Religion of the Earth
- Rick Bonetti
- May 8
- 2 min read
Updated: May 9
The recent Homebrewed Christianity podcast, which features a video from Theology Beer Camp 2024, offers a thought-provoking conversation with former neuroscientist-turned-Franciscan sister Ilia Delio. She presents a radical vision for the future of religion - a religion of the Earth.
"Speaking to a community of spiritual seekers, Delio places humanity within our cosmic context—mere seconds in the universe's 13.8 billion-year story—while arguing that we are the universe becoming conscious of itself. She challenges institutional religion's static cosmologies, drawing on Teilhard de Chardin's integration of evolution and faith to advocate for a "religion of the Earth" that recognizes God as "in love with matter."
"The conversation, complemented by responses from biblical scholar Pete Enns, exemplifies the kind of boundary-pushing theological dialogue that makes a unique gathering for those reimagining faith at the intersection of science, ecology, and spirituality."
Theology Beer Camp, October 16-18, 2025, in St. Paul, MN, is "a unique three-day conference that brings together theology nerds and craft beer for a blend of intellectual engagement, community building, and fun." Click here for registration for online access. They offer a 2-for-1 special until September 1, 2025, for $75 plus fees.
Follow Tripp Fuller and Homebrewed Christianity on his “Process This” Substack, which has some 80k followers.
The @TrippFuller YouTube channel has 9.92K subscribers and 896 videos!
"Here's the urgency – if religion doesn't step up, technology is gonna replace it. We're evolving technology exponentially, but our religious imagination is stuck in neutral. The choice is clear: embrace a new religious "zest for life" that connects us to cosmic processes or watch Silicon Valley billionaires become our new high priests." ~ Ilia Delio
Earth-centered religion focuses on the veneration of the Earth and natural phenomena.
Pantheism is sometimes inappropriately labeled as a pagan religion (along with animism, druidry, and wicca), but it merely means that everything in nature and the universe is God. Pantheism emphasizes the sacredness of nature and the interconnectedness of all living things. This belief expresses itself in practices of taking care of the environment and human and animal rights. Panentheism is a variation stating that God is in everything and everything is in God.
Dr. David Grumett, in his monograph Christ in the World of Matter: Teilhard de Chardin's Religious Experience and Vision, says, "Religious experience and vision announce the completion of materiality rather than its annihilation, revealing the true spiritual significance of material objects in the world. Religious experience leads not to disengagement from the world, but to a renewed commitment to active living within it."
Robert Nicastro, talking about The New Coherence, says, "The world is not God and God is not the world, yet God is the unlimited depth of love, the center of all that is..."
God is described as a creative energy of love on all levels of matter and life." In this sense, humans are co-creators with God. If God is in love with matter, we should be so too!
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