When Nature is Rats and Roaches
Religious Eco-Justice Activism in Newark, NJ
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v6i2.176Keywords:
environmental justice, environmental racism, religious activism, environmental activismAbstract
In this article, we set the religious landscape of Newark within the physical environment of Newark, an environment often more suitable for rats and roaches than evocative of the goodness and beauty of ‘God’s creation’. We speci?cally examine a range of strategies and campaigns by religious actors, and their non-religious partners, to ?ght the overwhelming toxicity and neglect of one neighborhood in the city—the Ironbound. We also consider some of the reasons in this particular context for a lack of engagement by religious groups and the dif?culties faced by immigrant populations in addressing environmental problems.
References
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Brown, Karen McCarthy. 1999. ‘Staying Grounded in a High-Rise Building: Ecological Dissonance and Ritual Accommodation in Hatian Voudou’, in R. Orsi (ed.), Gods of the City: Religion and the American Urban Landscape (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press): 79-102.
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Bullard, Robert (ed.). 1993. Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots (Cambridge, MA: South End Press).
———. 2005. The Quest for Environmental Justice: Human Rights and the Politics of Pollution (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books).
Bullard, Robert et al. 2007. ‘Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987–2007’, United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, Cleveland. Online: http://www.ucc.org/assets/pdfs/toxic20.pdf.
Chavis Jr., Benjamin F., and Charles Lee. 1987. Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States: A National Report on the Racial and Socio-Economic Characteristics of Communities with Hazardous Waste Sites. New York: United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice.
Cole, Luke W., and Sheila Foster. 2000. From the Ground Up: Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement (New York: NYU Press).
Cox, J. Robert. 2009. Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications).
Cresswell, Tim. 2004. Place: A Short Introduction (Malden, MA: Blackwell).
Giambusso, David. 2012. ‘Power plant is approved and Newark residents are outraged’, Star-Ledger (Newark), May 13.
Gottlieb, Roger. 2009. A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and our Planet’s Future (New York: Oxford University Press).
Gunter, Valerie J., and Steve Kroll-Smith. 2006. Volatile Places: A Sociology of Communities and Environmental Controversies (Newbury Park, CA: Pine Forge Press).
Hannigan, John A. 1995. Environmental Sociology: A Social Constructionist Perspective (London and New York: Routledge).
Hay, Amy M. 2009. ‘A New Earthly Vision: Religious Community Activism in the Love Canal Chemical Disaster’, Environmental History 14.3: 502-27. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/envhis/14.3.502.
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———. 2002. ‘Greening Ethnography and the Study of Religion’, in J. Spickard, S. Landres, and M.B. McGuire (eds.), Personal Knowledge and Beyond: Reshaping the Ethnography of Religion (New York: New York University Press): 212-24.
———. 2012. ‘Ecology and the Environment’, in M.D. Palmer and S.M. Burgess (eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice (London: Wiley Blackwell): 591-606. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781444355390.ch41.
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Murray, Brian. 2009. ‘Newark Residents Say Garbage Incinerator Poses Health Risks’, Star-Ledger (Newark), December 5.
Natale, Dana. 1998. ‘Environmental Injustice as it Is Manifested in the Building of Incinerators within the State of New Jersey’, MA Thesis: Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ.
Orsi, Robert A. 1999. Gods of the City: Religion and the American Urban Landscape (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press).
Pastor, Manuel, Jim Sadd, and John Hipp. 2001. ‘Which Came First? Toxic Facilities, Minority Move-In, and Environmental Justice’, Journal of Urban Affairs 23: 1-21. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0735-2166.00072.
Pine, John, Brian Marx, and Aruna Lakshmanan. 2002. ‘An Examination of Accidental Release Scenarios from Chemical-Processing Sites: The Relation of Race to Distance’, Social Science Quarterly 83: 317-31. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-6237.00085.
Putnam, Robert. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon & Schuster).
Roberts, J. Timmons, and Melissa M. Toffolon-Weiss. 2001. Chronicles from the Environmental Justice Frontline (New York: Cambridge University Press).
Sack, Robert David. 1997. Homo Geographicus (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press).
Schlosberg, David. 2009. De_ning Environmental Justice: Theories, Movements and Nature (New York: Oxford University Press).
Schwab, Jim, and Lois Gibbs. 1994. Deeper Shades of Green: The Rise of Blue-Collar and Minority Environmentalism in America (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books).
