Laudato Si’ and spatial turn: a theological approach

This article analyses the encyclical letter Laudato Si’ against the backdrop of the contemporary and theological “spatial turn”. It asks if and how Laudato Si’ incorporates the main elements of this movement that pushes for a reappraisal of space and/or place in theological reasoning. This inquiry is motivated by a public and constructive understanding of theology, with the conviction that it too should bring its specific contribution to the challenges of the “Common Home”. The article starts by characterizing this theological “spatial turn”, and by putting it into the context of similar trends in other human and social sciences. Secondly, it focuses on the analysis of Laudato Si’, namely by considering the role played in it by spatiality. Thirdly, and in a brief systematic way, it presents some concluding remarks that describe how Laudato Si’ may be interpreted in the “spatial turn” framework. Following these remarks, the article concludes that there is a moderate incorporation in Laudato Si’ of the concerns that promote and sustain a theological “spatial turn”.