Animal Spirituality and Sacred Human-Animal Connections
Jane Goodall, Animal Theology, and the Animals We Each Know
With Rev. Dr. Sarah A. Bowen
Saturday, March 6, 2027
12–5 PM ET · Live on Zoom · Recording Included
General Public $160 · OSLA Affiliated Alumni $125
Do Animals Have Spiritual Lives?
Jane Goodall spent decades observing chimpanzees and documenting behaviors that challenged what we thought separated humans from other animals. She witnessed affection, grief, complex social relationships, and moments of behavior that seemed to suggest wonder or awe. Her observations raise a question that science alone cannot fully answer:
Do animals experience something we might recognize as spiritual? And if they do (or even if we're simply willing to consider the possibility) what might that mean for our relationships with them?
In this workshop, Rev. Dr. Sarah A. Bowen brings together Jane Goodall's work, animal behavior research, theology, and the experiences of the animals we've known.
As an animal theologian and interspecies chaplain, Rev. Dr. Sarah has spent years examining how relationships with animals shape our understanding of family, love, loss, and the sacred.
During this five-hour workshop, we'll consider what scientists are discovering about animal emotion, consciousness, communication, and culture. We'll also explore theological perspectives that challenge the assumption that spiritual life belongs only to humans.
Through photographs, video, animal sounds, guided reflection, and conversation, you'll have opportunities to examine your own beliefs and experiences.
We'll also turn to a question that matters in everyday life and ministry: How do we respond when someone's relationship with an animal carries profound spiritual meaning?
You'll practice listening without making assumptions, explore language that honors these relationships, and consider simple ways to include animals in prayer, ritual, and community life.
You don't need to arrive with a particular belief about animal spirituality. Just a willingness to consider what the animals around us might have to teach us, and how we can respond with greater care.
“This workshop brings together fields that are rarely taught in the same room: animal behavior and cognition, theology, spirituality, and practical ministry. Rather than treating animals as a sentimental addition to human spiritual life, it takes their experiences and relationships seriously while remaining careful about what science can and cannot tell us about their inner lives.
71% of US households contain an animal. Animals are deeply important in many people’s emotional, familial, and spiritual lives, yet they remain largely absent from ministerial education. When spiritual leaders do not have language for these relationships, people’s experiences of love, meaning, concern, and loss may be overlooked or minimized.
At the same time, growing scientific knowledge about animal minds challenges religious ideas that treat consciousness, emotion, or spirituality as exclusively human. This workshop offers participants a wider and more compassionate spiritual imagination—one that can help them respond more thoughtfully to the people, animals, and communities they serve.”
—Rev. Dr. Sarah Bowen
What We’ll Work On
Developing Your Officiant Voice
Practice speaking and holding space without feeling like you have to perform a role. Learn how your presence, language, and delivery can help set the tone for a ceremony.
Finding Your Place as an Officiant
Explore the kind of ceremonies you want to lead, the couples you hope to serve, and what makes your approach distinct. Begin identifying a niche that reflects your values, experience, and interests.
Navigating Family, Cultural, and Spiritual Differences
Work through situations involving complicated family relationships, interfaith couples, and traditions outside your own. Consider how to honor a couple's beliefs and heritage without making assumptions or borrowing sacred practices without intentional care.
Drawing Out a Couple’s Story
Learn how to ask thoughtful questions, listen closely, and uncover what matters most to a couple. Explore how to create a ceremony that reflects their relationship rather than relying on a standard script.
Understanding the Business of Officiating
Explore licensing and legal requirements, contracts, recordkeeping, marketing, pricing, and ceremony logistics. Identify what you need to research and put in place for your own practice.
What We'll Explore
The Animals Who Have Shaped Our Lives
Think about the animals you've known and the roles they've played in your life.
We'll examine how family, religion, culture, and personal experience influence the way we understand animals, including why some relationships are recognized as deeply important while others are overlooked.
Rethinking Our Human-Centered Assumptions
Explore how human-centered beliefs influence the language we use, the animals we value, and the ways we respond to their needs.
We'll consider how power and social circumstances affect which animals are treated as family, wildlife, property, or labor, and whose relationships with animals receive recognition and support.
Jane Goodall and the Inner Lives of Animals
Explore Jane Goodall's observations of chimpanzees alongside research on animal emotion, communication, culture, grief, and consciousness.
We'll consider what these studies suggest about animals' experiences, including behaviors that may resemble awe or ritual, while recognizing the limits of what science can tell us about another species' inner life.
Animal Theology and the Question of Spirituality
What does it mean to call an experience spiritual? And who gets to decide?
We'll examine theological perspectives that question human exceptionalism and consider how different religious and philosophical traditions understand spirituality, consciousness, and the sacred.
Bringing Animal Spirituality into Everyday Life and Ministry
Learn how to acknowledge significant animal relationships without imposing beliefs or assuming that everyone experiences those relationships in the same way.
