“We humans live with other animals in our midst, yet we forget to notice their presence or even consciously choose to ignore them as we deem them insignificant. Yet, deep down, I think most of us know that we cannot live without them and we really don’t want to. Animals enter our lives every day in various ways–as food, as clothing, as objects of entertainment or sport, as co-inhabitants of the earth, and as personal, beloved companions.
“But we rarely if ever consider the impact of our religious belief systems on animals or the impact of animals on our religions. What, if anything, do animals have to do with, in, and for Christianity? And does Christianity have anything to say about the current state of affairs for animals?
“For complicated historical reasons, animals have largely been forgotten by Christianity. While some individual Christians include animals in their circle of compassion, the tradition seems to have collective amnesia about the role of the rest of God’s creatures in religion and in life as a whole. Though they are very much present, they have become absent. Here, I hope to find them again.”