Pantheism’s Violent Depths: Spinoza, Pragmatism, and Authoritarianism in Dark Green Religion

Abstract: Benedict Spinoza is a choice reference of contemporary practitioners of what Bron Taylor has named “dark green religion,” a popular alternative form of spiritual practice that treats nature as worthy of reverent care. This paper will explore Spinoza’s pantheism for the ways it inspires what gives dark green religion its shadow side, according to Taylor: its troubling compatibility with authoritarian politics. Relying on pragmatist philosophy, I will argue for the need to abandon metaphors of depth in alternative nature spiritualities (e.g., “deep ecology,” a signal influence on radical environmentalism) and the violent, imperial politics that metaphor effects.

Presenter bio: Russell C. Powell is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School. His research is on the religious, philosophical, and political resonances of contemporary environmental issues. He has held teaching positions at Amherst College, Princeton University, and Boston College.

Affiliation: Harvard Divinity School