Tucker Grim R&E Talks

Dialogue with Ursula Goodenough, Professor of Biology Emerita, Washington University and Carol Wayne White, Interim Director of the Griot Center (2022-23) and Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Bucknell University. Moderated by Mary Evelyn Tucker, Co-founder and Co-director, Forum on Religion and Ecology, Yale University.

The United Nations Association of Southwestern Connecticut presents the first Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Memorial Lecture. Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker will discuss how to inspire people to preserve, protect and restore the Earth community. As co-founder of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, Dr. Tucker seeks to identify different perspectives among the religions of the world to find comprehensive and collaborative solutions to our global environmental crisis in partnership with scientists and policy makers. This event took place on October 24, 2022. 

In Laudato Si', Pope Francis has called for an ecological spirituality that embraces ecological justice. This talk will explore such a spirituality within the context of an “integral ecology” that brings together people and planet. Up to the present, secular environmentalism has been a dominant force in many academic departments and in the larger environmental movement. This form of environmentalism focuses on science and policy along with economic and technological solutions. However, there is a need for a broader ecospirituality and ecojustice that highlights values, ethics, and spiritual perspectives. This is what Jesuit colleges, universities, and secondary schools can contribute at this critical moment in our planetary history. View the slides for this presentation here. This event took place on July 13, 2022. 

This panel was held at the 2022 Religion and Foreign Policy Workshop. The 2022 Religion and Foreign Policy Workshop was part of the CFR Religion and Foreign Policy program. The goal of the workshop is to advance understanding of the forces shaping international relations and provide members of the religion community with a forum to discuss issues with colleagues and experts in order to better inform their networks. Held on an annual basis since 2007, this event brings together clergy, seminary heads, scholars of religion, and representatives of faith-based organizations from across the country for discussions on global concerns with policymakers, CFR fellows, and other experts. Speakers: Gerald L. Durley, Rosalyn LaPier, Kilaparti Ramakrishna. Presider: Mary Evelyn Tucker
(Follow the link to view the video)

Dr. Tucker recalls the extraordinary time when the Earth Charter was drafted and how exciting it was when the Earth Charter principles and the specifics of world religions were synergizing. She observes that the consultation and drafting process identified some of the common values across cultures and religions, despite the differences, including different cultural expressions of ethics. For her, the Earth Charter document represents one of the most integrated visions for the way forward, breaking disciplinary silos and bringing together the dimensions of cosmology, ecology, justice, democracy, and peace. Dr. Tucker reflects on the notion of the “Earth Community,” and she cites present-day examples to demonstrate how “interdependence” leads to “responsibility.” Reflecting on Pope Francis’ two latest encyclicals, as clear and wonderful contributions to our current times, Dr. Tucker concludes that they can be seen as continuity with and further development of the Earth Charter.

Listen to the podcast here.

In this video, Mary Evelyn Tucker raises the necessity of a new sense of environmental ethics and human social justice ethics in response to ecological crises and climate change. She emphasizes the significance of human action and changing structures grounded on new sensibilities of the living Earth.

Watch videos of 2020 Earth Day Sermons here. 

In this video, Mary Evelyn Tucker speaks to the presence of more-than-human animals in relation to human exceptionalism and explores the works of Paul Waldau and Barbara J. King, whose works speak to the communion between the human and animal communities.

From the session: “VALUING FAITH AND SCIENCE: The Climate Crisis” at the Festival of Faiths 2019: 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 at the The Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, GA 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. This event took place on March 12, 2019.

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.

Terry Tempest Williams and Wangari Maathai are two women who have blazed paths into new modes of being human in a living Earth community. Both have been fierce activists for their bioregions—Terry in Utah and Wangari in Kenya. Their spiritual paths—Terry with her writing and Wangari with her tree planting—have empowered other women to develop a sense of grounded engagement with and for life. This talk will explore this engagement as Eros for Earth.

This plenary took place at the “Sustainable Societies: Interreligious, Interdisciplinary Responses” conference at Graduate Theological Union on April 29, 2017. 
“In 20 years a new field of religion and ecology has emerged, but our environmental and social challenges are ever more pressing. How do we find ways to make a difference in our world? We will explore new directions for both research and engagement in a period of unprecedented uncertainty.”  ~Mary-Evelyn Tucker

A roundtable discussion at the “Religion, Ecology, and Our Planetary Future” Conference, which took place at Harvard Divinity October 14-16, 2016. Featuring Gus Speth, Former Administrator, United Nations Development Programme; Co-Chair, Next System Project, Co-Founder of NRDC and WRI Juliet Schor, Boston College. Moderated by Mary Evelyn Tucker. “Religion, Ecology, and Our Planetary Future” advances the work of understanding and transforming the discourse of religions and ecology for the twenty-first century. The conference marks the twentieth anniversary of the Religions of the World and Ecology Conference series and subsequent book series.

