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Environmental activist Gopal D. Patel thinks the climate movement could learn a lot from one of the longest-standing social initiatives in human history: religion. Exploring three areas where frameworks from faith traditions could benefit the climate movement, Patel offers a playbook for discovering your big idea to build momentum towards powerful social change.
A multi-faith panel of leaders introduce us to the jewels of their tradition’s teachings on care for the earth. Panelists include: - Dr. Prasad Bastodkar, Hindu Society of Minnesota; Payton Hoegh, Episcopal Los Angeles and Center for Spirituality in Nature; Rabbi Ricky Kamil Temple Israel, Minneapolis and Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative; Rev. Onryu Laura Kennedy, Buddhist priest/teacher.
A public conversation with environmentalist, writer, and activist Bill McKibben. McKibben is interviewed by YDS student Tyler Mark Nelson '24 M.Div., followed by questions from those gathered.
The Passionist Earth & Spirit Center has partnered with Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Louisville, KY to capture stories surrounding our connection to nature in the midst of the climate crisis. Why should we care about climate change and where can we find hope? Through reflecting upon such questions, we are drawn to a greater appreciation for the natural world as we consider what individual steps we might take to ensure future generations can live on a healthy planet for years to come.
Environmentalist, academic, and author Bill McKibben engaged with Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-founder of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology on the topic of the “Climate Emergency”. This conversation took place at Sanders Theater in Cambridge, MA during the 50th reunion of the Harvard/Radcliffe class of 1971. This was the first of three reunion programs on the topic of climate change, the area of concern that 81% of the class members said was a “very big problem”. All told, twelve HR ‘ 71 classmates presented work their organizations are doing to address climate change. The objective of these presentations was to make known the actions classmates have undertaken so that significant, future HR ’71 collaborations might develop.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher. Visit the CFR website: http://www.cfr.org
Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy, and professor at Texas Tech University, shares her expertise and thoughts about “Faith and Hope as the Climate Changes.” This event was hosted in collaboration with Mormon Environmental Stewardship Alliance, LDS Earth Stewardship, and the LDS Action Team of Citizens' Climate Lobby.
Join Uri L'Tzedek and Rabbi Yonatan Neril for a Zoom webinar. A few weeks before the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, Rabbi Yonatan Neril explores Jewish teachings that relate to climate change and why it’s so critical that Jewish communities mobilize to address the climate crisis.
This week’s episode of Spotlights is a clip from our full episode with Dr. Todd LeVasseur, visiting assistant professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. We discuss the importance of integrating activism into academia in order to facilitate viable responses to the climate emergency. We reflect on this issue for academia in general and for the academic field and activist force of religion and ecology in particular.. You can learn more about his work here: https://toddlevasseur.wordpress.com You can watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/LAn0KBt2mH4.
Posted 09/13/2021
This week’s episode of Spotlights is a clip from our full episode with Dr. Todd LeVasseur, visiting assistant professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Reflecting on his new book, Climate Change, Religion, and our Bodily Future, he discusses the profound importance of religious studies and academia getting climate change right. You can learn more about his work here: You can watch the full episode here.
Posted 09/06/2021
Squamish Nation Councillor and community leader Khelsilem joins Am Johal on this first episode of Below the Radar’s Climate Justice & Inequality series. In this episode, they discuss the climate crisis as a result of the colonial project, how climate change hits hardest for those already at a disadvantage, and the spaces where colonialism has existed within climate movements. Khelsilem speaks to his critique of fossil fuel infrastructure, the false narrative of individual responsibility, and the role governments play in worsening the crisis through policy decisions that favour oil and gas. We also hear about innovative affordable housing projects, such as Squamish Nation’s Sen̓áḵw Development, and how to build climate-friendly design into new housing models. This podcast was released August 31, 2021. Follow link and scroll down the page to listen to podcast.
