Toward an Ecotheological Anthropology: A Paradigm Shift of Imago Dei via the Cosmological Dialogue of Thomas Berry and Uisang

An anthropocentric human consciousness and attitude are generally discussed as the fundamental root of today’s ecological disaster. In order to respond to the present ecological crisis, this dissertation aims to propose an ecotheological vision of Christian anthropology through a paradigm shift of the classical understanding of Imago Dei. For this work, Thomas Berry’s cosmogenetic principles and Uisang’s Buddhist Hwa-yen cosmology will be examined as an alternative lens for reconstructing the classical understanding of Imago Dei. In particular, the common perspectives of Berry and Uisang’s cosmologies will be surveyed in order to discuss a Christian anthropology framed within an understanding of the emerging universe rather than a philosophical cosmic order. By so doing, this study affirms that the cosmological vision of humanity informed by the revised vision of Imago Dei is able to contribute to the overcoming of the anthropocentrism and of the present ecological crisis.Master of Theology (ThM