Shulman, Robin. 2005. ‘Newark Incinerator’s Neighbors Want Less Trash to Burn’, New York Times, September 10.
Smith, Christian. 1996. ‘Correcting a Curious Neglect, or Bringing Religion Back In’, in C. Smith (ed.), Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social-Movement Activism (New York: Routledge): 1-27.
Strunsky, Steve. 1997. ‘Park Service Orders a Delay on Ironbound Stadium’, New York Times, August 17.
Taylor, Bron. 2010. Dark Green Religion: Nature, Spirituality and the Planetary Future (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Tuan, Yi-Fu. 1977. Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press).
Wood, Richard L. 2002. Faith in Action: Religion, Race, and Democratic Organizing in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).
Zald, Mayer N., and John D. McCarthy. 1979. The Dynamics of Social Movements: Resource Mobilization, Social Control and Tactics (Cambridge, MA: Winthrop Publishers).
———. 1998. ‘Religious Groups as Crucibles for Social Movements’, in N.J. Demerath III, P.D. Hall, T. Schmitt, and R.H. Williams (eds.), Sacred Companies: Organizational Aspects of Religion and Religious Aspects (New York: Oxford University Press): 24-49.
Beck, Ulrich. 2009. World at Risk (Malden, MA: Polity Press).
Bell, Michael Mayerfeld. 2009. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology (Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press, 3rd edn).
Berger, Peter. 1967. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion (New York: Anchor Books).
Bernier, C.J. Correa. 2007. ‘Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987–2007’, United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, Cleveland. Online: http://www.ucc.org/assets/pdfs/toxic20.pdf.
Brown, Karen McCarthy. 1999. ‘Staying Grounded in a High-Rise Building: Ecological Dissonance and Ritual Accommodation in Hatian Voudou’, in R. Orsi (ed.), Gods of the City: Religion and the American Urban Landscape (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press): 79-102.
Bryant, B., and E. Hockman. 2005. ‘A Brief Comparison of the Civil Rights Movement and the Environmental Justice Movement’, in D. Pellow and R. Brulle (eds.), Power, Justice, and the Environment (Cambridge: MIT Press): 23-36.
Bullard, Robert (ed.). 1993. Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots (Cambridge, MA: South End Press).
———. 2005. The Quest for Environmental Justice: Human Rights and the Politics of Pollution (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books).
Bullard, Robert et al. 2007. ‘Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987–2007’, United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, Cleveland. Online: http://www.ucc.org/assets/pdfs/toxic20.pdf.
Chavis Jr., Benjamin F., and Charles Lee. 1987. Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States: A National Report on the Racial and Socio-Economic Characteristics of Communities with Hazardous Waste Sites. New York: United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice.
Cole, Luke W., and Sheila Foster. 2000. From the Ground Up: Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement (New York: NYU Press).
Cox, J. Robert. 2009. Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications).
Cresswell, Tim. 2004. Place: A Short Introduction (Malden, MA: Blackwell).
Giambusso, David. 2012. ‘Power plant is approved and Newark residents are outraged’, Star-Ledger (Newark), May 13.
Gottlieb, Roger. 2009. A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and our Planet’s Future (New York: Oxford University Press).
Gunter, Valerie J., and Steve Kroll-Smith. 2006. Volatile Places: A Sociology of Communities and Environmental Controversies (Newbury Park, CA: Pine Forge Press).
Hannigan, John A. 1995. Environmental Sociology: A Social Constructionist Perspective (London and New York: Routledge).
Hay, Amy M. 2009. ‘A New Earthly Vision: Religious Community Activism in the Love Canal Chemical Disaster’, Environmental History 14.3: 502-27. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/envhis/14.3.502.
Holton, Kimberly DaCosta. 2005. Performing Folklore: Ranchos Folclóricos from Lisbon to Newark (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press).
Hummon, David M. 1990. Commonplaces: Community, Ideology and Identity in American Culture (Albany: State University of New York Press). Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1993.tb00133.x.
Hummon, David M., and Lee Cuba. 1993. ‘A Place to Call Home: Identi_cation with Dwelling, Community, and Region’, The Sociological Quarterly 34: 111-31.
Juri, Carmen. 2007. ‘Among the People: Pastor from Brazil Advocates for Immigrants’, Star-Ledger (Newark), April 8.
