Author Meets Readers: Amanda Baugh’s Falling in Love With Nature: The Values of Latinx Catholic Environmentalism (New York University Press, 2024)

Latinx Catholics are more likely to be concerned about climate change than any other group in the United States – including unaffiliated Americans and the general U.S. population – just as Black Protestants are more likely to be concerned with it than white Mainline Protestants or white evangelicals (Jones, Cox, and Navarro-Rivera 2014). Yet American environmentalism continues to be associated with secular, white activists. To the extent that communities of color are acknowledged, it is almost always in the context of environmental racism and injustice. This results in a dichotomy where white activists can actively love and care for the planet, while communities of color can relate to the earth only as victims of environmental problems. This panel brings together a diverse set of scholars to discuss a new book that aims to change those conversations. Amanda Baugh’s book, Falling in Love With Nature: The Values of Latinx Catholic Environmentalism, tells the story of American environmentalism through a focus on Spanish-speaking Catholics to uncover a range of environmental actors who have been hidden in plain sight. Building on theologian Jeanette Rodriguez’s idea of la tierra theologies, the book develops the concept of la tierra environmentalism to describe an embodied ethic of living lightly on the earth that is rooted in a sense of love and respect for God, fellow humans, and the rest of God’s creation. Its primary locus is in the home, where family members impart practical knowledge and skills rooted in the experiences of everyday life. Its concerns radiate outward and include awareness of human struggles and global ecological issues. Drawing from extensive ethnographic research in Los Angeles in the years following the release of Laudato Si, Falling in Love with Nature centers Spanish-speaking Catholic values that have been overlooked in global discourses and grassroots movements, and in the highest echelons of the Catholic Church. In a lightning-round discussion featuring short reflections of 7-8 minutes, five scholars that span Catholic Studies, Latinx studies, and other fields will discuss Baugh’s work in the context of broader themes in the study of Catholicism, environmental ethics, Latinx religions, and religion in public life. One panelist specializes in Catholic theology and environmental ethics with special attention to Latinx communities, while another is a historian of Mexican American Catholicism. Two panelists are experts in religion and environment among African American communities, focusing on food justice, ecofeminism, and spiritual ecology. Two additional panelists specialize in Catholic Studies, ethnography, material religion, secularism, social movements, and settler colonialism. The panelists’ commentaries will be followed by a brief response from the author, and the session will leave plenty of time for engagement among the panelists and with the audience. This panel is a strong match for the Annual Meeting’s 2024 location. San Diego offers an ideal setting for thinking about environmental values among Latinx Catholic communities in Southern California and beyond.