Sacred Groves and Local Gods
Religion and Environmentalism in South India
Eliza F. Kent
Reviews and Awards
"This volume is a welcome addition to a growing literature investigating the relationship of religion to sacred theology. Kent presents a very thorough analysis of sacred groves in South India... Very well written with little jargon, this volume is quite accessible to general, educated readers. It will also be valuable for courses in religiou studies, South Asian studies, and anthropology." --CHOICE
"Eliza Kent's wonderful (readable, teachable) book on sacred groves delivers lucid and refreshingly balanced understandings particularly welcome in the debates around ecology and religion. Uniting ethnographically and historically grounded case studies based in diverse regions of Tamil Nadu with global perspectives on environmental crisis, Kent ably presents the genuine potential of engaging religiosity for ecological restoration." ---Ann Grodzins Gold, Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Professor of Anthropology, Syracuse University
"Kent is an excellent story teller who narrates the complex story of Tamil religious environmentalism with fervour and flavour, just as she navigates very skillfully through India's socio-religio-cultural waters with ethnographic depth and theoretical clarity. The greatest strength of Eliza F. Kents's present work lies in its comprehensiveness, readability and accessibility."--Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies