The World of Nature in the Worldview of Religions: from Methodology to Observations

Abstract

The collected volume of articles Borders of religious and natural: diversity of traditions and interpretations, edited by Vitaliy Shchepanskiy and Mykolay Karpitsky, consists of four sections and reviews. All of its chapters touch upon the ecology of religion, focusing on various aspects of research in this relatively young field of religious studies. The first section is devoted to methodological issues, and it is worth noting that both classical and contemporary texts are collected here. The second, third, and fourth chapters bring the research together geographically. They are dedicated to Asia and Oceania, Europe, and Ukraine, respectively. The collection ends with reviews on two relatively new books that may be of interest from the perspective of the ecology of religion. The book is written at a high academic level. The theoretical chapters are thorough, logical, and convincing, while the descriptive-analytical ones are based not only on an analysis of sources but also on the authors' observations. Most authors use literature written in several languages, including non-European languages for the relevant chapters, belying a depth of source coverage involved in the writing of these articles. Given the content of the collection's materials, it can be recommended for study by scholars of religions and cultures, historians, philosophers, and sociologists, as well as to anyone interested in environmental issues.