Everything turns into religion, all the world seems a church and the mountains altars (Muir 1911/1997, p. 336).
John Muir was overwhelmed by the beauty and splendor of the natural world. Such grandeur, Muir reasoned, could only have been created by God and it reflected God’s bounty. Like a perfectly tranquil pond, with nary a ripple touching its surface as the sun approaches the horizon in the evening, just before the still of night descends when every rock, every tree, every line of hills is piercingly reflected, so the creating God of the universe is reflected. Or, as John Muir paused and noted, “How wonderful the power of …beauty! Gazing awe-stricken, I might have left everything for it…. Beauty beyond thought everywhere, beneath, above, made and being made forever” (Muir 1911/1997, p. 160).
The Scottish-born naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club, John Muir (1838–1914), was not only America’s most ardent defender of wilderness, he was the first American naturalist to expound the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Badè, W. F. (1924). The life and letters of John Muir (Vol. 2). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Retrieved from http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/life_and_letters/chapter_15.aspx. Accessed 30 Aug 2012.
Gates, L. (2000). The nature mysticism of John Muir. Retrieved from www.sierraclub.org/john_muir…/nature_mysticism_gates.aspx. Accessed 1 Aug 2012.
Gisel, B. J. (2001). Kindred and related spirits: The letters of John Muir and Jeanne C. Carr. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Muir, J. (1861). Death of Fannie letter. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved from http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/tp&CISOPTR =66750&CISOSHOW=66638. Accessed 30 Aug 2012.
Muir, J. (1868). Letter to Jeanne C. Carr. Calisphere. University of California Libraries. Retrieved from http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt6f59r933/?order=3. Accessed 30 Aug 2012.
Muir, J. (1884). The mountains of California. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Muir, J. (1885). Obituary of Daniel Muir. Retrieved from http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/people/daniel_muir_obit.aspx. Accessed 1 Aug 2012.
Muir, J. (1892). Letter to Catherine Merrill. Retrieved from http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/people/catharine_merrill.aspx. Accessed 30 Aug 2012.
Muir, J. (1901). Our national parks. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Muir, J. (1911/1997). My first summer in the Sierra. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Muir, J. (1913/1997). The story of my boyhood and youth. Houghton Mifflin.
Muir, J. (1914). Letter to Emily Pelton Wilson. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved from http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/tp&CISOPTR=66750&CISOSHOW=66638. Accessed 30 Aug 2012.
Rowthorn, A. (2012). The wisdom of John Muir: 100+ selections from the letters, journals, and essays of the great naturalist. Birmingham: Wilderness.
Wolfe, L. M. (1938). John of the mountains: The unpublished journals of John Muir. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Worster, D. (2008). A passion for nature: The life of John Muir. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Rowthorn, A. (2020). Muir, John, and Spirituality. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_9339
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_9339
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24347-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24348-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences