Thomas Berry


and the Great Work
Biography
Publications & Media Quotes The Foundation
…the universe, by definition, is a single gorgeous celebratory event.

Thomas Berry,

“Returning to Our Native Place,” in The Dream of the Earth p. 5

We are not lacking in the dynamic forces needed to create the future. We live immersed in a sea of energy beyond all comprehension. But this energy, in an ultimate sense, is ours not by domination but by invocation.

Thomas Berry,

“The Dynamics of the Future” in The Great Work, p. 175

The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.

Thomas Berry ,

“Petrochemical Age” in Evening Thoughts p. 96

Always and everywhere, it is the universe that holds all things together and is the primary activating power in every activity.

Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry,

The Universe Story, p. 27

When we exile the scientific telling of the story from the humanities..., we do not allow them to be an integral expression of the great story.

Thomas Berry,

“The Place of the Human,” in Evening Thoughts p. 31

New Story

“Here we might observe that the basic mood of the future might well be one of confidence in the continuing revelation that takes place in and through the Earth. If the dynamics of the universe from the beginning shaped the course of the heavens, lighted the sun, and formed the Earth, if this same dynamism brought forth the continents and seas and atmosphere, if it awakened life in the primordial cell and then brought into being the unnumbered variety of living beings, and finally brought us into being and guided us safely through the turbulent centuries, there is reason to believe that this same guiding process is precisely what has awakened in us our present understanding of ourselves and our relation to this stupendous process. Sensitized to such guidance from the very structure and functioning of the universe, we can have confidence in the future that awaits the human venture.”

Thomas Berry, “The New Story,” in The Dream of the Earth, p.137.

Thomas Berry (1914-2009)
Photo by Lou Niznik 10–6–1999

Publication & Media Highlights

Books »

Thomas Berry: Selected Writings on the Earth Community

Edited by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim

Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2014Published for the centenary of his birth.Thomas Berry (1914-2009) was a cultural historian and “geologian.” He was an early and significant voice awakening religious se

Audio »

Spirituality and Ecology (November 8, 1981)

Thomas Berry

These reflections were delivered at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City where Thomas Berry was a Canon and an advisor to the Dean James Parks Morton. We extend gratitude to the Cathed

Videos »

The Twelve Principles

In this lecture from 1984 Thomas sketches out "Twelve Principles for Understanding the Universe and the Role of the Human in the Universe Process", which, in their scope, touch on many of the founda

Essays »

“The New Story”

By Thomas Berry

Comments on the Origin, Identification, and Transmission of Values First published in Teilhard Studies no. 1 (winter 1978)

Additional Features

The Intellectual Journey of Thomas Berry: Imagining the Earth Community

Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2015

Evening Thoughts: Reflecting on Earth as a Sacred Community

Berkeley: Counterpoint Press, 2015

The Dream of the Earth

Berkeley: Counterpoint Press, 2015