teaching & learning guide for: religious environmentalism in the west

Teaching & Learning Guide for: ReligiousEnvironmentalism in the West

Steven DouglasForum On Religion & Ecology, Monash University

This guide accompanies the following article(s): Religious Environmentalism in the West I: a Focus on Christianity, Religion Compass 3 ⁄ 4 (2009)pp. 717–737, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00161.xReligious Environmentalism in the West. II: Impediments to the Praxis of Christian Environmentalism in Australia, Religion Compass 3 ⁄ 4 (2009)pp. 738–751, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00162.x

Author’s Introduction

Religious environmentalism (also termed, amongst others, ‘religion and ecology’) is agrowing field of academic study that encompasses disciplines such as ecological theology,ecopsychology, environmental education, political science, environmental sociology andapplied ecology. This field of research is of particular political significance as it is arguedthat the rise of religious environmentalism in the West has been and continues to be afactor in promoting an alliance of socially conservative religion and socially progressiveenvironmentalism. Growing concern about climate change is a factor in the rise ofreligious environmentalism, in part because the impacts of climate change are seen to besignificant for people as well as non-human Nature. Religious groups who have longbeen concerned with human welfare, often to the exclusion of any form of environmen-talism, are increasingly seeing that human welfare and ecological well-being are inextrica-bly linked. Similarly, secular environmentalists and scientists are acknowledging thepotentially powerful role that religion and spirituality can play in changing human behav-iours for the better.

Author Recommends

The following recommended works are specific to Christian environmentalism.

1. Hessel, D.T. and Ruether, R.R. (eds.), (2000). Christianity and Ecology: Seeking theWell-Being of Earth and Humans. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press ⁄Centrefor the Study of World Religions.

This is a large volume of work written by a range of authors. It is a core resource in the field ofChristian environmentalism, and provides good coverage of this broad field.

2. Habel, N. (2000). Introducing the Earth Bible. In: N. Habel (ed.), Readings from thePerspective of Earth (Earth Bible Vol. 1), pp. 1–25. Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press.

The Earth Bible is a series of theological texts that amount to an ecologically oriented reinter-pretation of biblical texts.

Religion Compass Teaching & Learning Guide, Religion Compass 4/5 (2010): 334–339, 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2010.00213.x

ª 2010 The AuthorJournal Compilation ª 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

3. Kearns, L. (1996). ‘Saving the creation: Christian environmentalism in the United States’,Sociology of Religion, 57(1), pp. 55–59. http://users.drew.edu/lkearns/creation.pdf

Whilst written in a USA context, this relatively short work (which is freely available on-line)provides a classification of religious environmentalism that is useful more widely. It providessome particularly useful background information to important works and events in the devel-opment of Christian environmentalism.

4. McDonagh, S. (1990). The Greening of the Church. Quezon City: Claretian Publica-tions.

This is a potent earlier work on religious environmentalism in the Catholic Church. Theauthor, himself a Catholic, points out the many contradictions and deficiencies in theVatican’s then environmental policies and proclamations, including a failure to deal withthe issue of human population growth. This publication is a powerful insight into thedevelopment of institutional Catholic Church environmentalism. It even addresses theanti-environmentalist views of then Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, whohas since promoted a ‘greener’ view.

5. McFarland Taylor, S. (2007). Green Sisters: A Spiritual Ecology. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press.

This text and associated articles in the journals ‘Worldviews’ and ‘Ecotheology’ exploresthe growing movement of environmentally activist Roman Catholic nuns in NorthAmerica and the implications of this movement for theorising new directions in religionand culture.

6. Northcott, M.S. (1996). The Environment and Christian Ethics. Cambridge UK: Cam-bridge University Press.

The author argues that the ‘natural tradition law’ within Christianity ‘provides significantresources for an ethical response to the environmental crisis of modern civilisation, butonly if the humanocentric revision of this tradition by Finnis, Grisez and the Vatican isrejected in favour of an ecologically informed reappropriation of the pre-Enlightenmentnatural law tradition, focused as it was not just on human life and human moral goodsbut on the moral significance and moral goods of the natural created order’ p137.

7. Palmer, M. (1992). Dancing to Armageddon. London: Aquarian ⁄Thorsons.

An important text dealing with the history of Christianity in relation to environmentalthought, differences between Western and Eastern Christianity, and the fact that otherfaiths are linked to environmental harm i.e. Christianity is not solely or even primarily toblame. Palmer explores some of the ecologically problematic aspects of Christianity, capi-talism and Western culture. He recognises that ultimately the ecological and social crisesare crises of the mind.

