Related Publications

Journal Articles

• 1992, “Thailand: Buddhism, Ecology and Forests,” The New Road (Gland, Switzerland) December 1991-January 1992, 21:4-5 (co-author Poranee Naadecha-Sponsel).
• 1992, “A Comparison of the Cultural Ecology of Adjacent Muslim and Buddhist Villages in Southern Thailand: A Preliminary Field Report,” Journal of the National Research Council of Thailand 23(2):31-42 (co-author Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel).
• 1998 “Sacred and/or Secular Approaches to Biodiversity Conservation in Thailand” (co-authors Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel, Nukul Ruttanadakul, and Somporn Juntadach) for special issue on biodiversity of Worldviews: Environment, Culture, Religion 2(1):155-167.
• 2000, “Does Buddhism Have Any Future?: Some Thoughts on the Possibilities of Buddhist Responses to the 21st Century,” (co-author Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel) invited for Seeds of Peace 16(1):36-39, January-April issue.
• 2003 (Spring/Summer), “Sacred Caves, Bats, and Forests: A Case Study in Buddhist Ecology,” (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel), Hawai`i Association of International Buddhists Newsletter XI(1):11-12.
• 2007, “The Spiritual Lives of Great Environmentalists,” Electronic Green Journal 25:1-9. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6jq2x4wh?query=sponsel#page-5.
• 2007 “Spiritual Ecology: One Anthropologist’s Reflections,” Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 1(3):340-350.
• 2010 (September-December), “Enhancing Awareness: Buddhist Solutions for a Future World,” Seeds of Peace 26(3):30.
• 2010 “Religion and Environment: Exploring Spiritual Ecology,” Religion and Society: Advances in Research, Simon Coleman and Ramon Sarro, eds., New York, NY: Berghahn Books 1:131-145.
• 2012 (November), “Spiritual Ecology,” AAA Anthropology News 53(9):24-25.
• 2013 (September), “The Ecological Imperative for Spiritual Ecology for the 21^st Century,” Kosmos http://www.kosmosjournal.org/voices-of-people/the-ecological-imperative-of-spirituality-for-the-21st-century.
• 2013 (October 1), “Leslie Sponsel on Spiritual Ecology, Connection, and Environmental Change,” Anthropology and Environment Society Engagement Bloghttp://ae.americananthro.org/index.php/leslie-sponsel-on-spiritual-ecology-connection-and-environmental-change/ - http://fore.research.yale.edu/news/item/leslie-sponsel-on-spiritual-ecology-connection-and-environmental-change/.
• 2014 (April), “Indigenous Sacred Places: Threats and Responses (Review of “Standing on Sacred Ground”),” AAA Anthropology News/Society for the Anthropology of Religion Section” Anthropology News 54(3)1-3.
• http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2014/04/11/indigenous-sacred-places/
• 2014 (April), Feature Article – “Spiritual Ecology: Is it the Ultimate Solution for the Environmental Crisis,” invited for CHOICE 51(8):1339-1342, 1344-1348.
• 2014 (Summer), “Spiritual Ecology: The New Revolution in Consciousness,” invited for Sufi Journal 87:18-23 (http://www.sufijournal.org/les-sponsel).
• 2014, (September-December), “Spiritual Ecology: Is it a Solution for the Environmental Crisis,” invited for Seeds of Peace 30(3):29-31. http://www.inebnetwork.org/images/stories/Text_seedofpeace/sop%20vol30%20no3.pdf.
• 2015 (April 9), “Sacred places are an integral part of the human condition,” Honolulu Star Advertiser, p. A13. https://sacredmaunakea.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/sponsel-on-sacred-places-star-advertiser-9-april-2014.png
• 2015 (June 22), “Are the Far-sighted Promoters of TMT Myopic?,” http://sacredmaunakea.com/2015/06/22/the-far-sighted-defenders-of-tmt-are-myopic/
• 2015 (July 10), “What’s Peculiar About the Sacredness of Mauna Kea?,”
• http://sacredmaunakea.com/2015/07/10/whats-peculiar-about-the-sacredness-of-mauna-kea/
• 2018, “Buddhism and Nature: Transforming Landscapes,” invited for Landscape 55:22-25.
• 2019 “Religious Environmental Activism in Asia: Case Studies in Spiritual Ecology,” invited Guest Editor, special issue of open access online periodical Religions, (ISSN 2077-1444). Also wrote Introduction. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/Religious_Environmental_Activism_Asia.
• 2019 (October 3), “Spiritual Development Deserves Same Status As Economic Development,” Honolulu Star Advertiser, p. A11.

