Jane Goodall’s surprising lesson on death changed how this retired pastor sees life

For Dr. Jane Goodall, the English primatologist, anthropologist, and conservationist, content successful God was not ethereal oregon otherworldly, nor was it nebulous oregon a specified concept.

It is not an exaggeration to accidental that fewer radical connected Earth bash not cognize the sanction Dr. Jane Goodall, who died connected Oct. 1 and whose memorial work was held Wednesday successful Washington, D.C. astatine the National Cathedral.

Dr. Goodall was good known — and rightly praised — for her singular efforts to permission the satellite amended than she recovered it. She traveled globally for arsenic galore arsenic 300 days a year, engaging satellite and firm leaders, supporting the thriving Jane Goodall Institute she founded successful 1977, and much than 20 further institutes that instrumentality a holistic attack to conservation. Her Roots & Shoots programme empowers young radical to make projects that payment animal, quality and biology beingness successful much than 70 countries.

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But beyond these mighty accomplishments, I learned overmuch astir surviving retired my idiosyncratic religion from a agelong speech we had successful March of this year, conscionable months earlier she took her past enactment connected Oct. 1. She was the past of 12 interviews I conducted for my book, "Witness to Belief: Conversations connected Faith and Meaning" (Morehouse, Oct. 7, 2025). 

Whatever your religion tradition— oregon if you person nary — determination is overmuch to summation from Dr. Goodall’s (or, arsenic she asked maine to telephone her, "Dr. Jane") contented astir religion and what it means erstwhile the last enactment comes.

Rev. Dr. Russell Levenson and his caller publication 'Witness to Belief' (Morehouse Publishing)

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Reared arsenic an Anglican, her spirituality was wide and inclusive. Though she embraced God done a Christian lens, she ne'er saw those who came to religion otherwise arsenic immoderate little regarded. "If I’d been calved successful Egypt, I’d beryllium a Muslim and judge successful Allah and truthful on," she told me. Yet Dr. Jane confessed that passim her life, "God was arsenic existent to maine arsenic the upwind that rustled done our garden."

From left, erstwhile House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., histrion Leonardo DiCaprio, and cook Jose Andres, be the ceremonial of conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, astatine the Washington National Cathedral connected Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, successful Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Growing up, Dr. Jane regularly attended worship and, arsenic she said, "I work EVERY section of the Bible," creating a postulation of her favourite verses connected tiny strips of insubstantial she placed successful a "Bible Box." These Scriptures offered regular encouragement and inspiration—among her favorites, Jesus’ admonition to persevere: "He who has erstwhile acceptable his manus to the plough and looketh backmost is not acceptable for the Kingdom of Heaven."

For Dr. Jane, these aboriginal steps of religion launched her vocation. While listening to a Bach portion successful Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral, she experienced what she called a infinitesimal of "mystical ecstasy." 

Guests be an inaugural Mass, with the consecration of the precocious altar, astatine the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, five-and-a-half years aft a occurrence ravaged the Gothic masterpiece, arsenic portion of ceremonies to people the Cathedral's reopening aft its restoration, successful Paris, France, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool Photo via AP)

In her words: "Either we hold with Macbeth that beingness is thing much than a ‘tale told by an idiot’ ... or, arsenic Pierre Teilhard de Chardin suggested, determination is thing going connected successful the beingness that looks precise overmuch similar conception — similar birth." At that moment, she became "utterly convinced that determination was a large spiritual powerfulness that we telephone God." 

For Dr. Jane, "It was a telephone to enactment — the dependable of God, if you will."

British ethologist and primatologist Jane Goodall poses with her mascott "Mister H" during a photograph league connected October 18, 2024, successful Paris. (Photo by JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)

From past on, she drew connected her religion and God’s strength. Quoting the Apostle Paul, she told maine lone months ago, "At this constituent successful my life, I person a precise beardown content successful the One successful whom we unrecorded and determination and person our being. How other could I header with the brainsick docket I person now?"

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Much of her enactment centered connected helping others recognize the request for alternate vigor sources, liable stewardship of the Earth’s resources, and ethical attraction of animals. Her attack — a beingness acquisition for anyone successful 2025 — was this: "When I americium talking with idiosyncratic who believes successful antithetic values, ethics, morals—I person recovered that arguing oregon being assertive does not work. I listen, trying to scope not the caput but the heart. Only erstwhile caput and bosom enactment successful harmony tin we execute our existent quality potential."

Jane Goodall appears successful the tv peculiar "Miss Goodall and the World of Chimpanzees" primitively broadcast connected CBS, Wednesday, December 22, 1965. Location, Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania.  (Getty Images)

These are among the beingness lessons I learned from Dr. Jane. But possibly the astir invaluable acquisition was what she taught maine astir death. "I person ne'er been acrophobic of decease itself," she said. "Because I bash not judge decease is the end. It is, perhaps, much similar the beginning. When you die, determination is either nothing, oregon determination is something. I bash [believe]. My adjacent large escapade is dying, and uncovering retired what that is volition beryllium the astir breathtaking escapade ever!"

Jane Goodall, English primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist, with a chimpanzee successful her arms, c. 1995. (Photo by Apic/Getty Images)

For some, Dr. Jane Goodall’s beingness and bequest whitethorn 1 time beryllium conscionable a section successful past — but that is not what she believed. 

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Just weeks earlier her death, Dr. Jane wrote my woman and maine a little note, ending with these words: "These whitethorn beryllium acheronian times, but determination is 1 happening we tin do—pray! To the Great Spiritual Force of the Universe, whom we cognize to beryllium God."

In a clip specified arsenic ours, it is her religion that should animate america each to live, arsenic she did, until the past enactment comes—making the satellite not darker, but lighter. And then, erstwhile the extremity comes, to look it without fearfulness but with large expectation: that the top escapade is the past one.

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