Indonesian Journal of Theology

Ecotheology beyond Adjective

2025-12-25T18:56:19+00:00

This editorial introduction explores the distinctive characteristics of doing theology in Asia and the Pacific that should redefine the discourse of ecotheology: not merely a theology qualified as ecological, but one transformed by the earth it names. As a subject matter, too, ecotheology is redefined: not anymore as an item of confession, but as a political theology, that is, an integral part of political life, where nonhumans are also the political subjects. The last section summarizes five contributions to the issue, covering “behavior-regulating” concepts of the Sea, archipelagic everydayness, cash economy, Divine economy, denial/rejection, feel-good theology, Swaraj, Dukkha, and Spirit. The authors hope that the new turn of the field is to be a documentary as well as an alternative to the dualistic, objectifying, and instrumentalizing patterns of thought and behavior; to be genuinely descriptive while remaining committedly normative.

Demonetizing God through A Pacific Ecotheology of Life, Rest, and Restraint

2025-06-24T01:43:32+00:00

This article explores how the commodification of time and theology under the global cash economy has contributed to ecological and spiritual disconnection in the Pacific. It interrogates what happens when God is shaped by market logic, becoming a transactional figure aligned with material prosperity rather than the flourishing of all life. Rather than drawing from stewardship models, it proposes a divine economy that honors Earth’s rhythms, embraces Pacific wisdom and values, and upholds the whole of life as sacred. To “demonetize” God, then, is not merely to critique capitalism, but to recover a theological vision in which rest, restraint, and kinship with all life point toward ecological justice

Archipelagic Ecotheology

2025-04-18T16:04:31+00:00

The dominance of the green depicting Eurocentric, land-based colonial perspectives within the subfield of ecotheology has led to the neglect of crises affecting the sea. In response, blue ecotheology reflects a growing emphasis on marine and coastal communities within ecotheological discourse. Yet blue ecotheology has not adequately addressed the crucial issue of interconnectedness between land and sea communities, an entanglement pivotal for both causing and resolving ecological crises at sea. Therefore, this article proposes archipelagic ecotheology as a framework to elevate blue perspectives and simultaneously articulate a vision of interconnectedness between sea (blue) and land (green) communities as a unified planetary entity. This ecotheology draws inspiration from Indigenous Indonesian archipelagic everyday life, encapsulated in sayings such as that from Pantar Island: “tei kari dekang, sera bata ra’ung” (yams come down from the mountains, fish come up from the sea). Navigating archipelagic everydayness, I read the narrative of Jesus feeding the multitude with fish and loaves in Mark 6:30-44 from what will be defined as an ecopneumatological perspective, to construct an archipelagic ecotheology that begins with and aims for the living interactions between sea and land communities. This archipelagic ecotheology may serve as a model for ecotheological discourse that embraces the diverse ecological communities of our planet.

An Encounter Between Theology and Shamanism

2025-07-22T16:00:57+00:00

Inspired by Joel Robbins’s call for theology and anthropology to collaborate as theoretical partners, in this article, I examine the theologian Jojo M. Fung’s recent books, Sacred Sustainability, Polyhedral Christianity and Cosmic Challenges (2025) and A Shamanic Pneumatology in a Mystical Age of Sacred Sustainability (2017) from the point of view of an anthropologist. In these books, Fung builds a theoretical bridge to connect the Creative Spirit in the creation narratives of Genesis to spirits of nature in indigenous religious practices, in what he calls “creational pneumatology.” I argue that Fung’s theological engagement with indigenous religious communities in Southeast Asia illuminates the secular assumptions of the “more-than-human” turn in anthropology and beyond, and how such a turn remains inextricably tied to the “human” even in attempts to exceed it. Yet, I also point out that theologians like Fung can benefit from anthropology’s epistemic tools in explicitly highlighting how one’s interpretive lens colors one’s perception of the Other. Orchestrating this interdisciplinary dialogue between theology and anthropology illuminates the premises and assumptions embedded in each discipline, which will ultimately sharpen their respective aims.

Eco-theology Movements from India

2025-07-08T02:47:36+00:00

India has a long and diverse history of eco-theological thinking and praxis, and this essay attempts to identify and study those diverse trajectories of Indian eco-theologies. The essay further engages with different ecological philosophies and eco-justice movements from India and examines their impact on the politics of the Indian eco-theology movements. The essay concludes with a critical interrogation of the mainstream eco-theology movement in India and a re-vision of eco-theological imaginations and praxis, informed by subaltern and Indigenous perspectives.