February 15, 2002
Mary Evelyn Tucker & John Grim of Bucknell University, series editors of the Harvard University Press series, Religions of the World and Ecology
The Religions of the World and Ecolog series is being published by Harvard University Press; more information on these books can be found at: www.hds.harvard.edu/cswr/ecology.
This book series includes: Buddhism and Ecology, Confucianism and Ecology, Shinto and Ecology, Hinduism and Ecology, Indigenous Traditions and Ecology, Judaism and Ecology, Christianity and Ecology, Islam and Ecology, Daoism and Ecology, Jainism and Ecology, and Cosmology of Religions (some of which are already published and some of which are forthcoming), and comes from a series of conferences held at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard. This conference series brought together over 800 scholars to work on these issues. The series, and the subsequent work of Tucker and Grim on world religions and ecology, was inspired by the work of Thomas Berry.
Premise and Background of the Project
The basic premise of the project comes from the realization that we are in the midst of what some call the 6th extinction period; we are in the midst of an ecological crisis. As religious scholars, Tucker and Grim began to wonder how religions might respond to the current ecological crisis. Religions give rise to ethics when it comes to dealing with homicide and genocide, but none when it comes to bio-cide or eco-cide. What are the different religious communities around the globe doing to halt the destruction of our planet? From where should an earth ethic arise? Considering that the majority of the world's population is religious, it seems that our religious traditions would be a good place to start when trying to construct ethics for living with the earth.In the early 1990's two important statements came out that also gave charge to the world religions and ecology project. One was a document drafted by members of the religious and scientific community regarding the state of the earth; the other was a document by the Union of Concerned Scientists, "Warning to Humanity," that basically said we (humans) have a limited amount of time to change before it is to late for us (and many other extant species). These two statements underscore the importance of collaboration on the issues that surround the current period of ecological degradation.
The project was started as a collaborative effort between scholars and activists. Many scholars came from all over the world at their own expenses to be a part of these conferences because the conferences gave new meaning to their work. There was a lot of effort on the part of the organizers to identify those scholars who could draw lines between historical religious scholarship and contemporary issues. Likewise, the project was a catalyst for a massive amount of inter-/ multi-religious scholarship on ecological issues. The fact that many religions were present and secular scholars were present as well led to a realization during the project: the religious community is late to the issue and can't change the world on their own. Thus, dialogue between religions and disciplines became central to the project. The project has then become a model of how multi-religious / multi-disciplinary reflection on issues can bring about new thinking and change.
As well as building bridges between disciplines and religions, and bridging the gap between advocacy and scholarship, this project uncovered some religion-specific issues, problems, and solutions when bringing religious resources to bear on the current ecological crisis. Some examples follow.
Indigenous Traditions and Ecology
The major issues that surfaced in this conference were:
1. The current pressures on indigenous peoples due to ecological degradation. These are the peoples that most feel the effects of environmental degradation.
2. The very use of the terms "indigenous" and "tradition." Some "indigenous" peoples don't consider themselves as having a "religious tradition" that is distinct from their way of life. Likewise, what exactly does the term "indigenous" imply?
3. The use of the word "sacred" in political and global discourse in relationship to places, land, and the earth. Many things are implied in these indigenous ways of life when the word sacred is used. It not only refers to place, but the narratives, kinship, and cosmologies associated with that place. These things are not separated out. Another example of the problem with the term "sacred" in relation to place is that the Park Service wants to map many American Indian sacred sites, but in some of these "traditions" it is a violation of that tradition to reveal the hidden location of these sites. How can we, on a public policy level, move pass these types of impasses?Abrahamic Traditions
The narrative scriptures are very formative to these traditions, so the focus of these conferences was more on what the sacred texts have to say about the relationship between the given tradition and the earth.Christianity
In Christianity, the person of Jesus is obviously very important. How Jesus' life and teaching has relevance for the current ecological crisis was thus an important topic. There was a lot of talk about incarnational and sacramental theologies in this conference. Also, there was a lot of discussion about economics and anthropology.Judaism
In Judaism the texts were very important, especially the Torah. There was a lot of discussion about covenant in this conference.Islam
Trust, stewardship, and vice-regency were important ideas. Islamic law was very important as well: laws about property, inheritance, what ought to be set aside for common use, and what ought to be set aside as sacred.Buddhism
The normative scriptures of this tradition were important, but not as important as they were in the Abrahamic traditions. The most important topics in this conference were:
1. Interdependent origination / dependent co-arising
2. Compassion
3. Engaged Buddhism (ordination of Trees, Mountains as stupas, etc.)Confucianism
Again, the classic writings were important here, but not as important as in the Abrhamic traditions. Most important here was the cosmological imbededness of all life: eg. The relation of a person to an other, to family, to society, to the world, and to the cosmos.Daoism
The philosophical texts associated with this tradition were not heavily emphasized. The largest amount of discussion took place around the relationship between the inner-landscape (small self) and the outer-landscape (large self).So, as you can see, each tradition had different ways of approaching the ecological crisis from within that tradition. Likewise, important and different foundations for and principles of an earth ethic arose out of the different conferences. There are three major areas in which the religion and ecology dialogue is very important: a) cosmological context, b) constructing ethical systems, and c) as a catalyst for institutional change.
Other Activities Sponsored by the Forum
You can keep up with the Forum on Religion and Ecology by visiting their website: http://environment.harvard.edu/religion. There is a conference in the works centering on Engaged Buddhism and Ecology.
E Magazine will have an issue on World Religions and Ecology in fall of 2002.
The Fall 2001 issue of Daedalus was on the World Religions and Ecology (www.amacad.org/publications/daedalus.htm)
The forum has also started working with high school teachers on teaching "religion and ecology."
Finally, Tucker and Grim discussed things other organizations were doing in the area of "religion and ecology" such as the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, the National Council of Churches "Climate Change Campaign", California Interfaith Power and Light, Earth Ministry, Theological Education to Meet the Environmental Challenge, the statement on the Columbia River by the US Catholic Bishops, and a project in Zimbabwe between the Shona tribe and the Dutch Reformed church which plants over a million trees a year and focuses on planting trees as a form of Eucharist and thanksgiving.
Whitney A. Bauman
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