This week’s episode of Spotlights features Dr. Todd LeVasseur, visiting assistant professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, where he is also the director of the Sustainability Literacy Institute. We discuss his recently published book, Climate Change, Religion, and our Bodily Future (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021), including topics related to posthumanism, queer ecologies, ecological animisms, indigenous knowledges, material feminisms, deep adaptation, and more. We also discuss “A (Tough) Love Letter to Religious Studies,” which he wrote for Religion Dispatches in February 2021. You can learn more about his work here. You can learn more about the book at the publisher’s website. You can find his Religion Dispatches piece here.
Posted 08/30/2021
This 20 minute interview with Joanna Macy will help answer an essential question: How are we going to live our lives fully, with inner peace and courage (and even joy) as we confront a world that is destroying itself?
This week's episode is a remix of previous interviews with guests who have written books that explore religious perspectives on climate change. First, we hear from Andreas Karelas, executive director of RE-volv — a nonprofit organization that empowers communities to invest in solar energy — and author of Climate Courage: How Tackling Climate Change Can Build Community, Transform the Economy, and Bridge the Political Divide in America (Beacon Press, 2020). The next guest is David Haberman, Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington, and author of Understanding Climate Change Through Religious Lifeworlds (Indiana University Press, 2021). Third, we hear from Robin Globus Veldman, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Texas A&M University, and author of The Gospel of Climate Skepticism: Why Evangelical Christians Oppose Action on Climate Change (UC Press, 2019).
Links to each guest's full episode:
Andreas Karelas: https://youtu.be/I0e-xIzWKW0
David Haberman: https://youtu.be/xnonKkOL6go
Robin Veldman: https://youtu.be/0FDglcseT5Y
More information on religion and climate change is available at the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology website: https://fore.yale.edu/Climate-Emergency
Posted 08/02/2021
This week's episode of Spotlights features David Haberman, PhD, Professor and former Chair in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. We discuss his wide-ranging work in the field of religion and ecology, with particular attention to his newly released anthology on religion and climate change, Understanding Climate Change Through Religious Lifeworlds (Indiana University Press, 2021). This is the first part of a two-part episode. In part two, we discuss his research into the worship of stones, rivers, and trees in northern India. You can find more information about his work here: https://religiousstudies.indiana.edu/…More information about the book is available on the publisher's website: https://iupress.org/9780253056047/und….
Posted 05/24/2021
This week's episode of the Forum on Religion and Ecology podcast is the second part of a two-part interview with Robin Globus Veldman, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Texas A&M University, and an Associate Editor for the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture. She discusses more about her book on Evangelical Christian perspectives on climate change, The Gospel of Climate Skepticism: Why Evangelical Christians Oppose Action on Climate Change (UC Press, 2019). You can find more information about her work here: https://robingveldman.wixsite.com/mysite More information about her book is available on the publisher's website: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/97805203…
This episode was posted 05/17/2021.
The question around disasters is not if a disaster will happen here but when—especially as we see climate change increasing the severity and frequency of severe weather events. When disasters occur, congregations can offer vital care and resources for their members and wider communities. Advance preparation and planning can position churches to respond well. As we enter another season of climate-driven disasters, it is time to step back and ask: How can our congregations be hubs of climate resilience, helping our communities weather the spiritual and physical storms of the climate crisis? In this workshop, participants will learn about the domestic and global context of climate disasters, get connected with resources for disaster response and recovery, and engage in conversations and activities for developing context-specific disaster preparedness and response plans.
This week's episode of the Forum on Religion and Ecology podcast features Robin Globus Veldman, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Texas A&M University, and an Associate Editor for the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture. She discusses her work at the intersection of religion, culture, and climate change, including the research that went into her book, The Gospel of Climate Skepticism: Why Evangelical Christians Oppose Action on Climate Change (UC Press, 2019). This is the first part of a two-part interview. You can find more information about her work here: https://robingveldman.wixsite.com/mysite More information about her book is available on the publisher's website: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/97805203…
This episode was posted 05/10/2021.
