“Animal Pneumatology – A Systematic Theological Inquiry into the Spirit’s Work in Non-Human Creatures” by Daniela Rizzo, published by Palgrave-Macmillan (Springer Nature), is now available in hardcover print, EPUB and PDF.
The book is a pioneering work of animal theology that explores the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of non-human creatures. It argues that the Spirit sustains, accompanies, and works through animal life, framing animals as participants in creation, cosmic worship, and God’s redemptive activity within the world.
The author, Daniela Rizzo, is a Lecturer in Systematic Theology at Alphacrucis University College, Australia and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.
Animal Pneumatology offers the first systematic theological exploration of animal pneumatology (pneumatology is the branch of Christian theology that studies the Holy Spirit), examining the role of the Holy Spirit in relation to non-human creatures.
While animal theology has been significantly advanced by theologians such as Andrew Linzey and David Clough, no dedicated monograph has yet brought pneumatology into sustained conversation with animal existence. This book addresses that lacuna by adopting an interdisciplinary approach that informs and enriches its theological framework, drawing on biblical studies, systematic theology, animal studies, and contemporary discussions of animal sentience and creaturely life.
Each chapter explores a distinct dimension of pneumatology—creation, predation, redemption, eschatology, and creaturely communication—in relation to non-human animal life, arguing that the Spirit’s presence and activity extend beyond humanity to encompass all sentient creation. By foregrounding the Spirit’s relational, sustaining, and communicative work, the book challenges anthropocentric assumptions that continue to shape both theology and ethics, while engaging ecumenically across Pentecostal, Catholic, Orthodox, and broader Protestant traditions.
Animal Pneumatology:
- Pioneers a systematic treatment of animal pneumatology
- Develops a constructive pneumatological framework that contributes a new direction to contemporary theological conversations
- Engages with contemporary concerns regarding the place of non-human creatures in religious dialogue
- Interacts with systematic theology and animal theology within broader theological, ethical, and interdisciplinary discussions
The chapters are comprised of:
- Where the Spirit Meets the Creature
- Creation and Covenant
- Predation and Sin
- Soteriology
- Eschatology
- Animal Glossolalia
- The Spirit and the Creatures: Implications and Conclusions
Animal Pneumatology is the publication of Rizzo’s recently completed PhD thesis with Alphacrucis College, which was awarded the President’s Doctoral Research Medal as well as the Ross Winchester Award for Pentecostal Studies.
Readers of Animal Pneumatology have recognised the importance of this new book:
Elizabeth A. Johnson, Distinguished Professor of Theology Emerita, Fordham University, USA said: “What a beautiful, enlightening book! Laced with biblical, theological, ethical, and scientific insights, its exploration into the relationship between the Spirit and animals is positively eye-opening. Knowledgeable about today’s debates, Rizzo imbues the discussion with unusual warmth and keenness due to her own participation in the Pentecostal tradition. Among the welcome sea of books on ecological theology, this book stands out as a genuinely original must-read. There is simply nothing else like it.”
Mark Wallace, James Hormel Professor of Social Justice, Swarthmore College, USA said:
“In this book Rizzo breaks exciting new ground. Here God and Earth,
divinity and animality, revelation and carnal existence are one. Challenging the conventional Christian dualism between Creator and creation, Rizzo envisions the natural world as enlivened by the Spirit in its solidarity with all the vulnerable and suffering denizens of Mother Earth. A must for readers at the intersection between new animal studies and the importance of the Holy Spirit in Christian thought.”
Animal Pneumatology is available for purchase and download here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-18723-9 and on Amazon.
Animal Pneumatology
By Daniela Rizzo
RRP: £119 (hardcover) or £95.50 (EPUB / PDF)
ISBN: 978-3-032-18722-2 (hardcover)
Pub Date: June 2026
Format: Hardback, EPUB and PDF
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
About the author
Daniela Rizzo Daniela Rizzo is a Lecturer in Systematic Theology at Alphacrucis University College, Australia and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.
The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics is an independent centre pioneering ethical perspectives on animals through academic research, teaching, and publication. The Centre comprises more than 100 academic Fellows.
Web: www.oxfordanimalethics.com/home
Instagram: @oxfordanimalethics
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@oxfordanimalethics