Sacramental Commons Christian Ecological Ethics

The increasing awareness of environmental issues as ultimately moral issues has led to the intersection of religion and environment. Sacramental Commons presents a unique way of looking at this topic by relating the Christian word sacrament (signs of divine presence) to the term commons (shared place and shared goods, among people and between people and the natural world), suggesting that local natural settings and local communities can be a source for respect and compassion.

John Hart is professor of Christian ethics at Boston University School of Theology