As we are called to activate our faith communities to bolder climate action, what do we do right now? We must continue talking about climate change as a moral, justice and faith issue in pulpits, educational programming, and in our communities, but we must do more. Faith traditions are deploying powerful new programs and resources and building networks to achieve climate solutions at the local, state and federal level. Hear about these new and innovative efforts to not only activate those already concerned about climate, but to reach others and build a broader base for faithful climate action and advocacy.
Faith leaders of various traditions speak together about how they are mobilizing their communities toward action in the face of planetary crisis.
The Environmental Justice Symposium 2021 is happy to present John Paul Jose. Kerala-born John Paul Jose’s journey with environmental activism began when he joined a protest against the Yettinahole project around five years ago. Later, in 2018, John set out to discover what steps India’s politicians were taking to address the climate crisis, as one of the Fridays For Future youth leaders in India. Now 22, he is still a passionate activist, criticising climate action (and the lack of it) from an Indian viewpoint, and especially how global warming affects India’s forests and ecosystems.
Climate change is already impacting the mental health of communities nationwide, including the disproportionate impacts of fence line and frontline communities, and youth who are reporting climate anxiety at alarming rates. The faith sector can help. Learn how clergy, lay leaders, and faith communities can build personal AND community resilience in the face of climate change, guidance from mental health experts, and how you can serve your neighbor accordingly. This episode includes the latest resources on mental health and resilience and an open Q&A with mental health experts.
How can religion be used to fight against Climate change? This declaration gives direction to the Jains to change their lifestyles in order to live sustainably. Guest speakers: Dr. J. Jina Shah and Sudhanshu Jain.
In this podcast episode, Rainn Wilson talks about climate change and issues relating to the environment with Arthur Dahl, Christine Muller, and Afsaneh Angelina Rafii. These three Baha'is have been passionately involved in environmentalism in some way, shape, or form, and discuss a range of issues relating to the environment including both practical, and spiritual themes that need to be addressed.
This week’s episode features Andreas Karelas, executive director of RE-volv– a nonprofit organization that empowers communities to invest in solar energy–and author of the new book, Climate Courage: How Tackling Climate Change Can Build Community, Transform the Economy, and Bridge the Political Divide in America (Beacon Press, 2020). Andreas discusses community-oriented solutions to climate change, including the role of wisdom traditions, faith communities, and virtues of courage, simplicity, and gratitude. You can find more information about RE-volve here: https://re-volv.org/
Details about the book Climate Courage can be found here: https://climatecourage.us
Posted 11/16/2020
In this conversation, McKibben and Berkley Center Senior Fellow Paul Elie discussed McKibben’s recent book Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? (2019). They also brought into the conversation his 2005 classic Wandering Home: A Long Walk Across America’s Most Hopeful Landscape (which is read by Elie’s first-year students in Georgetown College); the effects and prospects of Pope Francis’s encyclical letter Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home; and current climate developments –some of them alarming, others reasons for hope. Georgetown President John J. DeGioia introduced the conversation.
FORUM2020 & the Global Interfaith Prayer Service for the Earth were held on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Temple of Understanding. World religious and spiritual visionaries, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and youth environmental activists came together to address the urgency of the climate crisis with strategies for inspired collective action. Over forty international speakers offered their wisdom and perspectives through keynote addresses, diverse panels, inspiring prayers and sacred music.
To view video, please follow this link.
Rabbi Ellen Bernstein, founder of the first national Jewish environmental organization (Shomrei Adamah), discusses her career of thinking about Judaism, the Bible, and ecology. This interview is conducted as part of Temple of Understanding’s Ecojustice for All interview series, which features perspectives on the climate emergency from international movers and shakers.
This video is part of the FEZANA Talks series, in which the Zoroastrian community engages with diverse issues across the diaspora. It particularly highlights conversations from the World Zoroastrian Youth Conference in 2019, as four young Zoroastrians discuss the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change interact. Their talks are followed by an open discussion with the listeners.