This panel explores the encyclical’s analysis of the causes of the current ecological crisis, the responsibility of humankind, and the invitation to embrace an integral ecology; all the while keeping dialogue with philosophy and human sciences. Watch recordings of the entire conference here. 

There is great potential for deepening interreligious dialogue focusing on our shared ecological challenges. The growing ecological crisis clearly requires the response of science and technology, economics and policy. But we will also need the participation of the world's religious communities as we recognize the moral and spiritual implications of the diminishment of the life support systems of the planet. This talk highlights some of the remarkable work being done within religious communities around the world to bring restoration to people and land. While acknowledging the limitations of religions it also notes the promise for ethical and spiritual transformation regarding ecological attitudes and practices. Interreligious dialogue has a new and vital role to play in healing the Earth.

(NOTE: AUDIO ONLY)

Following Pope Francis's historic visit to the United States and just a month before the momentous COP21 climate negotiations in Paris, the Berkley Center, in collaboration with the State Department, assembled a group of faith leaders, representatives of faith-based NGOs, scholars, and government policymakers to address the complex intersection of faith, science, and policy that surrounds the challenge of global climate change. Two panels addressed the moral and theological underpinnings of the climate action movement, and the connections between climate, justice, and poverty. This event took place on November 9, 2015.

In Part 3 of “The Cry of the Earth: How Pope Francis Calls Us to the Science Faith, and Action of Saving Our Common Home”, St. Vincent (co-sponsored by St. Ignatius Catholic Community) presents Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale. In her talk she discusses how Pope Francis highlights the conjunction of ecology, economy, and equity in what he calls an integral ecology. From this perspective, working within the limits of nature can lead to thriving human societies. In contrast, he laments, exploiting the Earth without limits has led to destruction of ecosystems and increased human inequities. This talk will explore how religious, educational and scientific communities can draw on the encyclical for assisting the flourishing of life.

Mary Evelyn Tucker speaks on “Nourishing Community: Ecology, Economics, Equity” at the 2015 Prairie Festival. She shares her journey of religion and ecology, where she witnessed how the different culture says about nature, humans, and the value of lives. Living in the Anthropocene or Ecozoic era, Tucker suggests the human spirit of human energy can make changes. Her main discussion is Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' calling for ecological conversion grounded on comprehensive compassion for the Earth community.

This video is of the entire conference and runs 8 hours, 47 min. Mary Evelyn Tucker's comments occur near the beginning of the event.

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 talk was part of the US Buddhist Leaders’ Conference held at George Washington University and the White House in Washington DC on May 14, 2015.

Presentations from the 2015 Grad & Professional School Winners of InspiringYale.

This event was held August 16-17, 2013 in Strafford, Vermont. 

Mary Evelyn Tucker speaks on one of the panels on “An Essential Context - Religion, Spirituality, and Ethics” at CCL's 25th Anniversary Conference - Prosperous Lowcountry, Flourishing Planet. Sharing her studies and exploration of Asian religions, especially Confucianism, Tucker raises the significance of religious conversations for the flourishing of the planet. She addresses the Journey of the Universe, the Earth Charter, and religious movements making power statements on the sacredness of creation in discussing the efforts at retrieval, reevaluation, and reconstruction of the religious traditions.

Mary Evelyn Tucker speaks at the Wallace Stegner Center Lecture in celebration of the 18th Annual Symposium: Religion, Faith and the Environment. Living in a sixth extinction period, Tucker raises questions about how we are going to live with grieving and loss and how religious communities can bring the Earth community into a deeper understanding of the crises. Interdisciplinary meetings are emphasized in facing the environmental crises in alignment with the problems and promises of religions. She points out the significance of expanding the conversations of religion and ecology from the anthropocentric perspective and from the Western notions of religion.

In this short video produced by the Feather Project, Mary Evelyn Tucker reflects on the great transition we currently face. In our relatively short time in the journey of the universe, humans are now shutting down Earth systems and enacting the end of Cenozoic Era. Tucker discusses the urgent need to work toward our common future and form a vibrant Earth community.

