Of Modern Extraction

Book Description

Terra Schwerin Rowe challenges readers to examine the spiritual dimensions hidden within our current environmental crisis. Rather than viewing climate change as merely a technical problem of emissions or a simple loss of connection to nature, this work reveals how extraction-based systems carry their own forms of enchantment and meaning-making that have shaped our world.

Through the lens of what Rowe calls "critical petro-theology," this exploration weaves together insights from gender studies, racial justice, decolonial thought, and postsecular spirituality. The author demonstrates how energy systems have not only transformed our planet but have fundamentally shaped human bodies and determined who counts as fully human throughout history.

This theological investigation goes beyond diagnosis to offer hope. Rowe guides readers toward discovering alternative ways of relating to energy and embodiment that can flourish even within our current extractive economic system. The book invites those seeking spiritual understanding to recognize how deeply intertwined our bodies, our energy practices, and our sacred relationships truly are.

For readers interested in contemporary theology, environmental spirituality, and justice-oriented faith, this work provides a unique framework for understanding how spiritual practice and ecological awareness can inform each other. Rowe offers both critical analysis and pathways toward more life-giving ways of being in relationship with the energy that sustains us.