A Kenyan Environmental Prophet: Wangari Maathai’s Contribution to the Ecology of Religion

This chapter engages one of Jacob Olupona’s many research interests, the relation between religion and the environment in Africa – what he calls the ‘ecology of religion’. It does so by focusing on the work and thought of the late Kenyan scholar, environmental activist, and Nobel peace prize laureate, Wangari Maathai. In her book, Replenishing the Earth, Maathai engages a wide range of religious traditions, but especially Christianity and Kikuyu religion, in a quest for spiritual values that can contribute to healing the environmental wounds of the earth. Through a close reading of Replenishing the Earth and other writings of Maathai, the chapter offers a reconstruction and critical analysis of the ‘ecology of religion’ that she presents. Arguing that Maathai is an ecological prophet of our times, the chapter explores her significance for and contribution to the study of religion and the environment in Africa and beyond.