about the image

This website art is adapted from Henri Rousseau's "The Snake Charmer" (1907), found at the Orsay Museum in Paris. It is one example of shifting European attitudes toward wild nature, which began in the early 19th century and was reflected in various artistic media and movements. This image is found in Francoise Bayle’s Orsay: visitor’s guide. Versailles, France: ARTLYS, 2002, p. 69.

About ReligionandNature.com

ReligionandNature.com is a gateway into an ongoing inquiry into the complex relationships between human beings, their religious beliefs and practices, and their earthly habitats. It features the work and projects of an international and interdisciplinary community of scholars investigating the nexus of religion, nature and culture, including the subfield sometimes called religion and ecology.

R&N.com hosts the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture, a scholarly society established in 2006. R&N.com also provides a venue for news and information of interest to the media, concerned citizens, and scholars interested in, and concerned about, the way religions and environments influence one another.

The site was initially created by Bron Taylor of the University of Florida to facilitate the development of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, published in 2005. It now includes information about a follow up project, the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture, which Taylor edits. The Journal commenced publication in 2007. The Society elected to affiliate with this journal in 2006.

Bron Taylor is the host of ReligionandNature.com. In addition to his interest in facilitating the development of the religion and nature field, he has written on ethics and environmental sustainability, nature religions, grassroots environmentalism, and the spirituality of surfing (waves, not the internet). Information about publications, initiatives, presentations, and courses can be found at BronTaylor.com, his research site. Taylor was appointed the Samuel S. Hill Ethics professor in 2002 at the University of Florida where he teaches in its Graduate Program in Religion and Nature.

Bron Taylor wishes to express his gratitude to the two people
most responsible for this website:

Ipsita Chatterjea (aka Gimli), a graduate student in Religion at Vanderbilt University with a background in website development, has been the ReligionandNature.com producer/project manager, and thus the driving force behind the current incarnation of the site. Her pro bona work has been above and beyond the call of duty and a real service to this emerging field. With her help the site has gone from ‘not bad for amateurs’ to one that is easy to navigate through and is easy on the eyes.

Daniel Whittaker (aka The Elvin Archer) is our brilliant web design, development, graphics, animation, and programming expert. Recruited by Ipsita, with whom he used to work during the dot-com boom, he graciously agreed to work for peanuts and the intrinsic creative joy of website design on this project. Daniel owns and operates Neptune Media Design, and has, like Ipsita and Sean, donated untold pro bona hours to make this website possible.

Contributions (which may be tax deductible for U.S. Taxpayers) to hasten further development of ReligionandNature.com can be made via the ISSRNC’s payment page.