The ancient awe of our sacred environment amounts to a lost gospel of the earth, which existed among indigenous people long before the rise of monotheism. It continues to exist in the myths of my Irish ancestors and the teachings of Native Americans. It was common to the early religions that were based on the Goddess and continue in feminist spirituality today. It was expressed in the nature mysticism of Francis of Assisi, Hildegard of Bingen, and Maimonides. An earth-based spirituality was also central to the birth of environmentalism in the time of Henry David Thoreau and John Muir.
— Tom Hayden, The Lost Gospel of the Earth