Book Chapters

• 1988, “Buddhism, Ecology and Forests in Thailand,” in Changing Tropical Forests: Historical Perspectives on Today’s Challenges in Asia, Australasia, and Oceania, John Dargavel, Kay Dixon, and Noel Semple, eds. Canberra, Australia: Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Ch. 17, pp. 305-325 (co-author Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel).
• 1993, “The Potential Contribution of Buddhism in Developing an Environmental Ethic for the Conservation of Biodiversity,” (Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel co-author) in Ethics, Religion, and Biodiversity: Relations Between Conservation and Cultural Values, Lawrence S. Hamilton, ed. Cambridge, U.K.: White Horse Press, Ch. 4, pp. 75-97.
• 1995, “The Role of Buddhism in Creating a More Sustainable Society in Thailand,” in Counting the Costs: Economic Growth and Environmental Change in Thailand, Jonathan Rigg, ed. Singapore: Institute for Southeast Asia Studies, Ch. 2, pp. 27-46, (co-author Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel).
• 1997 “A Theoretical Analysis of the Potential Contribution of the Monastic Community in Promoting a Green Society in Thailand,” (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel) in Buddhism and Ecology: The Interconnection of Dharma and Deeds, Mary Evelyn Tucker and Duncan Williams, eds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, pp. 45-68.
• 1998, “The Historical Ecology of Thailand: Increasing Thresholds of Human Environmental Impact from Prehistory to the Present,” in Advances in Historical Ecology, William Balee, ed. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, Ch. 17, pp. 376-404.
• 2001, “Do Anthropologists Need Religion, and Vice Versa?: Adventures and Dangers in Spiritual Ecology,” New Directions in Anthropology and Environment: Intersections, Carole Crumley, ed., Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, Ch. 9, pp. 177-200.
• 2001, “Is Indigenous Spiritual Ecology a New Fad?: Reflections from the Historical and Spiritual Ecology of Hawai`i,” invited for Indigenous Traditions and Ecology: The Interbeing of Cosmology and Community, John Grim, ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, pp. 159-174.
• 2001, “Why a Tree is More than a Tree: Reflections on the Spiritual Ecology of Sacred Trees in Thailand,” (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel), Santi Pracha Dhamma, Sulak Sivaraksa, et al., eds., Bangkok, Thailand: Santi Pracha Dhamma Institute, pp. 364-373.
• 2003, “Buddhist Views of Nature and the Environment” (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel), in Nature Across Cultures: Views of Nature and the Environment in Non-Western Cultures, Helaine Selin, ed., Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 351-371.
• 2003, “Illuminating Darkness: The Monk-Cave-Bat-Ecosystem Complex in Thailand,” (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel) in Socially Engaged Spirituality: Essays in Honor of Sulak Sivaraksa on His 70th Birthday, David W. Chappell, ed., Bangkok, Thailand: Sathirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation, pp. 255-269.
