Rebecca Kneale Gould, Ph.D.

Rebecca is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and co-director of the Philosophy, Religion and Environment focus at Middlebury College. She is delighted to be working with the BTS Center as a resident scholar, assisting with Applied Research and other programs. Rebecca is scholar of comparative religion and American religious history by training (PhD, Harvard University, 1997). Her prevailing interest is in how people make meaning for themselves, in both religious and “spiritual-but-not-religious” ways. Her book, At Home in Nature: Modern Homesteading and Spiritual Practice in America explores back-to-the-land movements as an expression of American “nature religion.” At the same time, much of her research and writing has focused on religious environmentalism, particularly the ways in which Christians and Jews of various stripes understand and negotiate the relationship between their religious identities and their ecological commitments. In addition to articles and book chapters addressing these questions, she is the co-creator, with Phil Walker, of a contemplative documentary short: The Fire Inside: Place, Passion and the Primacy of Nature. Rebecca embraces the liberal Jewish roots of her multi-religious family tree, leads a monthly women’s Hebrew chant group and is active in various interfaith spiritual direction initiatives. She has a passion for Thoreau and currently serves on the boards of the Thoreau Society and Vermont Interfaith Power and Light. She lives in Vermont with her wife and small flock of adorable rescue sheep.