Peter Butler-Way

About Peter’s Research:

In recent years, a growing number of theologians have challenged the longstanding use of traditional theological perspectives to justify the subjugation and mistreatment of the other animals. Existing work within the field has generally engaged with non-human animals collectively, and I hope to break new ground by focussing on a particular type of animal, and exploring the theological implications of its distinctive way of being.

As the importance of loving relationships is a consistent theme across the Bible, elephants’ well-documented capacity for highly social and empathetic behaviour makes them a particularly promising foundation for an interdisciplinary conversation between theology, ethology, and Biblical studies. As such, my goal for this project is to develop a scientifically-informed and Biblically-grounded perspective on who elephants are, what it means to be an elephant, and how we should understand the ethical call to respond to elephant’s particular natures and distinctive needs.

The situation facing elephants today is urgent. In the wild, elephants have been devastated by poaching and habitat destruction, whilst many captive elephants continue to undergo physical and mental torment at human hands, including as a consequence of tourism from the developed world. Although often misread in previous centuries in order to justify an extreme account of human separateness and superiority, the Biblical texts themselves, with their depiction of human and non-human animals united by our shared relationship with our creator, as well as their clear advocacy for ethical duties towards other species, can provide an invaluable resource for changing minds and moving hearts.