Academic literature on the topic 'Environmentalism – Religious aspects'

Contemporary spirituality often bears the stamp of an eco-discourse. It is characteristic of post-spiritual practices that there is a blurring of the boundaries between the sacred and profane and in this sphere, influenced by the eco-consciousness, nature and the body can be sacralised. In this article the author looks into environmentalism as a current in spirituality. First spirituality as a concept is discussed. Second follows a section on aspects of contemporary environmentalism, dealing with new social movements, new identity and the main directions of environmentalism. After that, the distinction between environmentally motivated spirituality and spir­itually motivated environmentalism is presented. At the end there is a short discussion of post-secular issues concerning environmentalism. Worldviews are no longer necessarily either religious or secular, but may also combine elements of rational secularity with enchanted spirituality. The blurring of the boundaries between secular and religious views and motives occur, as well as the separation of mind and body, rationality and belief, and human and nature.

God gave us the Earth, to use and enjoy. So says the Bible, and so says John Locke (1632-1704). The individualism and liberalism in Locke’s philosophy makes it decidedly modern and appealing to us today. However, he often uses God as a source of truth and premises in his arguments. This undermines the modern appearance and leaves us with a philosophy that is at times contradictory, at times brilliant, and at all times fixed to the anthropocentric rail that guides his philosophy. In this article, the element of Locke’s philosophy that concerns humanity’s relationship with the natural world is examined. Particular attention is paid to the value and nature of both biotic and abiotic nature. I argue that the religious aspects of Locke’s philosophy cannot be fully purged in an effort to create a pure rationalist, and this leads me to focus on how the religious aspects relate to Locke’s rationalism, and in particular what implications his combination of philosophy and theology carries for the prospects of a Lockean environmentalism. I conclude that such environmentalism has clear limitations, while still providing certain foundations for the idea of sustainability and scientific conservationism.

In this article it is shown how conflicts and violence have influenced the development of Santo Daime, a religious and environmental movement in the Brazilian Amazon. By discussing three interrelated aspects (1) Violence and conflict in Santo Daime history; (2) Ideas about good and bad spirits; and (3) Santo Daime environmentalism, the author shows the relatedness between the members’ experiences of conflicts and violence in their history as rubber tappers and conflicts and violence as structuring metaphors in their daily ritual practices. The kind of moral practice that once began as a way to deal with the threat of conflict and violence has today turned into an enduring strategy that permeates members’ undertakings in matters related to environmentalism. Not only has it been crucial in shaping a new lifestyle among members, centring as it does on environmental concerns, but it has also moved the Santo Daime movement closer to more ‘worldly’ actors concerned with the future of the natural world. Although by sharing a common cause with such interest groups, Santo Daime members have been able to do so without loosing their distinct identity as members of a religious healing movement.

Social movement is an organized effort by a significant number of people to change (or resist change in) some major aspect or aspects of society. Sociologists have usually been concerned to study the origins of such movements, their sources of recruitment, organizational dynamics, and their impact upon society. Social movements must be distinguished from collective behavior. Social movements are purposeful and organized; collective behavior is random and chaotic. Social movements include those supporting civil rights, gay rights, trade unionism, environmentalism, and feminism. Collective behaviors include riots, fads and crazes, panics, cultic religions, rumors. This paper deals with formation of social movement, emergence of social movement, social problems and social change.Academic Voices Vol.5 2015: 1-4

