Department of Religious Studies

“We are as gods, and we’d better get good at it,” writes American environmentalist Stewart Brand.  For many, this godlike portrait of humans defines what is being called The Age of Humans, a.k.a the Anthropocene. How does our supposed god-like agency transform ethical decision-making and our perception of moral boundaries? We will examine arguments from religious thinkers, philosophers, scientists, environmentalists, ethicists, and others regarding how Anthropocene and “deep time” perspectives impact frameworks of meaning and value, and remake humans' relationship with nature or divinity. Topics include: climate change and geoengineering, de-extinction, wilderness preservation, social justice, gender, race, and equity, biopolitics, and animal ethics.