Kearns, Laurel. 1997. ‘Noah’s Ark Goes to Washington’, Social Compass 44: 349-66. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/003776897044003004.
———. 2002. ‘Greening Ethnography and the Study of Religion’, in J. Spickard, S. Landres, and M.B. McGuire (eds.), Personal Knowledge and Beyond: Reshaping the Ethnography of Religion (New York: New York University Press): 212-24.
———. 2012. ‘Ecology and the Environment’, in M.D. Palmer and S.M. Burgess (eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice (London: Wiley Blackwell): 591-606. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781444355390.ch41.
Kline, Benjamin. 2008. First along the River: A Brief History of the U.S. Environmental Movement (Lanham, MD: Rowan & Little_eld).
Masnerous, Laura. 1998. ‘Newark’s Toxic Tomb’, New York Times, November 8.
McGurty, Eileen. 2006. ‘Solid Waste Management in “The Garbage State”: New Jersey’s Transformation from Land_lling to Incineration’, in N.M. Maher (ed.), New Jersey’s Environments: Past, Present, and Future (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press): 28-48.
McKinley, Jesse. 1997. ‘New Jersey Daily Brie_ng: Battle Over a Park Goes On’, New York Times, September 23.
Miranda, Marie Lynn, Sharon E. Edwards, Martha H. Keating, and Christopher J. Paul. 2011. ‘Making the Environmental Justice Grade: The Relative Burden of Air Pollution Exposure in the United States’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 8(6): 1755-71.
Murray, Brian. 2009. ‘Newark Residents Say Garbage Incinerator Poses Health Risks’, Star-Ledger (Newark), December 5.
Natale, Dana. 1998. ‘Environmental Injustice as it Is Manifested in the Building of Incinerators within the State of New Jersey’, MA Thesis: Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ.
Orsi, Robert A. 1999. Gods of the City: Religion and the American Urban Landscape (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press).
Pastor, Manuel, Jim Sadd, and John Hipp. 2001. ‘Which Came First? Toxic Facilities, Minority Move-In, and Environmental Justice’, Journal of Urban Affairs 23: 1-21. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0735-2166.00072.
Pine, John, Brian Marx, and Aruna Lakshmanan. 2002. ‘An Examination of Accidental Release Scenarios from Chemical-Processing Sites: The Relation of Race to Distance’, Social Science Quarterly 83: 317-31. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-6237.00085.
Putnam, Robert. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon & Schuster).
Roberts, J. Timmons, and Melissa M. Toffolon-Weiss. 2001. Chronicles from the Environmental Justice Frontline (New York: Cambridge University Press).
Sack, Robert David. 1997. Homo Geographicus (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press).
Schlosberg, David. 2009. De_ning Environmental Justice: Theories, Movements and Nature (New York: Oxford University Press).
Schwab, Jim, and Lois Gibbs. 1994. Deeper Shades of Green: The Rise of Blue-Collar and Minority Environmentalism in America (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books).
Shulman, Robin. 2005. ‘Newark Incinerator’s Neighbors Want Less Trash to Burn’, New York Times, September 10.
Smith, Christian. 1996. ‘Correcting a Curious Neglect, or Bringing Religion Back In’, in C. Smith (ed.), Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social-Movement Activism (New York: Routledge): 1-27.
Strunsky, Steve. 1997. ‘Park Service Orders a Delay on Ironbound Stadium’, New York Times, August 17.
Taylor, Bron. 2010. Dark Green Religion: Nature, Spirituality and the Planetary Future (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Tuan, Yi-Fu. 1977. Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press).
Wood, Richard L. 2002. Faith in Action: Religion, Race, and Democratic Organizing in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).
Zald, Mayer N., and John D. McCarthy. 1979. The Dynamics of Social Movements: Resource Mobilization, Social Control and Tactics (Cambridge, MA: Winthrop Publishers).
———. 1998. ‘Religious Groups as Crucibles for Social Movements’, in N.J. Demerath III, P.D. Hall, T. Schmitt, and R.H. Williams (eds.), Sacred Companies: Organizational Aspects of Religion and Religious Aspects (New York: Oxford University Press): 24-49.
Published
2012-07-16
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Immergut, M. B., & Kearns, L. D. (2012). When Nature is Rats and Roaches: Religious Eco-Justice Activism in Newark, NJ. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 6(2), 176-195. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v6i2.176
