About

No Unsacred Place: Earth and Nature in Pagan Traditions explores the relationships between religion and science, nature and civilization from a diversity of modern Pagan perspectives. With climate change ever-present in today’s cultural and political discourse, and the realities of ecological destruction increasingly impacting our local communities and daily lives, questions about how we live as members of this jeweled, blue-green planet are no longer merely abstract philosophical musings or theological exercises. While cultures throughout history offer us examples of human beings in relationships of worship, stewardship, domination and exploitation of the Earth, modern Paganism is unique in drawing together the wisdom and ecocentric focus of ancient religions with the insights into the physical world afforded by modern science and technology.

No Unsacred Place draws inspiration for its title from the contemporary American poet and environmentalist, Wendell Berry, who wrote: “There are no unsacred places. There are only sacred places and desecrated places.” Berry confronts the assumption that “the sacred” can be cordoned off and separated from the mundane, and challenges us to examine our relationship to those places we consider to be “unsacred” — whether they are untamed forests and barren deserts, or human-made landscapes of metal and concrete — to discover how our attitudes and actions lead to desecration and destruction. Pagans today face the challenge of reconciling the lessons and influence of “dark green religion” environmentalist and conservation movements in contemporary society, with an ambivalence towards the wildness and wilderness of the Earth that is as old as Western civilization itself.

This blog features coverage and analysis of environmentalism and ecology in the news from a Pagan perspective, as well as essays and personal reflections about the role of science, environmental ethics, eco-friendly lifestyles, and an awareness of the land and its seasons, both in religious community and in the personal spiritual lives of modern Pagans.

You can find out more about our writers past and present, who have provided a wealth of varied experiences both earthly and spiritual, on our Participants page. Many of them provide websites and other links relevant to their writings; we encourage you to explore those as a complement to our offerings here at No Unsacred Place.

We do have a variety of focus areas here. Nature in the News tracks current events pertaining to the environment that we feel would be of interest to our readers. Science & Religion explores the intersection of the objective analyses of the sciences, and the subjective explorations of spirituality. Natural Reflections is a collection of musings, meditations, and opinion pieces on nature, spirit, and related concepts, as well as the home of our Wordless Wednesday art posts. Earth Matters”> digs its fingers into the dirt, with hands-on approaches to sustainability, activism, and more. Earthly Rites involves rituals and other sacred practices in nature spirituality. Fur and Feather is for our critter friends, physical and otherwise. Restorying the Sacred is full of original, creative nature myths to read and enjoy. The Sacred in Suburbia is where we look into how urban and suburban folks walk pagan and other natural religious paths.