Seven Key Areas
3. Wisdom
Many faiths – and indeed many secular organisations as well – recognise that the environmental crisis is a spiritual issue, an external sign of deep malaise. Therefore its solution can only be found through exploring the root causes of this degradation; in particular, in fostering an ethos or an atmosphere of compassion and care for the natural world. While many wish to legislate our way out of these crises, the faiths wish to guide, not with ethics and codes but by example and mindfulness, care and companionship, rooted in their experience down the centuries and millennia.
The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness. It affords protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axe-man who destroys it
Gautama Buddha
Passing on wisdom and knowledge
Theological foundations for environmental action and care have been around, in every major faith, for a long time. Environmental issues are now high on the public agenda in many countries. Yet many faiths must ask themselves why environmentalism is still a relatively marginal concern in their thought and practice. In addition, all faiths have a tradition of care for those who are going through suffering or crisis, and they have tried and tested ways of teaching their future leaders to pass on the wisdom of the ages, adapted to the requirements of the present day. Wisdom is multi-generational, something to be shared among all ages. The passing on of wisdom and knowledge to the next generation is key to the success of any environmental movement.
Questions to consider as you develop your Faith Plan
The guide below provides prompts and pointers to consider when exploring the wisdom of your faith tradition. You can also download a copy of the questions to work offline.
TRAINING
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How do you train your religious teachers and future religious leaders on environmental issues?
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Have you based your training programmes on the theology, beliefs and values your faith holds?
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If not, how could the training curriculum for faith leaders address our relationship with nature? Can they be equipped to support efforts to protect nature?
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Have you considered making your training accessible members of your community as and when it is appropriate?
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Have you considered how training courses may be funded when this is required?
CRISIS and ADAPTATION
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What is the role of crisis in your theology and how have you dealt with crises in the past? How does your faith respond to our ecological crisis today?
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What strategies or tools from your experience could you apply to responding to climate change and threats to biodiversity?
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Have you created a plan for your faith to care for those affected by climate change or environmental catastrophe, so that in case of flood, or famine or typhoon, you are as prepared?
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How will you care for marginalised groups in society when a crisis occurs? Have you considered the impact of religion, race, gender, age, etc?
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Have you assessed the trajectory of a potential crisis in the long term and what kind of adaptation may be needed in the future?
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Have you consulted the science regarding environmental adaptation and climate solutions to ensure your plans are best suited to your local environment or context?
LITURGIES, SCRIPTURES
and PRAYER
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Can your liturgies, study of scriptures, services and orders of prayer and practice be developed in line with your theology to include not only your tradition of caring for the natural world but also your values of treading lightly on the earth and judging people by how they behave, not by what they own?
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Do you have existing prayers, meditations, and liturgies that are specific to the environment and nature? Are these used or practised regularly?
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How you could better integrate nature and creation into prayer and meditation?
SACRED PLACES
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What role have your sacred places played in helping preserve habitats for wildlife? Eg, churchyards are often vital eco-systems in urban areas; sacred mountains are sanctuaries for endangered animals; and holy water sources – wells, streams and lakes – can be a refuge for creatures whose habitats have been destroyed or polluted.
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Why are these spaces sacred and what does your theology say about the sacred nature of the place?
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Are you the main stakeholder within the sacred space? Who are the other stakeholders and what is their interest in the space?
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Have the sacred spaces been mapped and assessed for monitoring?
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Is there potential to involve the public or your wider community in the protection and maintenance of the space?
PRAYER and MEDITATION
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Many people within many religions have occasions to pray or meditate for something to change, and occasions to be grateful for what they have. Can gratitude for, or mindfulness of, the abundant gifts of nature, and, for example, all the work involved in creating your food, play a greater part in your practice?
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Can you introduce into your regular worship and practice prayers for a better, more harmonious world; for human beings to find solutions to those problems they can change, and to accept those problems they cannot?
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Have you considered where to pray or meditate? Could times of dedicated prayer and meditation be held outside in nature or areas related to what you are praying for?
STORIES and PRACTICES
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Are there any stories or traditional practices, now no longer used, that highlight how your tradition has always cared for creation and the natural environment? Can these be revived?
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How will you tell these stories, and what is the audience you are trying to reach and inspire?
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Does your faith have prohibitions about what to eat and what to hunt, and can those practices be applied to any pointless waste of resources?
Supporting US church leaders in carrying out their divine responsibility to the Earth
Center for Earth Ethics
The US-based Center for Earth Ethics (CEE) is a non-profit Christian organisation working towards a vision of the world where value is measured by the sustained well-being of people and planet. Its work is carried out through four main programmes, centred on an understanding that systematic changes are needed in both policy and culture.
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Eco-Ministry
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Environmental Justice and Civic Engagement
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Original Caretakers
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Sustainability and Global Affairs
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In April 2021, CEE, along with the Climate Reality Project, hosted an online programme of Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training. The training offered expert guidance on three topics: stopping fossil fuel expansion, accelerating climate solutions, and driving federal climate action in the US.
Rev. Darin Lamar Jones, director of operations at CEE, said “The reason we should involve ourselves in ethical action is because we have a divine responsibility and role in allowing the world to engage in the harmony originally envisioned by God.”
CASE STUDY
'We have a divine responsibility and role in allowing the world to engage in the harmony originally envisioned by God' – Rev Darin Lamar Jones
