Hunting High and Low

Josiah Neufeld opens his debut work of non-fiction, The Temple at the End of the Universe, with a disclaimer: “If you hope this book will lead you to spiritual truth, I am sorry, in advance.” The short story writer, essayist, and journalist — who lives in Winnipeg and won an Amnesty International Media Award in 2016 — explores the complex intersection of religion and environmentalism.

Born in 1981 to devout Christian missionaries, Neufeld lost his faith early in adulthood when he could no longer accept the “cruel logic” that otherwise decent non-Christians would spend eternity in Hell. But he still yearned for the sacred and found a new divine connection in nature that was “like god, like an all-encompassing life force, but without the personal regard or judging vigilance.” A journalistic memoir, this book chronicles Neufeld’s attempt to reconcile his ambivalent spirituality...