Theology in the Wild: Finding God in Nature with Wild Churches

Experiences in nature provide emotional, affective, and spiritual resources for many that are sometimes described as “religious,” or “sacred.” For some who express disillusionment with institutional forms of religion, mystical or spiritual encounters in nature can provide experiences of the transcendent, the sublime, connectedness, and even of spiritual healing. Some contemporary expressions of nature spirituality provide sources of community, core texts, and suggest spiritual practices that mimic traditional religious practices, even as they seek to transform them. For example, the “Wild Church Network” is a support system for “new and growing wild churches” which organizes gatherings for spiritual seekers who desire to reconnect on a spiritual level with their ecosystems. In this talk, Dr. Megan Loumagne Ulishney will reflect on her field work visits to six Wild Churches in the summer of 2025 in order to explore the complex ways in which theology is both denied but also utilized by the Wild Churches to facilitate a feeling of spiritual connection with nature. As the Wild Churches are predominantly led by women, Dr. Ulishney will also discuss the formation of Wild Churches as an instance of strategic and creative negotiation of an alternative authority structure fashioned from the tools of more traditional and patriarchal Christianity.