In these skeptical and disillusioned times, there are still groups of people scattered throughout the world who are trying to live out utopian dreams. These communities challenge the inevitability and morality of dominant political and economic models. By putting utopian religious ethics into practice, they attest to the real possibility of social alternatives. In Seeds of the Kingdom, Anna L. Peterson reflects on the experiences of two very different communities, one inhabited by impoverished former refugees in the mountains of El Salvador and the other by Amish farmers in the Midwestern U.S. What makes these groups stand out among advocates of environmental protection, political justice, and sustainable development is their religious orientation. They aim, without apology, to embody the reign of God on earth. The Salvadoran community is grounded in Roman Catholic social thought, while the Amish adhere to Anabaptist tradition. Peterson offers a detailed portrait of these communities' history, social organization, religious life, environmental values, and agricultural practices. She discovers both practical and ideological commonalities in these two comparatively successful and sustainable communities, including a strong collective identity, deep attachment to local landscapes, a desire to preserve non-human as well as human lives, and, perhaps unexpectedly, a utopian horizon that provides both goals and the hope of reaching them. By examining the process by which people struggle to live according to a transcendent value system, she sheds light on both the actual and the potential place of religion in public life. Peterson argues that the Amish and Salvadoran communities, geographically and culturally removed from the industrialized West, have relevance for the political and environmental problems of the developed world. These communities have succeeded in the face of significant internal and external challenges, offering important practical and theoretical lessons on how to achieve ecological sustainability and social justice in the wider world.
Industry Reviews
"To some, 'utopian' means 'impossible.' To others, 'visionary.' This fascinating book will help you make up your mind." --Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
"In a world in which environmental and social problems often seem overwhelming, and creative visions of the future remain elusive, Peterson's work is a gift and a challenge. Peterson offers a vision of hope for us all, a vision based on the stories of two communities, Anabaptists in North America and Catholics in El Salvador, that embody social solidarity and ecological restoration. Written with grace, clarity and insight, this book is essential for all who
seek alternatives to a dominant order that is ecologically and socially destructive. Peterson reminds us that 'the future is open,' and we, like the people whose stories she recounts, can forge
communities of social justice and environmental protection." --Sharon D. Welch, author of After Empire: The Art and Ethos of Enduring Peace
"Environmentalists have relied heavily on the idea of community in the half-century since Aldo Leopold urged us to regard ourselves as members of the land community, but have generally dealt with it in abstract terms, as a good, while paying little attention to what community actually entails, or what it might cost to join a community or to extend the prerogatives of community beyond traditional boundaries. The great strength of Prof. Peterson's book is that
she deals with actual communities, and deals with them concretely, going beyond the abstractions of philosophy to the concrete data of anthropology, history and religious experience as she considers what
it might actually mean to fashion---and to inhabit---a land community." --William R. Jordan III, author of The Sunflower Forest: Ecological Restoration and the New Communion with Nature
"A compelling case for the utility of utopias. Peterson's careful scholarship into the origins of progressive Catholic and Anabaptist theology and emergence as social movements makes her comparison of the current lived experience of the two groups in the rural U.S. Midwest and rural El Salvador extremely powerful. In her analysis of these communities, different in almost every aspect except their origins in persecution and their overt commitment to create
God's kingdom on earth, Peterson show us that alternative futures that are environmentally sound and socially just are both necessary and possible." --Cornelia Butler Flora, co-author of Rural
Communities: Legacy and Change, 2nd edition
"To some, 'utopian' means 'impossible.' To others, 'visionary.' This fascinating book will help you make up your mind." --Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
"A compelling case for the utility of utopias. Peterson's careful scholarship into the origins of progressive Catholic and Anabaptist theology and emergence as social movements makes her comparison of the current lived experience of the two groups in the rural U.S. Midwest and rural El Salvador extremely powerful. In her analysis of these communities, different in almost every aspect except their origins in persecution and their overt commitment to create
God's kingdom on earth, Peterson show us that alternative futures that are environmentally sound and socially just are both necessary and possible." --Cornelia Butler Flora, co-author of Rural
Communities: Legacy and Change, 2nd edition
"In a world in which environmental and social problems often seem overwhelming, and creative visions of the future remain elusive, Peterson's work is a gift and a challenge. Peterson offers a vision of hope for us all, a vision based on the stories of two communities, Anabaptists in North America and Catholics in El Salvador, that embody social solidarity and ecological restoration. Written with grace, clarity and insight, this book is essential for all who
seek alternatives to a dominant order that is ecologically and socially destructive. Peterson reminds us that 'the future is open,' and we, like the people whose stories she recounts, can forge
communities of social justice and environmental protection." --Sharon D. Welch, author of After Empire: The Art and Ethos of Enduring Peace
"Environmentalists have relied heavily on the idea of community in the half-century since Aldo Leopold urged us to regard ourselves as members of the land community, but have generally dealt with it in abstract terms, as a good, while paying little attention to what community actually entails, or what it might cost to join a community or to extend the prerogatives of community beyond traditional boundaries. The great strength of Prof. Peterson's book is that
she deals with actual communities, and deals with them concretely, going beyond the abstractions of philosophy to the concrete data of anthropology, history and religious experience as she considers what
it might actually mean to fashion---and to inhabit---a land community." --William R. Jordan III, author of The Sunflower Forest: Ecological Restoration and the New Communion with Nature