We'll explore open-ended questions, inclusive language, interspecies spiritual practices, and thoughtful approaches to prayer, ritual, and community life.
Our Time Together
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We'll begin with Jane Goodall's observations and other scientific perspectives on animal emotion, consciousness, communication, and social behavior.
Through short presentations, photographs, video, animal vocalizations, and discussion, we'll consider what these observations might tell us about the inner lives of animals—and what remains uncertain.
We'll also introduce animal theology and examine how different traditions approach the possibility of spirituality beyond the human.
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We'll turn toward our own experiences, reflecting on the animals who have shaped our lives and the beliefs that influence how we understand those relationships.
Guided exercises, contemplative practices, and small-group conversations will help us listen across different perspectives.
We'll also examine how human-centered assumptions influence the ways we speak about animals and the importance we assign to their lives.
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The final portion of our gathering will focus on bringing these ideas into everyday life and spiritual practice.
We'll consider how ministers, spiritual companions, congregational leaders, and individuals can better acknowledge animals within families and communities.
Through listening exercises and examples of prayer and ritual, we'll explore ways to respond with care while respecting different beliefs, appropriate boundaries, and animals' comfort and agency.
You'll leave with ideas and resources to use in your own life, community, or ministry.
What Your Registration Includes
Your registration includes one live, interactive five-hour workshop, a recording, and resources to support continued learning.
◇ Digital Resource Guide
Recommended readings, videos, reflection prompts, interspecies spiritual practices, liturgical ideas, and opportunities for further study.
✧ Jane Goodall & Animal Spirituality Exploration
Engage with scientific observations and theological perspectives that raise questions about animal consciousness, emotion, and spirituality.
◎ Guided Reflection & Contemplative Practices
Meditation, prayer, and nature-based exercises that invite you to consider your relationships with other animals.
✎ Inclusive Language & Listening Tools
Practice asking open-ended questions and responding to the spiritual importance of animal relationships without making assumptions about another person's beliefs.
❀ Ideas for Prayer, Ritual & Community Life
Consider ways to acknowledge animals in spiritual gatherings, family life, and community settings while respecting their comfort, agency, and participation.
◈ Small-Group Conversation & Shared Learning
Exchange experiences, listen across different perspectives, and consider how others understand their relationships with animals.
▶ Workshop Recording
Revisit the material or catch up if you cannot attend live.
Revisit the material or catch up if you cannot attend live.
Is This Workshop for You?
One Spirit Students & Graduates
You're interested in questions that may not have been addressed in depth in the classroom, including animal consciousness, theology, and the place of other species in spiritual life, and the current science behind it all.
Ministers, Chaplains & Spiritual Companions
You support people through important life experiences and want to better understand the spiritual significance of their relationships with animals. You'll gain language and approaches for acknowledging these bonds while staying within the boundaries of your role.
Animal Lovers & Spiritually Curious Individuals
You've experienced a close relationship with an animal, wondered about animal consciousness, or questioned what other species might teach us about the sacred.
Congregational & Community Leaders
You want to make room for people whose relationships with animals are central to their families, identities, or spiritual lives.
No background in theology, science, or ministry is required.
Meet Your Facilitator
Rev. Dr. Sarah Bowen (she/her)
The Rev. Dr. Sarah A. Bowen, DMin, MSc, FOCAE, is Dean of Discovery at One Spirit Learning Alliance and Founding Director of the Animal Chaplaincy Training program at Compassion Consortium.
An animal theologian, educator, author, and interspecies chaplain, she has helped develop the emerging field of interspecies spiritual care, supporting work involving companion animal loss, veterinary practices, animal shelters, wildlife rehabilitation, disaster recovery, and multispecies justice.
She is the author of the award-winning books Sacred Sendoffs: An Animal Chaplain's Advice for Surviving Animal Loss, Making Life Meaningful, & Healing the Planet.
Rev. Dr. Sarah Bowen holds advanced degrees in anthrozoology and ministry, is a recipient of Canisius University's Excellence in Anthrozoology Award, serves on the American Academy of Religion's Animals and Religion Steering Committee, and is a Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.
Her work brings together scientific research, theological inquiry, and practical spiritual care to examine how we understand and respond to the animals with whom we share our lives.
Workshop Registration
General Public: $160
OSLA Affiliated Alumni: $125
Your registration includes the live workshop, digital resource guide, reflection exercises, practical spiritual-care tools, and workshop recording.
Taking more than one workshop?
Buy 3, save 15%. Buy 4, save 20%!
Discount applied automatically at checkout.
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After You Register
You'll receive a confirmation email with instructions for accessing the workshop's Hylo Course Board, where you'll find the Zoom link and workshop materials.
Can't attend live? The recording will be available within 72 hours of the workshop and accessible through June 30, 2027.
Questions? Contact help@1spirit.org.
