Katherine Elliot

Professor Stephens
Environmental Policy and Ethics
23 January 2018

Importance of a creation story

Around three thousand years ago, a story about the creation of the universe came into

existence. This story, overtime became the agreed-upon functioning story for Western society. A

shared and fixed understanding of creation unified people, despite turbulent times. However in

response to the destruction of the Black Death, people began to think of the world in one of two

different ways. The first was “towards a religious redemption out of a tragic world,” and the

other was, “towards a greater control of the physical world” (Berry 125). This division created

two groups of people: one which followed a form of Christianity that focused heavily on

redemption and neglected the natural world, and another that emphasized scientific processes as

a means to manipulate and control their surroundings. In terms of creation, people lacked a

cohesive narrative and thus lost the ability to properly identify themselves in the larger scheme

of life. In time, this has led to an overwhelming neglect and under appreciation for the natural

world, as people no longer are able to identify their part in nature or the intrinsic value of other

beings. Due to this epidemic, Thomas Berry calls for the need to develop, once again, a unified

creation story that allows people to orient themselves in the larger scheme of the world.

According to Thomas Berry, we have societal and environmental problems because we

lack an integral community story or sustaining values. In order to correct this, we must adopt a

unifying story that highlights humanity’s role in the natural world. Specifically how “we fulfill

our role in the earth process...as the way now is the way of intimate communion with the larger

human community and with the universe itself” (Ibid 137). Instead of emphasizing a human

differentiation from the universe, we must promote unity. By spreading this message, we could
potentially mark the entrance into a new geological era called “The Ecozoic Era.” In this time

period the universe is a community of living things as opposed to a collection of objects,

meaning that “every being has its own place and its own proper role in the functioning of the

planet…” (Berry). However, after reading Thomas Berry’s proposition one may wonder, how is

it possible to effectively communicate a new approach to creation?

After reading Berry’s proposition I wondered, how would anyone ever begin to construct

this unified creation story? Berry creates the important assertion that the story should establish

humanity's proper connection to the natural world, as well as the roles of other organisms.

However, this concept seems to be too broad for realistic implementation. People from different

backgrounds may approach this idea in vastly different ways. Though attempts to establish this

narrative are beneficial, who is to say that one perspective is the correct one. The world is

incredibly diverse, with an uncountable amount of cultural and societal perspectives, and with

that, pushing any sort of unified way of thinking is going to be difficult. On one hand, the way in

which this environmental worldview develop may only pertain to certain people, such as a view

that is only pertinent of people in developed countries. Further, pushing for any one way of

thinking risks silencing certain voices, which is dangerous and wrong. For example, if this new

some sort of worldwide policy reflects this worldview, it may be extremely difficult for certain

countries to adapt adequately. Lesser-developed nations that lack infrastructure have many

whose livelihoods are based off of the destruction of the environment will have a difficult time

making an environmentally friendly transition. While Thomas Berry’s idea in theory is

exceptional, I wonder about its practical applications in today’s society. Instead of striving to

develop a unified creation story, we should instead aim to promote a heightened understanding

of how one person’s decisions, can have grave environmental implications on the natural world
and people in other places. This could occur through different marketing campaigns that shed a

light on the impact daily decisions can have on vulnerable places and people. Instead of a new

worldview, we only need a new strategy that addresses environmental problems.

Word Count: 687

Question: Is developing a creation story truly the way to make people become conscious of their

role in the natural world? Or is there another avenue we should look towards for a solution?
 Works Cited

Berry, Thomas. The Dream of the Earth. San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books, 1990.

Berry, Thomas. The Ecozoic Era. 1996. Accessed January 22, 2018.

http://www.lightparty.com/Visionary/EcozoicEra.html.