• 2011, “The Religion and Environment Interface: Spiritual Ecology in Ecological Anthropology,” in Environmental Anthropology Today, Helen Kopnina, and Elleanore Shoreman, eds., New York, NY: Routledge, Chapter 1, pp. 37-55.
• 2012, “The Role of Spiritual Ecology in Nonkilling,” in Towards a Nonkilling World: Festschrift in Honor of Prof. Glenn Paige, N. Radhakrishnan, et al., eds., Trivandrum, India: Gandhi Media Centre, pp. 168-194. http://www.nonkilling.org/pdf/nksocieties.pdf
• 2014, “The Role of Spiritual Ecology in Nonkilling,” Nonkilling Spiritual Traditions, Joam Evans and Pradeep Dakhal, eds., Honolulu, HI: Center for Global Nonkilling, pp. 15-34.
• 2014, “Spiritual Ecology as an International Environmental Movement,” in Occupy the Earth: Global Environmental Movements, Liam Leonard and Syra Buryn Kedzior, eds., Advances in Sustainability and Environmental Justice 15:275-293, New York, NY: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
• 2015, “Sacred Caves of the World: Illuminating Darkness,” in The Changing World Religions Map, Stan Brunn, and Donna A. Gilbreath, eds., New York, NY: Springer, 1:503-522.
• 2016, “Spiritual Ecology and Radical Environmentalism,” invited for Routledge Handbook of Religion and Ecology, Willis Jenkins, Mary Evelyn Tucker, et al., eds., New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 218-226.
• 2017, “Lynn White, Jr., One Catalyst in the Historical Development of Spiritual Ecology,” invited for Lynn White Retrospective after 50 Years, Todd LaVasseur and Anna Peterson, eds. New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, pp. 89-102.
• 2017, “Buddhist Environmentalism,” invited for Teaching Buddhism: New Insights on Understanding and Presenting Traditions, Todd Lewis and Gary Delaney DeAngelis, eds., New York, NY: Oxford University Press (chapter co-authored with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel), pp. 318-343.
• 2017 “Spiritual Ecology, Sacred Places and Biodiversity Conservation,” invited for Routledge Handbook of Environmental Anthropology, Helen Kopnina and Eleanor Shoreman-Quimet, eds., New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 132-143.
• 2018, “Love in/of Nature: Biophilia, Topophilia, and Solastalgia,” invited for Love in the Time of Ethnography: Essays on Connection as a Focus and Basis of Research, Lucinda Carspecken, ed., Lanham: Lexington, pp. 17-34.
• 2018, “Spiritual Ecology and Religious Naturalism: Exploring their Interrelationships,” invited for The Routledge Handbook of Religious Naturalism, Donald A. Crosby and Jerome A. Stone, eds., New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 143-155.
• 2020, “Introduction to Religious Environmental Activism in Asia: Case Studies in Spiritual Ecology,” in Religious Environmental Activism in Asia: Case Studies in Spiritual Ecology, Leslie E. Sponsel, invited guest editor, Basel, Switzerland: MDPI Religions, pp. 1-6, https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/2/77.
• 2022, “Reconnecting Humans with Nature: Reflections from Spiritual Ecology,” invited for free access eBook Spiritual Ecology: Integrating Nature, Humanities and Spiritualities, Elis Rejane Santana da Silva and Eraldo Medeiros Costa Neto, eds., Ponta Grossa, Brazil: Atena Editoria, Chapter 2, pp. 17-35. https://www.atenaeditora.com.br/ebooks?titulo=Ecologia+Espiritual

