Life experiences and the formation of pro-ecological commitment: exploring the role of spirituality / Experiencias de vida y la formación del compromiso pro-ecológico: explorando el papel de la espiritualidad

Abstract In order to understand what leads people to commit to both practices of environmental care and simple living, this work investigates how significant life experiences influence people who develop a pro-ecological commitment (PEC), focusing on experiences related to either religion or spirituality. Twenty-nine people socially perceived (and referred) as having PEC (17 males, aged between 23 and 79) participated in individual semi-structured interviews and described experiences that worked as a source of influence for their own commitment. In addition to what the literature proposes on the relation between spirituality and environmental care, the accounts highlighted the distinction made between religion and spirituality; the contact with nature mediated by religious practices; associations of the idea of the sacred (divine) with the environment; and the importance of these experiences as contexts of socialization and care for oneself and others.