Mary Evelyn Tucker, senior lecturer, senior research scholar, and codirector of the Forum of Religion and Ecology at Yale University discusses religion and climate change. Presider: Irina A. Faskianos, Vice President for National Program and Outreach, Council on Foreign Relations.
Peer-reviewed science offers a clear consensus: that climate change, caused by humans, is an existential threat, and the defining issue of our time. How can the Jewish community–from JCRCs to synagogues to national agencies–step up to meet this challenge? In this session, top Jewish and interfaith experts offer concrete suggestions on why, how, and with whom to prioritize climate change as a core Jewish communal concern. They discuss the coalitional value of Jewish visibility, especially around environmental justice; the multi-faith promise of a growing response, linking Jewish communities deeply with our Christian, Muslim, and other counterparts; and the intergenerational urgency of staying relevant, as young people around the world lead the charge to address the climate crisis. Moderator: Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) Speakers: Cassandra Carmichael, National Religious Partnership for the Environment(NRPE); Nigel Savage, Hazon; Joelle Novey, Interfaith Power and Light for MD-DC-NoVA
“Real climate solutions are rooted in a return to the land - a return to and of the land - and are rooted in decolonization,” says Eriel Deranger, Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action (ICA) and member of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. ICA is a network of Indigenous peoples framing the ideas and actions regarding climate change in traditional knowledge and community-based solutions. These grassroots actions, Eriel explains, will support the transition to renewable energy while also ensuring social and environmental justice by maintaining and strengthening Indigenous peoples’ connections to language, land and culture. This video was posted 07/03/2019.
Panelists Hanoz Santoke, Farzad Sunavala, and Reanna Unwalla give a thirty minute presentation on how Zoroastrian values relate to what their generation can and should do to address climate change. Drawing on values such as purity and good deeds and Zoroastrian sacred texts such as the creation story, the panelists provide the audience with religious resources and practical ways they can live more sustainably. This panel is followed by a free-flowing discussion with the audience.
With Ken Kimmell, Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Mary Evelyn Tucker This session investigates the space where scientific understanding and spiritual wisdom meet to inspire a global response to one of our world’s most urgent crises. What can we learn from faith and science about right relationship with our Mother Earth? Thought leaders share current global warming science and insights on generating the necessary human response.
Sacred Cosmos: Faith and Science (April 25-27, 2019). The 2019 festival explores the wisdom present at the intersection of faith and science. A diverse lineup of speakers and artists examine ancient and modern questions at the heart of human existence, investigate the space where reason and revelation co-exist, and engage with contemporary topics of concern through the teachings of enduring faith traditions.
A public conversation focused on ethical solutions and practical strategies for building a movement that meets the climate crisis. Introduction by Greg Sterling, Dean of Yale Divinity School Presenters: Clifton Granby, Assistant Professor of Ethics and Philosophy at Yale Divinity School; Codi Norred, Program Director of Georgia Interfaith Power & Light; Jon Sawyer ‘74, Founding Director of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting; Mary Evelyn Tucker, Co-Director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale
Saint Louis University hosted the Saint Louis Climate Summit, April 22-24, 2018, as part of its bicentennial anniversary celebration and to honor Pope Francis’ call to unite leaders in defense of the health and well-being of the planet.
Peter Raven, Ph.D., and Mary Evelyn Tucker, Ph.D. were featured speakers at the Saint Louis Climate Summit at St. Francis Xavier College Church on April 22, 2018. Saint Louis University hosted the Saint Louis Climate Summit, April 22-24, 2018, as part of its bicentennial anniversary celebration and to honor Pope Francis’ call to unite leaders in defense of the health and well-being of the planet.
