Mit Gott im Grünen

On the one hand experience of nature is more and more eliminated from everyday life which is dominated by technology and rationalism. On the other hand a vague longing for nature arises particularly in the face of an aggravating ecological crisis. At the same time one can notice that experiences of nature are often linked to those of religion and to religiously charged language. This Practical Theology of the experience of nature begins with the empirical exploration of the aforesaid phenomena of lived religion analysing, amongst other things, the mass-media discourse on the Elbe flood 2002, a mountainous hiking tour, and contemporary allotment gardening. These empirical explorations eventually help to clarify crucial theological points of view and contribute to current debates on life and religion.

PD Dr. theol. Jan Peter Grevel ist Pfarrer in Altheim/Alb.