The third Annual International Conference on Globalization for theCommon Good was held on 27-31 March 2004 at the Bustan Rotana hotel, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. More than thirty participants, representingacademics, peace activists, theologians, environmentalists, and businessmenfrom the United States, Europe, Japan, the Gulf region, Australia,and South Africa attended the eleven plenary sessions. These were dividedunder the following headings: Muslim-Christian Dialogue for the CommonGood; Religions and Social Justice; Profit and the Common Good: Conflictor Convergence?; Religions and the Common Good; Urbanization andCities in a Global Age; Globalization and Civilizations; EthicalPerspectives on Globalization; Interfaith Dialogue and Peace-building;Natural Resources, Ecology and Development; Youth in a Global Age; andScience and Technology in a Global Age. The conference was officiallyopened by the founder and chief convenor of the Interfaith Perspective onGlobalization for the Common Good, Dr Kamran Mofid of the UnitedKingdom.Dr William Lesher (Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago) in his“Pathways to Peace” identified the major factors supporting globalizationand showed how global trends become indigenized through the process ofglocalization. Sister Beatrice Mariotti’s (St. Mary’s Catholic HighSchool, Dubai) “Globalization and Christian-Muslim Spiritual Dialoguein Dubai” dealt with three challenges to cultural identity: consumerism,the Internet, and isolationism. Markus Glatz-Schmallegger (CatholicSocial Academy of Austria) argued in his “Religions Acting for ‘Bridgingand Linking Social Capital’ in the Context of Globalization,” that religion,as an organ of civil society, can contribute significantly to socialcapital.In the session on “Profit and the Common Good: Conflict or Convergence?”Kamran Mofid outlined both the negative and positive aspects ofglobalization. This was followed by a lively discussion on how globalization’sbenefits could be extended to all and not confined to a minority ofindividuals, multinationals, and states. Suleman Dangor (University ofKwazulu-Natal, South Africa) outlined the positive and negative featuresof globalization, and then elaborated on the role that religions could playin ensuring that its benefits are spread equitably while developing nationsare protected from its negative impact.Jakob von Uexkull (The Right Livelihood Awards, London, UK), in his“Global Values and Global Stability,” made a case for equitable access tothe world’s natural resources. The possibility of this happening is greaternow that we are moving to a post-secular world. Keyvan Tabari emphasizedthe importance of national sovereignty. Since the demise of the USSR ...

How to actually manage natural resources that provide maximum welfare for the community is an important question that we try to uncover through this research. Management of natural resources, especially forestry in Sidrap Regency is based on the wealth of forest resources which is relatively small compared to other districts in South Sulawesi, which is only 1.8% of the total forest area of ​​South Sulawesi. However, the forest area has an important meaning for the people of Sidrap Regency and the surrounding areas because from an area of ​​188,325 ha, there is a forest area of ​​68,810.8 ha or about 36.5% of the total area. The research locations are villages representing forest conditions in the eastern part (Latimojong Forest Complex) and those representing the western part (Nepo-nepo Forest Complex) Sidrap Regency. The units of analysis in this study are: community groups that are directly involved in forest management activities, namely community leaders, traditional leaders, religious leaders and environmentalists and community groups that are not directly involved in forest management, namely DPRD members, youth leaders and NGOs. Information was collected through the contemplation process of the community who knew the concepts and practices of forest management expressed by the informants. The review of the economic aspect is seen based on the results of qualitative and quantitative analysis of the condition of forest resources and the implementation strategy is carried out using a SWOT analysis. The results of the study reveal that the economic aspect of forest resources is that the forest is managed as a producer of water and environmental services for the economic sustainability of downstream communities in Sidrap Regency. Meanwhile, the management implementation strategy refers to the management of protected forest areas for the main purpose of producing water and other non-timber forest products. Another strategy is to develop cross-district cooperation in the management of forest resources for water production, develop cultural and tudang sipulung conservation programs related to forest function preservation, develop forestry institutions at the local level according to the values ​​that exist in the local community and increase public understanding. on the function of forest water management. Sustainable SDH management in Sidrap Regency needs to apply locality approaches. Restructuring of district forestry institutions should also be pursued in order to create intensive coordination between sectors, especially between the forestry sector and sectors related to water.