This talk by Mary Evelyn Tucker, which took place on March 7, 2011, is part of the Culture of Peace Distinguished Speakers Series at Soka Gakkai International-USA, New York Culture Center. Tucker discusses the recently released Journey of the Universe film in the context of “The New Story” by Thomas Berry. She describes how Journey of the Universe illustrates a functional cosmology that gives humans a deeper meaning of our place and purpose in the universe, helping us discover our Great Work to create a flourishing future for the Earth community.

Earth Charter Commissioner and Co-Founder of the Yale Forum on Religions and Ecology Mary Evelyn Tucker strongly believes humanity and the earth have reached a critical turning point in history. Likewise, according to Native American Onondaga Chief Oren Lyons, we need a “values change for survival.” From mass extinction to the calamity of the Gulf oil spill, Tucker reminds us, the human decimation of earth threatens to shut down an historical era—soon we will have reached a point of no return. The Feather Project is a collaborative effort to build intergenerational collaboration and cooperation between elders and youth, and to draw upon the wisdom of indigenous cultures to find solutions to this impasse that lies ahead. The key to mobilizing the masses to move from awareness to action, Earth Charter Commissioner and Founder of the Feather Project Rabbi Soetendorp believes lies in the hopes and dreams of the youth. They need guidance, and it is our moral and spiritual leaders who can bring out those leadership capacities of the next seven generations who will inherit this earth in the future. There is a challenging road ahead—the sooner a shift takes place, the more likely there will be something left—for the next generation. Join the Feather Project. Encourage young people everywhere to upload their “feather messages” and to join the effort to turn dreams into reality—for those who work while they dream, dreams do come true.

Professor Mary Evelyn Tucker, Senior Lecturer and Senior Scholar, Yale University, offers closing remarks for the Third Plenary Part 11 of the Third Plenary of the 8th Religion Science and the Environment Symposium under the auspices of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew held in New Orleans, LA on October 23, 2009.

Part 1 of the First Plenary of the 8th Religion Science and the Environment Symposium under the auspices of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Chair: H.E. Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans; Mrs Jacqueline Clarkson, New Orleans City Council; Mr John M. Barry, Author What Happened to New Orleans Threatens every Coastal Area in the World; Mr Hylton Murray-Philipson, Director, Wingate Ventures Ltd. UK Turning Points and Tipping Points; Professor Mary Evelyn Tucker, Senior Lecturer and Senior Scholar, Yale University: The Universe Story and An Ecological Future.

Mary Evelyn Tucker speaks about RENEWAL, the documentary film about the religious-environmental movement, and this hope-filled moment in history when religious people of all faiths are coming forward for the environment. Her talk was part of the interfaith service and screening of RENEWAL at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, NYC. Tucker is co-coordinator of Yale University's Forum on Religion and Ecology.

(See part 1 for talk description)

(See part 1 for talk description)

At the Parliament of World's Religions in 2009 in Melbourne, Australia, 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.

Click here to view video.
In this video, Mary Evelyn Tucker gives a lecture at Oregon State University Library on “The Emerging Alliance of Religion and Ecology.” Raising the problems of the Englightenmentality that isolated humans from nature by privileging rational consciousness, Tucker suggests a reconfiguration of Engligtenmentality and its values of liberty, equality, and fraternity from a planetary sensibility. Activating the world's religions is a critical task in the Sixth Extinction period because religions are the traditions that form and formulate communities, cultures and countries for millenniums. As Pope Francis acknowledges climate change as a moral issue and moral obligation, the religion and ecology project creates a multiform foundation of planetary civilization.

Yale Divinity School and Yale School for Forestry and Environmental Studies Joint Panel on Faith and the Environment. Moderator: Emilie Townes, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology; Panelists: Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Jonathan F.P. Rose, Mary Evelyn Tucker, David Wellman. This event took place on April 21, 2006. 

Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker discusses Confucian teachings on humans’ relationship to the Earth and cosmos, invoking the commentaries of Wang Yangming (1472-1529) on innate knowledge, the unity of knowledge and action, and the kinship of all beings. For Tucker, the emergent field of Religion and Ecology offers an opportunity to retrieve, reevaluate, and reconstruct our understandings of the world’s wisdom traditions in order to confront the challenges of our time. Delivered on March 18, 2006 as part of the Ethics, Values, and the Environment Conference.