Lin Henke

Princeton Theological Seminary

Dark Green Kinship: CSA Farm Work as a Site of Queer Religiosity



Biography

Lin Henke is a first year student at Princeton Theological Seminary. Last year, she graduated from Georgetown University with a major in Theology and Religious Studies and minors in Chinese and Philosophy. She has worked in Community Supported Agriculture for the last four years, where she developed her interest in the intersection between farming and spiritual experience.

Paper Abstract

This study, based on ethnographic and interview data, explores the spiritual experience of the workers at a secular Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. The collected research is integrated with queer studies and traditional ecological knowledge to show how CSA farm work fosters spiritual connections by creating a safe and sacred space that exists outside the norms of a more traditional workplace. The findings of this research sheds light on the experiences of people that are seeking spiritual connection outside of commonly understood religious frameworks, their spiritual commitments and relationships, and particularly the biocentric sense of kinship that comes with working with plants.