Last month, we witnessed young people and adult allies around the globe strike for climate action as young climate leader Greta Thunberg captured the world’s attention. Greta has numerous equally inspiring peers and predecessors, among them Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, young indigenous environmental leader and founder of Earth Guardians, and Astrid Tuuli Grace Determan, founder of EPIC Animals (watch Astrid’s compelling presentation at the Vatican here, starting at 3:44:14 in the video). We would do well to listen to our young people.
Fortunately, many of the world’s religions have turned their focus to the critical issue of climate change in the last decades. Among various religious statements on the topic are the Jainism Declaration on Nature based on the Jain aphorism Parasparopagraho Jīvānām, meaning “all life is bound together by mutual support and interdependence,” and Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, Laudato si’. Additionally, numerous faith-based and interfaith initiatives have emerged to create solutions and to mobilize people of faith to action (we’ve mentioned several in a previous post).
Bolstering this work are the studies and writings of ecotheologians in different faith traditions. Many traditions have long been rooted in a relationship with the Earth—particularly indigenous traditions, as well as others such as Jainism. And some early advocates of the environment and animal welfare were inspired by faith—such as Francis of Assisi and Buddhist emperor Ashoka. Yet the concept of ecotheology has developed largely within the last half century or so as the world has had to come to terms with the ecological destruction wrought by human society. Ecotheology looks at the relationship between religion and nature and seeks to find solutions to the current environmental crisis. With the crisis growing more urgent by the day, integrating ecotheology into our individual and communal theological reflection and pursuit seems paramount.
One ecotheologian making that case is Palestinian Odeh Rashid al-Jayyousi, profiled in this recent Ozy article [website no longer available, but see this piece from EcoMENA by Odeh Rashid al-Jayyousi himself]. From a kid catching grasshoppers in the West Bank to environmental scientist, al-Jayyousi is paving the way for “green jihad,” a movement of Muslims nurturing harmony between humans and nature.
“It is imperative that we rethink educational systems that neglect the beauty and majesty of the powers around us in nature.”
Read the full article at ozy.com. [website no longer available, but see this piece from EcoMENA by Odeh Rashid al-Jayyousi himself]
Find organizations to get involved with on our Opportunities page.