WATER: SACRED AND PROFANE

The presence of water and its vast cycles distinguishes earth from the other planets. It is an important part of what gives rise to life on earth in its immense variety of forms. The dependence of most species on water is evident in the unfolding and sustaining of life.

The importance of water is recognized in many of the world's religions where water is used as symbol and as sacrament. From early human history when the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water were identified as sacred vessels of life processes to later sacramental uses of water in baptism or purification ceremonies, water occupies a central place in the human imagination and religious consciousness.

Realizing, then, both our natural dependence on water and our religious ritualization of water it is instructive to reflect on our apparent separation of water into sacred and profane dimensions. Is water something we revere as that which sustains many forms of life or is it something we simply use to support human life? Is our concern for water reduced to how we use it and manage it for human ends? Is our insatiable search for water for irrigation and hydro-electric power leading to the endless damming and diverting of water so that rivers such as the Yellow are drying up, lakes such as Mono are shrinking, and even a huge inland sea such as the Aral is disappearing?

The world's religions provide a variety of examples of how water has been regarded as part of a sacred life process not simply another product for consumption. At the same time our increased comprehension of the story of evolution as understood by science gives us a renewed appreciation for the role of water in sustaining life. To see water as a source of life, not merely resource, is the challenge of a new synthesis of science and religion in our times.