A Proposal for Promoting Taiwan’s Environmental Education from the Aspect of Eco-spirituality: The St. Francis of Assisi’s Inspiration

The contemporary ecological crisis is fundamentally value-driven and in a sense a result from the poverty of spirituality. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of ecospirituality provided by the rich religious tradition and put it into the discussion in the environmental education context of Taiwan. In particular, the ecological meanings of St. Francis’ legacy in medieval Christianity are employed as a starting point for promoting spiritual environmental education in Taiwan. Not just in terms of spirituality, St. Francis of Assisi could also be socially radical in response to modern capitalistic life style. This paper is divided into three major parts. Firstly, the relationship between spirituality and environmental education is examined in the context of Taiwan. Secondly, some history of the introduction of St. Francis’ legacy in the ecological movement of Taiwan is reviewed. Thirdly, the possible advance of eco-spirituality inspired by St. Francis is discussed under the development of some educational programmes in Taiwan. This paper concludes with some suggestions from an activist approach to engage the eco-spirituality from St. Francis with Taiwan’s
environmental education.