Expanding Ecological Hermeneutics : The Case for Ecolonialism

This article reviews current trends in ecological biblical hermeneutics and argues for a more expansive approach. As an alternative to the Earth Bible Project's “eco justice principles,” the Earth Charter is a cross-disciplinary and interreligious ethical framework for ecological biblical interpretation. We contend that ecological biblical hermeneutics may benefit from incorporating interdisciplinary insights and engaging with a variety of approaches and methodologies. As an example, we argue for ecolonialism, that is, an ecological approach that incorporates insights from postcolonial biblical hermeneutics. An ecolonial lens is applied to the The Kautokeino Rebellion (2008), a Norwegian movie about a Sami uprising in northern Norway in the 1850s. We show how the film's use of the Bible and biblical quotations brings out not only the colonial implications of the Norwegian state church and its minister but also the devastating effects of Norwegian colonization of the Sami population on ecological issues.