Christianity and Agroecology draws on the transdisciplinary field of agroecology to clarify and deepen Catholic social teaching's natural law ethic. In response to the ecological crisis, social teaching has begun to appeal to ecology and the exemplarity of natural ecosystems to foster care of creation. Some have criticized this natural law ethic, along with its invocations of balance and harmony, as overly idealized, advocating instead for an alternative view in which ecological dynamism and ambiguity preclude appeals to ecology for guidance. 

While sympathizing with these criticisms, this book offers a different way forward, contending that social teaching's natural law ethic should be revised rather than abandoned. Agroecology displays an approach to tilling and keeping the earth that accommodates dynamism and ambiguity, while also discerning ecological principles and processes that are mimicked agriculturally. In short, Christianity and Agroecology argues that engaging agroecology can help social teaching clarify, concretize, and deepen its understanding of natural law.

Read more about the book on the publisher's website.

Matthew Philipp Whelan is associate research professor of theology at Duke Divinity School. His research and teaching focus on Catholic social teaching, Latin American and liberation theologies, and ecological theology and ethics. He is the author of the award-winning Blood in the Fields: Óscar Romero, Catholic Social Teaching, and Land Reform (Catholic University of America Press, 2020) and is currently co-authoring (with Natalie Carnes) a third book project, Why This Waste? Poverty, Luxury, and Witness in the Christian Tradition, which examines how Christians should navigate art and excess in a world in need.