REVIEW: The Role of Nature Mysticism in Building Ecological Theology and Ethics
I’m excited to announce that my wife’s first book, The Role of Nature Mysticism in Building Ecological Theology and Ethics, debuted on December 11, 2025 (Bloomsbury). This academic book is the culmination of Rachel Knight-Messenger’s graduate work on eco theology and ethics. Her book is available in from Bloomsbury, Amazon US, Amazon Canada and where books are sold. What follows are some thoughts and a review of her work.
The Role of Nature Mysticism provides an important foray into an oft overlooked field of study withing Religious Studies. Mysticism has long been an enigma to scholars of the academic study of religion. On one hand, mysticism is pervasive across diverse religious traditions, but, on the other hand, it is notoriously difficult to study and understand. Another often overlooked subfield within religious studies is the study of the relationship of religion to climate change. Knight-Messenger does an incredible job of bringing both of these topics marginalized topics together into a fascinating study of nature mysticism, and its impact on theology and ethics.
Beginning with an overview of definitions and method, Knight-Messenger builds off some of the seminal works of scholars of mysticism, such as William James, Bernard McGinn and Evelyn Underhill. She carefully builds up the parameters of what constitutes Nature Mysticism, as a distinct form of mysticism. She then integrates this with Thomas Berry’s cosmogenesis. She then proceeds to provide a biography of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Merton, and retrieves their voices as examples of nature mystics. In her final chapter, Knight-Messenger’s work culminates with a demonstration of how the ethical principles derived from her overviews can be applied to complex modern ethical issues.
The work is a cutting-edge piece that will help to further academic discussion on the forms of mysticism, as well as demonstrate how mysticism can and should be incorporated into discussions of ethics and theology. A particular strong point of the book is the way that Knight-Messenger contextualizes the life and theology of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Merton. Knight-Messenger does an excellent job of demonstrating how the lives and experiences of these mystics influenced their thought. Particularly instructive was recognizing how Teilhard and Merton were so relatable as human beings, including their on challenges and shortcomings, but that they were still able to contribute to the rich western Christian mystical tradition.
I honestly enjoyed the book, but I think one thing that particularly strikes me is the potential for this topic to be built up and disseminated for a broader audience, beyond academia. Given the pervasive contemporary social discourse on climate change and the ecological crisis, I think readers will be surprised and delighted to discover how Christianity has a long-standing tradition that actively engages with these issues. I sincerely hope that you check out her book.
Till next time!