Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land

Agrarian Spirit by Norman Wirzba offers a spiritual perspective that emphasizes the connection between human beings and the land, highlighting the importance of agrarian practices for addressing social and ecological concerns. It explores how agrarian sensibilities and responsibilities can transform practices of prayer, perception, mystical union, humility, gratitude, and hope, and provides an account of spiritual life that is both attuned to ancient scriptural sources and relevant to modern issues.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 26 February 2024
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press

This invigorating work presents a distinctively agrarian reimagining of spiritual practices to address the most pressing social and ecological concerns of our time. For countless generations, the majority of human beings have derived their daily sustenance and found meaning in their lives in connection to the land. The primary concerns that shaped their understanding of and expectations from life revolved around growing and obtaining food, as well as the diverse practices of home maintenance and the cultivation of communities. In Agrarian Spirit, Norman Wirzba compellingly demonstrates the enduring relevance of agrarianism for spiritual life in the modern world. Contrary to popular belief, agrarianism is not solely the domain of a dwindling number of farmers; rather, this book showcases how agrarian practices serve as a crucial corrective to the political and economic policies that are causing significant harm to our society and ecosystems. It offers an invitation to a personal transformation that equips all individuals with the skills necessary to live peacefully and harmoniously with one another and the land.

Agrarian Spirit begins with a clear and concise affirmation of the vitality of creaturely life. Wirzba elucidates that a human life is intricately interconnected with the lives of fellow animals and plants, and that individual flourishing must always encompass the flourishing of the habitats that nourish and sustain our collective existence. The book delves into how agrarian sensibilities and responsibilities transform the practices of prayer, perception, mystical union, humility, gratitude, and hope. Wirzba presents an elegant and compelling account of spiritual life that is both deeply rooted in ancient scriptural sources and strategically aligned to address the urgent social and ecological challenges of our contemporary era. Scholars and students of theology, ecotheology, and spirituality, as well as readers with an interest in agrarian and environmental studies, will greatly benefit from engaging with this thought-provoking work.

Weight: 386g
Dimension: 228 x 151 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780268203108