Peter Raven, Ph.D., and Mary Evelyn Tucker, Ph.D. were featured speakers at the Saint Louis Climate Summit at St. Francis Xavier College Church on April 22, 2018. Saint Louis University hosted the Saint Louis Climate Summit, April 22-24, 2018, as part of its bicentennial anniversary celebration and to honor Pope Francis’ call to unite leaders in defense of the health and well-being of the planet.
Names in order of appearance: Sylvia McAdam, a citizen of the nêhiyaw Nation, Treaty 4 Desmond Bull, Louis Bull First Nation, Treaty 6 Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Lubicon Cree First Nation, Treaty 8 Ellen Gabriel, Mohawk - Kanien'kehá:ka Nation, Quebec Sylvia McAdam, ibid Kevin Settee, Treaty 1 Eriel Deranger, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Treaty 8 Clayton Thomas-Muller, Mathais Colomb Cree Nation, Treaty 6, Manitoba Erica-Violet Lee, Student, Indigenous feminist, Saskatchewan Danika Littlechild, Maskwacis, Treaty 6, Alberta Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, Pine Creek First Nation, Treaty 4, Manitoba.
(NOTE: AUDIO ONLY)
Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale, discusses how to promote teaching on faith and ecology within seminaries. In light of the great challenges we are facing, what role can religion play? Stewarding creation is something that the next generation of seminary students must address, and this video shares a number of ideas for how to engage seminaries to teach more on faith and ecology.
Event webpage
What has shifted in relation to business sustainability leadership and what is compelling companies to act now? In this interactive dialogue facilitated by Brad Gentry, panelists will discuss these questions among others, bringing to light new opportunities for business to mitigate climate change and contribute to the global sustainable development priorities. Featuring: Peter Bakker (President & CEO, WBCSD); Frances Beinecke (Former President, NRDC; Scholar, Yale); Pavan Sukhdev (Founder & CEO, GIST Advisory; Author); Mary Evelyn Tucker (Scholar of Religion and the Environment, Yale); Moderated by Brad Gentry (Associate Dean for Professional Practice, Yale; Director, Yale Center for Business and the Environment).
A review of EcoSikh efforts in 2015 to combat climate change and engage Sikhs around the world to take environmental action.
Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker of the Yale Forum for Religion and Ecology discusses the contributions people of faith in general and Buddhists in particular can bring to the national conversation on climate change.
This interfaith conference addresses the issues and challenges of maintaining a sustainable planet. Focused on ways to engage, panelists examines the overlapping moral issues of climate change, sustainability, social justice, and mindfulness through the lenses of many of the world's religious traditions. Dan McKanan, Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Senior Lecturer in Divinity, Harvard Divinity School; Lama Willa Miller, Founder and Spiritual Director of Natural Dharma Fellowship and a Buddhist Climate Activist; Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman, Graduate of Hebrew College Rabbinical School with a background in environmental studies and education; Munjed M. Murad, ThD Candidate, Harvard Divinity School and Junior Fellow, Center for the Study of World Religions; Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Missioner for Creation Care, Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts; Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, Climate Activist, Conference Minister, and President, Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ; Tim DeChristopher, Climate Activist, Unitarian Universalist, and MDiv Candidate, Harvard Divinity School; Q&A with the panelists, moderated by Dan McKanan.
Christian and climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe talks to Bill about ending the gridlock between politics, science and faith.
Mary Evelyn Tucker discusses her work on 350.org, which seeks to activate religious communities around the world to take action against climate change. She emphasizes ways in which religious communities can contribute to the climate change conversation and the need for ecojustice to be centered in climate change discussions.
(See part 1 for talk description)
(See part 1 for talk description)
At the Parliament of World's Religions in 2009, Mary Evelyn Tucker gives a talk on what religions contribute to the conversations and action around climate change. She comments that religions have a unique response to climate change, as they offer a sense of awe, wonder, and beauty in how people think about the earth and as they bring spiritual energy that can sustain action. Even though religions are late in coming to the issue of climate change, Tucker gives various examples of religious groups around the world rethinking their environmental ethics and taking action towards a more resilient future.