This paper is meant to study the apocalyptic scenario of the at the perspectives of the Great Acceleration. the apocalyptic scenario is not a pure imagination of the literature works. Instead, scientific evidences are in favour of dramatic change in the climatic conditions related to the climax of Man actions. the modelling of the future climate leads to horrible situations including intolerable temperatures, dryness, tornadoes, and noticeable sear level rise evading coastal regions. Going far from these scientific claims, Homo Sapiens Sapiens extended his imagination through the Climate-Fiction (cli-fi) to propose a dramatic end. Climate Fiction is developed into a recording machine containing every kind of fictions that depict environmental condition events and has consequently lost its true significance. Introduction The Great Acceleration may be considered as the Late Anthropocene in which Man actions reached their climax to lead to dramatic climatic changes paving the way for a possible apocalyptic scenario threatening the existence of the humanity. So, the apocalyptic scenario is not a pure imagination of the literature works. Instead, many scientific arguments especially related to climate change are in favour of the apocalypse1. As a matter of fact, the modelling of the future climate leads to horrible situations including intolerable temperatures (In 06/07/2021, Kuwait recorded the highest temperature of 53.2 °C), dryness, tornadoes, and noticeable sear level rise evading coastal regions. These conditions taking place during the Great Acceleration would have direct repercussions on the human species. Considering that the apocalyptic extinction had really caused the disappearance of many stronger species including dinosaurs, Homo Sapiens Sapiens extended his imagination though the Climate-Fiction (cli-fi) to propose a dramatic end due to severe climate conditions intolerable by the humankind. The mass extinction of animal species has occurred several times over the geological ages. Researchers have a poor understanding of the causes and processes of these major crises1. Nonetheless, whatever the cause of extinction, the apocalyptic scenario has always been present in the geological history. For example, dinosaurs extinction either by asteroids impact or climate changes could by no means denies the apocalyptic aspect2.At the same time as them, many animal and plant species became extinct, from marine or flying reptiles to marine plankton. This biological crisis of sixty-five million years ago is not the only one that the biosphere has suffered. It was preceded and followed by other crises which caused the extinction or the rarefaction of animal species. So, it is undeniable that many animal groups have disappeared. It is even on the changes of fauna that the geologists of the last century have based themselves to establish the scale of geological times, scale which is still used. But it is no less certain that the extinction processes, extremely complex, are far from being understood. We must first agree on the meaning of the word "extinction", namely on the apocalyptic aspect of the concept. It is quite understood that, without disappearances, the evolution of species could not have followed its course. Being aware that the apocalyptic extinction had massacred stronger species that had dominated the planet, Homo Sapiens Sapiens has been aware that the possibility of apocalyptic end at the perspective of the Anthropocene (i.e., Great Acceleration) could not be excluded. This conviction is motivated by the progressive defaunation in some regions3and the appearance of alien species in others related to change of mineralogy and geochemistry4 leading to a climate change during the Anthropocene. These scientific claims fed the vast imagination about climate change to set the so-called cli-fi. The concept of the Anthropocene is the new geological era which begins when the Man actions have reached a sufficient power to modify the geological processes and climatic cycles of the planet5. The Anthropocene by no means excludes the possibility of an apocalyptic horizon, namely in the perspectives of the Great Acceleration. On the contrary, two scenarios do indeed seem to dispute the future of the Anthropocene, with a dramatic cross-charge. The stories of the end of the world are as old as it is, as the world is the origin of these stories. However, these stories of the apocalypse have evolved over time and, since the beginning of the 19th century, they have been nourished particularly by science and its advances. These fictions have sometimes tried to pass themselves off as science. This is the current vogue, called collapsology6. This end is more than likely cli-fi driven7and it may cause the extinction of the many species including the Homo Sapiens Sapiens. In this vein, Anthropocene defaunation has become an ultimate reality8. More than one in eight birds, more than one in five mammals, more than one in four coniferous species, one in three amphibians are threatened. The hypothesis of a hierarchy within the living is induced by the error of believing that evolution goes from the simplest to the most sophisticated, from the inevitably stupid inferior to the superior endowed with an intelligence giving prerogative to all