After long discussions around campfires for many years, at action camps, during tree sits… A group of like minded people, with a collective belief in the Tenants of Deep Ecology and a foundation in Earth-Centered Spirituality, came together as a congregation to form the Church of Deep Ecology. We were officially recognized by the the US government as the Church of Deep Ecology on Beltane/May Day 2018
Deep Ecology is the belief that all life has a right to exist, That no one species is more important that another. Nature does not exist to service humans. Rather, Humans are a part of nature, one species among many.
We believe Biodiversity is essential for the continued existence of the living Earth. As part of this biodiversity, humans must learn to lie within nature, according to natures law, and learn to accept our role as one among many.
We believe that stopping global climate change, environmental devastation and achieving true sustainability will require a complete rethinking of our values as a species. Nature can no longer be viewed as a commodity—a storehouse of “resources” for human use and profit.
We start with the understanding that life on Earth is on a tipping point . We speak of threats not only to human life, but to the lives of all species of plants and animals, of the entire ecosphere in all its beauty and complexity including the natural processes that create and shape life’s diversity. It is the growing threats to the health of the ecosphere that motivates us
We believe that current problems are largely rooted in the following,
• The loss of traditional knowledge, values, and ethics of behavior that celebrate the intrinsic value and sacredness of the natural world and that give the preservation of Nature prime importance. The assumption of human superiority to other life forms, as if we were granted royalty status over Nature; the idea that Nature is mainly here to serve human will and purpose.
• The prevailing economic and development paradigms of the modern world, which place primary importance on the values of the imaginary currency and wealth, not on Nature. The conversion of Nature to commodity, the emphasis upon economic growth , the industrialization of all activity, from forestry to farming to the very “management” of species, even to education and culture; the rush to economic globalization, cultural homogenization, commodity accumulation, urbanization, and human isolation . All of these are fundamentally incompatible with ecological sustainability on a finite Earth.
• Technology worship and an unlimited faith in the virtues of science; the modern belief that technological development is inevitable, invariably good, and to be equated with progress and human destiny. From this, we are left dangerously uncritical, blind to profound problems that technology has wrought, and in a state of passivity that confounds democracy.
• Overpopulation, in both the overdeveloped and the underdeveloped worlds, placing unsustainable burdens upon biodiversity and the human condition.
As our name suggests, we are influenced by the Deep Ecology Platform, which helps guide and inform our work. We embrace Deep Ecology because it gets back to our roots. Not our roots as humans living in a modern society, but as members of something much larger. We believe that values other than market values must be recognized and given importance, and that Nature provides the ultimate measure by which to judge human endeavors. We embrace Deep Ecology as a path to a more nature-based life rather than the greed-based society we have come to know.
Take ACTION
The Earth is not dying, is it being killed. You see it every day, everywhere you look, and you can’t just sit back and watch it. Direct action is vital to stopping environmental destruction and confronting corporate control. Direct action is taking personal action to directly improve your life, taking personal responsibility and living deliberately. Think of direct action as self-defense, defending yourself and the Earth against the forces that are destroying nature and wilderness. Remember, you are a powerful individual.
For Members of the Church of Deep Ecology, Direct Action is a form of worship. Whether you are blocking a bulldozer, pulling up GMO crops, teaching organic gardening to kids, or biking rather than driving, you need to fill your days and your nights with direct action. Direct action to save the Earth is deliberately working toward a vision of species in balance on a healthy living eco-sphere.
Learn to gather your own food. Walk to work, Eat Local, low on the food chain. organic food Turn off the lights, Read by candles you created. Plant a fruit tree, Barter instead of buy. Know the edible plants in your area, know what is rare and threatened, fight to protect and propagate it. Wake up with the sun,. Sleep when you are tired, Meet your neighbors, Turn off the computer or phone and find your favorite wild place, share it with new friends. Have a fire at the full moon and plan your next protest or action. Share your knowledge often, shut up and learn more often. Share food. Plan on winning. Recognize your privileges and use them to fight the system that gave you more based on birth or situation. Watch the birds, the insects, the trees, learn from them. Here is the most important part of taking ACTION. It is not just one thing, changing one light bulb is not enough. Get out there, and make change happen.