8. Scharper, S.B. (1997). Redeeming the Time: A Political Theology of the Environment.New York: Continuum.

An incisive, original and deep investigation into Christianity in the context of the ecolog-ical crisis. The author writes: ‘Political theology maintains that this new human-nonhu-man relationship is fundamentally moral, not simply biological, and acknowledges, like

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process theology, a primal interrelationship between the human and nonhuman realms’p189. The text is readily understood and provides some excellent background to some ofthe core philosophical and theological issues associated with Christian environmentalism.

9. Berry, T. (1988). The Dream of the Earth. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

An earlier work important in understanding the ‘Creation spirituality’ view within Chris-tian environmentalism.

10. Boff, L. (1997). Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor. New York: Orbis Books.

An important text in the context of the development of the ‘eco-justice’ paradigmthat links Christian concern for social justice to the more recent concern forecological justice.

Online Materials

1. http://fore.research.yale.edu/index.html

This is the website of the Forum On Religion & Ecology (FORE) originally based inHarvard, now at Yale University in the USA. This large and multifaceted website pro-vides a wealth of information to researchers in the field of religious environmentalism.Whilst it provides an abundance of information relating to Christianity, it also deals withother traditions. It is US-centric but is not US-exclusive. Resources include bibliogra-phies and lists of ⁄ links to engaged projects operated by various individual, ecumenical andmultifaith groups. A Canadian chapter of FORE has also been established (http://www.cfore.ca/) and there is a similar entity in Europe (http://www.hf.ntnu.no/relna-teur/). A FORE will be established at Monash University (http://www.monash.edu.au/)in Australian during 2010.

2. http://www.arcworld.org/

This is the website of the Alliance of Religions & Conservation (ARC), a group foundedin 1986 by WWF International through its then President, Prince Phillip of the UK.ARC was a pioneering endeavour in the field of religious environmentalism, and is par-ticularly significant given its multifaith basis and its focus on ecological outcomes. ARCcontinues to grow, including several faith traditions beyond its founding five. The web-site is updated regularly and contains news and a wide range of resources for researchers.

3. http://www.religionandnature.com/society/index.htm

The International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture is aprofessional association of particular relevance to researchers in the field of religiousenvironmentalism. The Society holds international conferences and produces a peer-reviewed journal.

4. http://www.ecocongregation.org/

Eco-Congregation developed from a partnership between a UK Government-fundedenvironmental charity and the Environmental Issues Network of Churches Together

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in Britain and Ireland. It aims to encourage churches to consider environmental issuesand to enable local churches to make positive contributions in their life and mission.The project now encompasses the whole of the UK and Canada. Aspects of theproject, particularly its environmental audit process for churches, are also in use inAustralia.

5. http://creationcare.org/

This is the website of the Evangelical Environment Network (EEN) based in the USA.EEN operated the What Would Jesus Drive website and associated project aimed atdiscouraging the widespread use of large and inefficient motor vehicles in the USA. EENalso publishes Creation Care magazine. EEN’s website contains, amongst other things,programs with a strong practical focus intended to reduce the ecological footprint of indi-viduals and churches. EEN is a significant factor in what has been termed the rise of the‘religious left’ in US politics.

Sample Syllabus

This sample syllabus includes readings appropriate to both general-level courses as indi-cated by A, and advanced courses as indicated by B. Advanced students should read con-tent listed for A and B.

Week 1. Introducing environmentalism

A Nash, R.F. (1990). The Rights of Nature: A History of Environmental Ethics. Leichhardt,NSW: Primavera Press. Chapters 1–3B Hay, P.R. (2002). Main Currents in Western Environmental Thought. Sydney: Universityof New South Wales Press. Chapters 1–2

Week 2. Introducing religious environmentalism

A Nash 1990, Chapter 4B Gottlieb, R.S. (2006). A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and Our Planet’sFuture. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapters 1–4

Week 3. Christian environmentalism in the West

A Hessel, D.T. and Ruether, R.R. (2000). Introduction: Current thought onChristianity and ecology. In: D. T. Hessel and R. R. Ruether (eds.), Christianity andEcology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans, pp. xxxiii–xlvii. Cambridge, MA,Harvard University Press ⁄CSWRGottlieb, R.S. (2006). A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and Our Planet’s Future.Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 7.Douglas, S.M. (2009). ‘Religious environmentalism in the West I: a focus on Christian-ity’, Religion Compass, 3(4), pp. 717–737.

B Kearns, L. (1996). ‘Saving the creation: Christian environmentalism in the UnitedStates’, Sociology of Religion, 57(1), pp. 55–59.Grizzle, R.E. and Barrett, C.B. (2003). ‘The one body of Christian environmentalism’,Zygon, 33(3), pp. 233–253.



