Dr. Sarah Pike on Ritual, Radical Eco-Activism & Paganism

The Sustainable Spirit Podcast

 December 4, 2023

Episode 6: Dr. Sarah Pike on Ritual, Radical Eco-Activism & Paganism

SUMMARY

Welcome back to another episode of the Sustainable Spirit Podcast! In this eye-opening episode, Dr. Sarah Pike, a distinguished professor of Comparative Religion at California State University, Chico, and an expert in ritual studies, discusses her book For the Wild: Psychological Roots of Radical Eco-Activism. Her insights offer a profound understanding of the intersection of ritual and radical eco-activism.

The episode begins with Dr. Pike exploring her inspiration to explore radical eco-activism after observing the FBI’s labelling of such activists as a major domestic terrorism threat around 2006.

She then defines 'ritual' in the context of eco-activism and suggests ways in which non-activists can adopt simple nature-based rituals to foster a connection with the environment. Dr. Pike observes that these rituals contribute to the emotional resilience of activists, providing a sense of community and commitment.

As such, she goes on to encourage listeners to harness the power of rituals to build resilience and spark change.

CALL TO ACTION, EPISODE LINK & CONTACT INFO

Once you have listened to this episode, you might be wondering how you can apply what you’ve learned. Here are some good places to start!

• Share this podcast with a friend (or an enemy)!
• Sign up to the Green Also Green email newsletter to receive regular updates on the release of new podcast episodes, as well as written content surrounding innovations at the intersection of environmental and socioeconomic prosperity by scrolling to the bottom of this page: https://greenalsogreen.com/
• If you would like to ask me questions, send in requests for future episode topics, or more, use this link to the Sustainable Spirit Podcast page of the Green Also Green website: https://greenalsogreen.com/sustainable-spirit-podcast/
• If you would like to reach out to Dr. Pike, you can do so using the following methods:
  • Visit this link to see more of her work: https://www.tf.uio.no/english/research/projects/redo/partnere/pike.html
  • Email her: SPike@csuchico.edu

Finally, let this be your gentle reminder to be a little more lovely than necessary to all your fellow earth-dwellers. See you next episode!