What can ecotheology learn from science-engaged theology?

Journal article

The recent popularity of science-engaged theology has prompted several reflections on methodological frameworks and scholarly approaches within the field of science-and-religion. This article seeks to ask what, if anything, ecotheology might learn, both positively and negatively, from science-engaged theology. Is it helpful to think in terms of an ecologically-engaged theology, and, if so, what are its principal features?

The article engages with eight key characteristics of science-engaged theology: a commitment to empirically testable claims; a rejection of overarching typologies; an awareness of the instability of terms like “science” and “religion”; an insistence on very specific research questions; a desire to see science as a source for theology; a wider “theological turn” in scholarly approach; a hope for two-way exchange between scientists and theologians; and an invitation to all theologians to engage with the sciences. In each case, there are potential lessons for ecotheology to learn.

Authors: Middleton, TA

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Open Library of Humanities
• Journal: Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science
• Article number: 25043
• Acceptance date: 2026-01-25
• DOI: 10.16995/zygon.25043
• EISSN: 1467-9744
• ISSN: 0591-2385
• Language: English
• Keywords: ecotheology; science-engaged theology; religion and ecology; religion and nature; ecologically-engaged theology; methodology; science and religion