Document Type
Article
Abstract
Worldwide, freshwater is becoming scarce as the Earth's population increases, the effects of pollution and global warming shrink available resources, and agriculture demands rise. As theological communities offer distinctive contributions to the dialogue, theologians need to address the crisis and provide appropriate analysis and solutions from the perspective of "Blue Theology". This paper formulates such an approach, offering some of the first efforts made towards addressing the global water crisis through a theological lens. Within the Abrahamic tradition, the essay examines: how water is specifically beloved by the Divine; and the implications of God's love of water. The paper next discusses how water is either esteemed or ignored by contemporary culture in the West, particularly in the U.S., arguing that communities of faith can be innovators of social change. Blue Theology may thus engender a shift in consciousness and cultural practice from a model in which water is perceived as instrumentally valuable to one in which water is respected as intrinsically valuable. Lastly, the essay reflects upon some of the ways in which a secular community might also stimulate a re-evaluation of water by using the tools and analysis appropriate to a secular body.
Repository Citation
Ferris, Margaret H.. "When the Well Runs Dry: An Exploration of Water Conservation and Blue Theology." Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture vol. 6, no. 3, 2006, pp. 1–21. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/reconstruction/vol6/iss3/4
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Water Resource Management Commons