Reference Works

• 1997, “Environment and Nature: Buddhism,” Encyclopaedia of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, Helaine Selin, ed. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 290-291.
• 2005, Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, Bron Taylor, Editor-in-Chief, New York, NY: Continuum, “Anthropology as Source of Nature Religion” 1:96-98, “Caves – Sacred (Thailand)” 1:276-278, “Trees- Sacred (Thailand)” 2:1661-1663.
• 2006, Encyclopedia of Anthropology, H. James Birx, ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, “Animism” 1:80-81, “Religion and Environment” 5:2006-2009.
• 2007, “Animism,” Encyclopedia of Environment and Society, Paul Robbins, General Editor, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications 1:48-49.
• 2007, online Encyclopedia of Earth, Cultler J. Cleveland, et al., eds., Washington, D.C.: National Council for Science and the Environment, Environmental Information Coalition, invited articles on “Religion, Nature and Environment,” and in 2008 “Sacred Places and Biodiversity Conservation,” published at http://www.eoearth.org, http://www.eoearth.org/article/Religion,_nature_and_environmentalism, http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sacred_places_and_biodiversity_conservation.
• 2008, “Buddhism: Environment and Nature,” Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, Helaine Selin, ed., The Netherlands: Springer, Second Edition online 1:768-776.
• 2013, “Buddhist Environmentalism” and “Spiritual Ecology,” invited for Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, David A. Leeming, ed., Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 1:214-219, 3:1718-1723.
• 2016, “Buddhism: Environment and Nature,” Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, Helaine Selin, ed., The Netherlands: Springer, Third Edition online.
• 2016, “Buddhism and Ecology,” “Sacred Places,” and “Spiritual Ecology,” invited for Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion (Second Edition), David A. Leeming, ed., Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
• 2016, “Sacred Ecology,” invited for the International Encyclopedia of Anthropology, Hilary Callan, ed., London, UK” Wiley-Blackwell.
• 2018, “Spiritual Ecology,” invited for Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene, Dominick DellaSala, ed., New York, NY: Elsevier, Inc. 4:181-184.
• 2019, “Ecology and Spirituality,” invited for The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. John Barton. New York: Oxford University Press. http://oxfordre.com/religion.
• 2019, “Buddhism and Ecology: Theory and Practice,” invited for the Forum on Religion and Ecology, Yale University (Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel, co-author) https://fore.yale.edu/sites/default/fifiBEintroduction-Sponsel.pdf.
• 2020, “Spiritual Ecology,” invited revision for Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, David A. Leeming, ed., Cham: Springer (Third Edition).
• 2020, “Buddhism and Ecology,” invited revision for Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, David A. Leeming, ed., Cham: Springer (Third Edition).

Edited Books

• 2020, Religious Environmental Activism in Asia: Case Studies in Spiritual Ecology (published by Religions, invited guest editor). http://www.mdpi.com/books/pdfview/book/2169.

Books (Monographs)

• 2012, Spiritual Ecology: A Quiet Revolution, Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers. http://spiritualecology.info
• 2017, L’ecologie spirituelle: Historie d`une revolution tranquille, Lachapelle-sous-Aubenas, France: Editions HOZHONI [French edition of Spiritual Ecology: A Quiet Revolution, 2012].

