CARNAL: Eco-Ethical Articulations of Body, Meat, and Flesh

Through a mix of field studies and more theoretical discussions, the interdisciplinary CARNAL project aims to explore and develop a new ecological ethic, that bridges the gap between nature's 'own voices' and human interests.

Fieldwork in Store Vildmose (Photo by Cecilie Rubow) — Fieldwork in Store Vildmose (Photo: Cecilie Rubow)

The CARNAL project will develop a model that describes the connections and contradictions between three 'ecologies' or ways of perceiving nature:

Nature understood as raw, wild and potentially enchanted place where the ethical task is to hold back allowing nature space.
Nature as something that we as humans must take care of, but where we can and should also develop technologies that contribute to solving the climate crises.
Nature as something we are closely intertwined with because human culture is also part of nature.

The project links the three ecologies with three themes under the headings Body, Meat and Flesh – the latter understood as life in a broader and partly theological sense.

Focus areas

The project links the three ecologies with three themes under the headings Body, Meat and Flesh – the latter understood as life in a broader and partly theological sense.

Under the first theme, 'Body', the project will explore lessons learnt from the ethical debates that have arisen after the introduction of wildlife parks in Denmark, where animals are rewilded, but also look at the broader relationship between humans and domestic animals.

The second theme, 'Meat', centres on food and meals. In collaboration with the large retailer COOP and two folk high schools visited by young people, the researchers will look at the production, sale and consumption of more climate-friendly and green food from farm to fork. Among other things, theologians and anthropologists will examine young people's views on food and the phenomenon of 'meat shaming'.

Finally, the third theme, 'Flesh', examines human solidarity towards the shared materiality of life as a theological theme, which is simultaneously unfolded in the form of a resonance-based ethics concerning interactions between humans and nature, as well as its inherent conflicts.

Collaborations

The CARNAL project is a collaboration between researchers from the Department of Anthropology and the Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen.

Selected publications

Mikkel Gabriel Christoffersen. “Climate Shame: What Is It, Does It Matter, and How Do We Handle It?” Dialog: A Journal of Theology 64:1 (March 2025). https://doi.org/10.1111/dial.12875.

Mikkel Gabriel Christoffersen. “Environmental Shame and the Solidarity of Creation Theology”. In Redeeming the Sense of the Universal: Scandinavian Creation Theology on Politics and Ecology, redigeret af Trygve Wyller, Johanna Gustafsson Lundberg, og Niels Henrik Gregersen, 279–92. Research in Contemporary Religion 39. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 2025.

Cecilie Rubow: “Three Ecologies in Danish Eco-Theology”. In Redeeming the Sense of the Universal: Scandinavian Creation Theology on Politics and Ecology. Eds. Trygve Wylller, Johanna Gustafsson Lundberg & Niels Henrik Gregersen. Research in Contemporary Religion vol. 37. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2024, 251-263.

Niels Henrik Gregersen. “A Wealth of Resonance and Dissonance: K.E. Løgstrup and Hartmut Rosa”. In Redeeming the Sense of the Universal: Scandinavian Creation Theology on Politics and Ecology. Eds. Trygve Wylller, Johanna Gustafsson Lundberg & Niels Henrik Gregersen. Research in Contemporary Religion vol. 37. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2024, 225-249.