Mother Earth, Mother Africa and Theology

Volume editor

Sinenhlanhla S Chisale

Volume editor

Rozelle Robson Bosch

Synopsis

The theological role of African women and men in sustainable development and environmental justice strongly emerges in this book. Picking up the theme and metaphor of the fifth pan-African conference of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (hereafter ‘Circle’), ‘Mother Earth and Mother Africa’, this book titled Mother Earth, Mother Africa and Theology presents original and innovative research by scholarly members and friends of the Circle. The main contribution of the volume is its multi- and trans-disciplinary exploration and reimagining of human relationships to Earth from an African ecofeminist and ecowomanist theological perspective. It engages in critical conversations of re-interpreting and re-imagining African cultural, religious, theological, and philosophical perspectives on gender and the Earth. The aim is to construct Earth-friendly relationships in the face of the growing global environmental crisis. Scholarly voices of African women and men from fields such as Theology, Environmental Law and Policy, Tourism, Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, and Economics are reflected in this book, which consists of three parts: Creation, the Trinity, and Mother Africa; Caring for Mother Africa; and Mother Africa and her daughters’ (in)fertility. Each of the eleven chapters in the volume presents the metaphor of Mother Earth, Mother Africa, and gender relations, with the aim to explore life-affirming, life-enhancing human relationships to Earth from the author’s particular area of specialisation and context.

Chapters

Chapter 1
When women and Earth connect: African ecofeminist or ecowomanist theology?

Sinenhlanhla S Chisale
Chapter 2
Mother Earth in a theological perspective: A sacramental unveiling

Rozelle Robson Bosch
Chapter 3
Earth-centred Trinitarian models: The Trinitarian synergy and symbiosis in the creation narrative

Kelebogile T Resane
Chapter 4
Women, religion and sustainable development: Redeeming the environment for human survival

Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, Beatrice-Joy Owusu-Ansah
Chapter 5
Inclusive environmental-friendly strategies: A study of women with disabilities in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Jessie Fubara-Manuel
Chapter 6
Christian and African concepts of God for liberation

Felicidade N Chirinda
Chapter 7
Water deficiency, poverty, ecology and Botho theology in Botswana

Tshenolo J Madigele, Patricia K Mogomotsi, Goemeone EJ Mogomotsi
Chapter 8
Wasting ‘Womb’: Towards a constructive and inter-relational eco-public theology

Telesia K Musili
Chapter 9
Women’s reproductive and natural environmental health: An African ecofeminist pastoral care praxis from the Ndebele, Zimbabwe

Sinenhlanhla S Chisale
Chapter 10
Fertility of women and Mother Earth: An Ethiopian theological perspective

Seblewengel Daniel
Chapter 11
Mutual stewardship and the ethics of the environment: Ikare women as a case study

Opeyemi W Adedoyin