Book Reviews

• 2012 (June) “Sacred Natural Sites Conserving Nature and Culture, Bas Verschuuren, et al., eds.” Quarterly Review of Biology 87(2):149.
• 2012 (September) “The Awakened Ones: Phenomenology of Visionary Experience, Gananath Obeyesekere,” CHOICE 50(1):102.
• 2012 (December) “Land and Spirit in Native America, Joy Porter” CHOICE 50(4):713.
• 2012, The Spirit of the Appalachian Trail, Susan Power Bratton,” CHOICE 50(6)
• 2013 (January) “Dangerous and Divine: The Secret of the Serpent, Wouter Welling, ed.” CHOICE 50(5):920.
• 2013 (September) “Sacred Species and Sites: Advances in Biocultural Conservation, Gloria Pungetti, Gonzalo Oviedo, and Della Hooke, eds.” Quarterly Review of Biology 88(3):239-240.
• 2013, “A Monastery In Time: The Making of Mongolian Buddhism, Caroline Humphrey and Hurelbaatar Ujeed,” CHOICE 51(4).
• 2014 (April), “Animism and the Question of Life,” Istvan Praet,” CHOICE 51(8).
• 2014, “The Handbook of Contemporary Animism, Graham Harvey,” CHOICE 51(10)
• 2014, “Caring for Place: Ecology, Ideology, and Emotion in Traditional Landscape Management, E.N. Anderson,” CHOICE 52(1).
• 2014, “Religion and Sustainability: Social Movements and the Politics of the Environment, Lucas F. Johnston,” invited for Journal of Ecological Anthropology 17(1): http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jea/vol17/iss1/1. - http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1160&context=jea.
• 2014, “The Falling Sky: Words of a Yanomami Shaman, Davi Kopenawa and Bruce Albert,” invited for Tipiti: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America 12(2):172-177 (Article 13) http://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1193&context=tipiti.
• 2015 (October), “Inherit the Holy Mountain: Religion and the Rise of American Environmentalism, Mark R. Stoll,” CHOICE 53(2):262.
• 2016 (March), “Devoted to Nature: The Religious Roots of American Environmentalism, Evan Berry,” CHOICE 53(7):1033.
• 2016 (March), “Ancestral Mounds: Vitality and Volatility of Native America, Jay Miller,” CHOICE 53(7):1054.
• 2016, “The Cosmic Common Good: Religious Grounds for Ecological Ethics, Daniel P. Scheid,” CHOICE 53(12).
• 2016, “Spirituality and the State: Managing Nature and Experience in America’s National Park, Kerry Mitchell,” CHOICE 54(2).
• 2016, “Review Essay: Ecology and Religion, John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker,” invited for Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 10(1):117-126.
• 2017, “Moral Ecology of a Forest: The Natural History and Maya Post-Conservation, Jose E. Martinez-Reyes,” CHOICE 54(10).
• 2017, “Religion and Resistance in Appalachia: Faith and the Fight against Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining, Joseph D. Witt,” CHOICE 54(10).
• 2017, “Animate Planet, Kath Weston,” CHOICE 55(1).
• 2017, “Empirical Foundations of the Common Good: What Theology Can Learn from Social Science, Daniel K. Finn, ed.,” CHOICE 55(5).
• 2018, “For the Wild: Ritual and Commitment in Radical Eco-Activism, Sarah M. Pike,” CHOICE 55(9).
• 2019, “For the Wild: Ritual and Commitment in Radical Eco-Activism, Sarah M. Pike,” Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 13(2):243-245.
• 2019, “How Water Makes Us Human: Engagements with the Materiality of Water, Luci Attala,” CHOICE 57(6).
• 2020, “Remembering the Present: Mindfulness in Buddhist Asia, J.L. Cassaniti,” Advances in Research: Religion in Society 11(1):207-208.
• 2020, “The Buddha’s Footprint: An Environmental History of Asia, Johan Elverskogs, and Enlightenment and Gasping City: Mongolian Buddhism at a Time of Environmental Disarray, Saskia Abrahms-Kavunenko,” joint book review invited for the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 11:207-208.
• 2020, “Genesis: The Deep Origins of Societies, Edward O. Wilson,” Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (in press).
• 2021, “Science and Development in Thai and South Asian Buddhism, David L. Gosling,” CHOICE 58(6).
• 2021, “Ecotheology: A Christian Conversation, Kiara A. Jorgenson and Alan G. Padgett, eds.,” CHOICE 58(11).
• 2021, “The Buddha’s Footprint: An Environmental History of Asia, Johan Elverskogs, and Enlightenment and Gasping City: Mongolian Buddhism at a Time of Environmental Disarray, Saskia Abrahms-Kavunenko,” joint book review invited for the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 81(11):317-324.
• 2022, “Climate, Catastrophe, and Faith: How Changes in Climate Drive Religious Upheavel, Philip Jenkins,” invited for CHOICE 59(9).

Reprinted Publications

• 2004, ”Illuminating Darkness: The Monk-Cave-Bat-Ecosystem Complex in Thailand,” (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel),” in This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment, Roger S. Gottlieb, ed., New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 134-144. (Reprinted from Socially Engaged Spirituality: Essays in Honor of Sulak Sivaraaksa, David W. Chappel, ed., 2003, pp. 255-270).
• 2010 “A Theoretical Analysis of the Potential Contribution of the Monastic Community in Promoting a Green Society in Thailand,” (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel) in Buddhism and Ecology: The Interconnection of Dharma and Deeds, Mary Evelyn Tucker and Duncan Williams, eds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, 1997, pp. 45-68. Reprinted in Roger S. Gottlieb, ed., 2010, Religion and Environment, New York, NY: Routledge, Chapter 40.
• 2014, “Ecological Noble or Ignoble?,” in Spiritual Ecology: A Quiet Revolution, Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2012, Chapter 3, pp. 21-30. Reprinted in Religions and Environments: A Reader in Religion, Nature and Ecology, Richard Bohannon, New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 93-99.
• 2010 (July), “Enhancing Awareness: Buddhist Solutions for a Future World” (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel), Patheos - http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Enhancing-Awareness-Buddhist-Solutions-for-a-Future-World?offset=0&max=1 (reprinted as an article in Future of Religions as an ebook by Pathos in 2012).