Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions, October 14-16, 2016
This conference marked the twentieth anniversary of the Religions of the World and Ecology Conference series and subsequent book series, and advances the work of understanding and transforming the discourse of religions and ecology for the 21st century.
Conference History
The original series of conferences took place at Harvard beginning in May 1996, and concluded at the United Nations and the American Museum of Natural History in October 1998 with over 1,000 attendees. The conferences, and nine volumes arising from them, engaged the world’s leading authorities on religions and environment from every continent and included religious historians, ethicists, and individuals who play important roles in shaping public policy; getting those in the field and those in the academy talking to, and learning from one another.
More recently, the Center published two related volumes based on lectures occurring at the Center: Ecology and the Environment (2009) and Ecologies of Human Flourishing (2011). The Center is working closely with the Yale University’s Forum on Religion and Ecology, which remains at the forefront of those working in the field. Its directors, Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, who were the leaders of the 1996-1998 initiative, have established a major website for research and outreach at fore.yale.edu.
Opening comments by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim
Conference Sponsors
A variety of sponsors have made this conference possible, including the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation and the Germeshausen Foundation, which were sponsors of the original conferences; Mr. Martin S. Kaplan; Yale University’s Forum on Religion and Ecology; and at Harvard, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs; and resources allocated by both the Center for the Study of World Religions and Harvard Divinity School.
Header photo: Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard ©Kristie Welsh, Harvard Divinity School, courtesy of CSWR