Thoreau's Religion: Walden Woods, Social Justice, and the Politics of Asceticism

Thoreau's Religion by Balthrop-Lewis offers a fresh perspective on Henry David Thoreau's Walden, revealing it as a religious practice aimed at cultivating a just, multispecies community. The book makes a significant contribution to religious studies, political theory, English, environmental studies, and critical theory by exploring Thoreau's religiously motivated politics. Balthrop-Lewis argues that practices of renunciation, such as those practiced by Thoreau, can contribute to the reformation of social and political life and advocates for an environmental politics that prioritizes ecological flourishing alongside economic and social justice.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 21 January 2021
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Thoreau's Religion presents a groundbreaking interpretation of Henry David Thoreau's most famous book, Walden. Instead of treating Walden Woods as a lonely wilderness, Balthrop-Lewis demonstrates that Thoreau's ascetic life was a form of religious practice dedicated to cultivating a just, multispecies community. The book makes an important contribution to scholarship in religious studies, political theory, English, environmental studies, and critical theory by offering the first sustained reading of Thoreau's religiously motivated politics. In Balthrop-Lewis's vision, practices of renunciation like Thoreau's can contribute to the reformation of social and political life. In this, the book transforms Thoreau's image, making him a vital source for a world beset by inequality and climate change. Balthrop-Lewis argues for an environmental politics in which ecological flourishing is impossible without economic and social justice.

Weight: 542g
Dimension: 145 x 223 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781108835107