Harper, C. (2008). ‘Religion and environmentalism’, Journal of Religion & Society, Supple-ment Series, 3, pp. 5–26.

Week 4. Christianity: ecological sinner or saviour?

A White L. Jr., (1967). ‘The historical roots of our ecologic crisis’, Science, 155 (3767),pp. 1203–1207B Nasr, S.H. (1996). Religion and the Order of Nature. New York & Oxford: Oxford Uni-versity Press. Chapter 6

Week 5. The ‘greening’ of the Church

A McDonagh, S. (1990). The Greening of the Church, Quezon City: Claretian Publications.Pages 175–198B McFarland Taylor, S. (2002). ‘Reinhabiting religion: green sisters, ecological renewal,and the biogeography of religious landscape’, Worldviews: Environment, Culture, Religion,6(3), pp. 227–252Mische, P.M. (2000). The integrity of Creation: challenges and opportunities for praxis.In: D. T. Hessel and R. R. Ruether (eds.), Christianity & Ecology, Cambridge MA, Har-vard University Press, pp. 591–602.Gottlieb, R.S. (2006). A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and Our Planet’s Future.Oxford, Oxford University Press. Chapter 8.Douglas, S.M. (2009). ‘Religious environmentalism in the West II: impediments to thepraxis of Christian environmentalism in Australia’, Religion Compass, 3(4), pp. 738–751.

Focus Questions

1. Many publications dealing with Christianity’s relationship with Nature mention theinfluential speech and journal article by historian, Lyn White Jr., in the late 1960’s.White was widely interpreted as condemning Christianity as the source of attitudesand behaviours that caused the modern ecological crisis. Read White’s 1967 articleand discuss your perspective on White’s argument.

2. Christian religious texts originate in the Middle East and precede the knowledge ofmodern ecology and of a global ecological crisis. Can a text-based Christian environ-mentalism make a significant and positive contribution to mitigating or even solvingmodern ecological problems? For example, what do Christian texts have to ‘say’ aboutthe premature extinction of species in Amazonian rainforest or Australian rangelands,about global warming and ozone layer depletion?

3. A theme within Christian environmentalism is that of ecofeminism, for example, theworks of Sally McFague and Rosemary Radford Ruether. Christianity has been criti-cised for its anthropocentrism and its patriarchal orientation. Ecofeminism argues thatfor Christianity to adopt an ecologically sound agenda, it must simultaneously overturnits privileging of the male; a factor seen as being linked to the abuse of Nature ⁄Crea-tion, which is seen as having a feminine character (i.e. Mother Earth, Mother Natureetc.). Can Christianity adapt to both of these challenges and remain authentic, orwould it no longer be Christianity? How far and in what ways can religion changebefore it becomes arguably a different religion?

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4. Some views within Christianity argue that environmentalism is not only pointless butsacrilege – that it gets in the way of God’s plan. This view is based on a fatalistic read-ing of Revelations in which Earth or at least its surface is to be destroyed by God tocleanse it of sin and sinners (who will be sent to Hell). The ‘new Earth’ is remade as alatter day Eden, to be occupied only by the devout. Contrasting this view is thatwhich sees that the destruction forecast in Revelations is not inevitable – that ifhumans act with Creation ⁄Nature rather than against it (and against God), Eden maybe remade through ecological care and restoration. Compare the ‘environmentalism ispointless’ perspective to the ‘environmentalism is a Christian duty’ view based on theirinterpretations of biblical text, and discuss their implications.

5. Examine the role that knowledge of and concern about the effects of global climatechange has had and is having on the development of Christian environmentalism?What are the trends in Western Christian responses to climate change?

Seminar Activity

Divide the class into three groups representing the three forms of Christian environmen-talism recognised by Kearns (1996): i.e. Stewardship, Eco-justice, and Creation Spiritual-ity. Each group is given Kearns’ description of these forms. The groups should familiarisethemselves with the perspectives held by these approaches to Christian environmentalism.Each group will then present the perspective of its particular form of environmentalismin relation to the following topics:

1. ‘All of Creation is potentially available for human use, as long as such use is ‘wise’ andin accordance with Christian principles’;

2. ‘Secular environmentalists miss the point because it is only by resolving issues of globalhuman poverty, that we can hope to resolve the ecological crisis’;

3. ‘Humans are only of importance to God to the extent that they don’t, individuallyand collectively, destroy the Creation of which they are merely a part’.



teaching & learning guide for: religious environmentalism in the west

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