Even the Dogs: Toward a Biodiverse, Relational Soteriology

Although humanity, by comparison with the other animals, possesses a distinctive capacity for relationship with God, Christian soteriology is infiltrated by anthropocentrism, rooted in biblical literalism and an imperviousness to the theological implications of evolution, that implies unwarranted limits to the saving work of Christ and the exclusion of the vast majority of sentient creatures from salvation. Given the church’s recognition that humanity gradually evolved from nonhuman forms of animal life and Catholicism’s pan-en-theistic, sacramental vision of creation, this article argues that the death and resurrection of Jesus may be salvific for nonhuman animals who have endured the reality of a fallen world and who, depending on the capacity for loving relationships with which God has endowed their species, could participate in the state of heaven and even theosis. The article envisages a diversity of forms of participation in theosis, corresponding to the diversity that characterizes creation.