature and the Quest for the Sacred' included in the lusciously edited volume 'The Sacred Place: Witnessing the Holy in the Physical World' (Olson and Cairns, 1996). Writer Douglas Burton-Christie teases apart notions of spirituality and religion as they relate to the natural world. Using a framework developed by Bernard McGinn (1993), Burton-Christie explains McGinn's three main approaches to spirituality - 'historical-contextual', 'theological' and 'anthropological', where the latter fits the concept of 'enfaithment' within riverspirit.

Burton-Christie (1996:169) says that the 'anthropological or hermeneutic approach ... seeks to understand spirituality as a fundamental element in human experience', while 'historical-contextual' refers to 'spirituality rooted in a particular community's experience rather than a dimension of human existence as such' (168).

For McGinn and Burton-Christie, the community being referred to is solely human, but here along the river the community means more than that. The Brahminy Kites wheeling through the treetops and swooping along the water-land interface display in 'awe-some' terms the more-than-human nature of this very special place. Proposing an alternative reading of McGinn's spirituality concepts, the river offers a spiritual experience rooted amongst the community of nature - human and other-than-human. It blends the historical-contextual with the anthropological and is intensely theological. RiverSpirit is a lived and living sacred place and practice.

References:
Burton-Christie D, 1996, 'The Literature of Nature and the Quest for the Sacred,' in Olson WS and S Cairns, Eds, The Sacred Place: Witnessing the Holy in the Physical World, Salt Lake City, The University of Utah Press.
McGinn B, 1993, 'The Letter and the Spirit" Spirituality as an Academic Discipline,' Christian Spirituality Bulletiin, 1, 2, Fall, 6.
Orsi RA, 2003, 'Is the Study of Lived Religion Irrelevant to the World Today: Special Presidential Plenary Address, Society for the Scientific Study Study of Religion, Salt Lake City, Nov 2, 2002,' Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, 2, 169-174.