Elizabeth Allison
Elizabeth Allison on Integral Ecology, Eco-Grief, and Expanding Circles of Care
Elizabeth Allison
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2025
“Grief is a sign of love. If we’re grieving for the Earth, it means we’re still connected—and that gives us a place to begin.”
In this episode of Reflections on Religion and Ecology: Yale Alumni Speak from the Field, Dr. Elizabeth Allison—professor, founder, and integrative thinker—joins host Tali Anisfeld for a wide-ranging conversation on religion, policy, and the polycrisis. Together they explore how spiritual worldviews can reshape environmental management—and why care must be both personal and planetary.
Elizabeth is Professor of Ecology and Religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she founded the graduate program in Ecology, Spirituality, and Religion and leads the annual Religion & Ecology Summit. Her scholarship spans grief, governance, and grounded hope in the face of systemic collapse.
In this episode, we explore:
– How Western worldviews distort environmental policy
– Why we need “integral ecology” to address layered global crises
– What eco-grief reveals about our deepest values
– The spiritual challenge of remaining connected in times of collapse
– Expanding circles of care—from individual to ecosystem
Elizabeth Allison on Denaturalizing Western Worldviews in Environmental Policy
Elizabeth Allison
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2025
Elizabeth Allison challenges the dominance of Western dualisms in environmental policy and management—human vs. nature, spirit vs. matter, subject vs. object. She calls for a critical reckoning with the assumptions baked into global decision-making systems, and an opening to more pluralistic, place-based ecological wisdom.
Elizabeth Allison on Integral Ecology and the Polycrisis
Elizabeth Allison
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2025
Elizabeth Allison speaks to the urgent need for an integral ecology—one that weaves together the spiritual, political, economic, and ecological strands of the global polycrisis. She warns against siloed solutions and calls instead for systemic responses that acknowledge the depth of interconnection and spiritual dimension of the crisis.
Elizabeth Allison on Eco-Grief and the Loss of Local Ecosystems
Elizabeth Allison
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
2025
Elizabeth Allison reflects on eco-grief—what it means to live with the sorrow of watching beloved ecosystems disappear. She also explores the ways people relate differently to ecosystem losses and grief across different cultures.