powers. Evolution goes in all directions and pursues no goal except the extension of life on Earth. Evolution certainly does not lead from bacteria to humans, preferably male and white. Our species is only a carrier of the DNA that precedes us and that will survive us. Until we show a deep respect for the biosphere particularly, and our planet in general, we will not become much, we will remain a predator among other predators, the fiercest of predators, the almighty craftsman of the Anthropocene. To be in the depths of our humanity, somehow giving back to the biosphere what we have taken from it seems obvious. To stop the sixth extinction of species, we must condemn our anthropocentrism and the anthropization of the territories that goes with it. The other forms of life also need to keep their ecological niches. According to the first, humanity seems at first to withdraw from the limits of the planet and ultimately succumb to them, with a loss of dramatic meaning. According to the second, from collapse to collapse, it is perhaps another humanity, having overcome its demons, that could come. Climate fiction is a literary sub-genre dealing with the theme of climate change, including global warming. The term appears to have been first used in 2008 by blogger and writer Dan Bloom. In October 2013, Angela Evancie, in a review of the novel Odds against Tomorrow, by Nathaniel Rich, wonders if climate change has created a new literary genre. Scientific basis of the apocalyptic scenario in the perspective of the Anthropocene Global warming All temperature indices are in favour of a global warming (Fig.1). According to the different scenarios of the IPCC9, the temperatures of the globe could increase by 2 °C to 5 °C by 2100. But some scientists warn about a possible runaway of the warming which can reach more than 3 °C. Thus, the average temperature on the surface of the globe has already increased by more than 1.1 °C since the pre-industrial era. The rise in average temperatures at the surface of the globe is the first expected and observed consequence of massive greenhouse gas emissions. However, meteorological surveys record positive temperature anomalies which are confirmed from year to year compared to the temperatures recorded since the middle of the 19th century. Climatologists point out that the past 30 years have seen the highest temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere for over 1,400 years. Several climatic centres around the world record, synthesize and follow the evolution of temperatures on Earth. Since the beginning of the 20th century (1906-2005), the average temperature at the surface of the globe has increased by 0.74 °C, but this progression has not been continuous since 1976, the increase has clearly accelerated, reaching 0.19 °C per decade according to model predictions. Despite the decline in solar activity, the period 1997-2006 is marked by an average positive anomaly of 0.53 °C in the northern hemisphere and 0.27 °C in the southern hemisphere, still compared to the normal calculated for 1961-1990. The ten hottest years on record are all after 1997. Worse, 14 of the 15 hottest years are in the 21st century, which has barely started. Thus, 2016 is the hottest year, followed closely by 2015, 2014 and 2010. The temperature of tropical waters increased by 1.2 °C during the 20th century (compared to 0.5 °C on average for the oceans), causing coral reefs to bleach in 1997. In 1998, the period of Fort El Niño, the prolonged warming of the water has destroyed half of the coral reefs of the Indian Ocean. In addition, the temperature in the tropics of the five ocean basins, where cyclones form, increased by 0.5 °C from 1970 to 2004, and powerful cyclones appeared in the North Atlantic in 2005, while they were more numerous in other parts of the world. Recently, mountains of studies focused on the possible scenario of climate change and the potential worldwide repercussions including hell temperatures and apocalyptic extreme events10 , 11, 12. Melting of continental glaciers As a direct result of the global warming, melting of continental glaciers has been recently noticed13. There are approximately 198,000 mountain glaciers in the world; they cover an area of approximately 726,000 km2. If they all melted, the sea level would rise by about 40 cm. Since the late 1960s, global snow cover has declined by around 10 to 15%. Winter cold spells in much of the northern half of the northern hemisphere are two weeks shorter than 100 years ago. Glaciers of mountains have been declining all over the world by an average of 50 m per decade for 150 years. However, they are also subject to strong multi-temporal variations which make forecasts on this point difficult according to some specialists. In the Alps, glaciers have been losing 1 meter per year for 30 years. Polar glaciers like those of Spitsbergen (about a hundred km from the North Pole) have been retreating since 1880, releasing large quantities of water. The Arctic has lost about 10% of its permanent ice cover every ten years since 1980. In this region, average temperatures have increased at twice the rate of elsewhere in the world in recent decades. The melting of the Arctic Sea ice has resulted in a loss of 15% of its surface area and 40% of its thickness since 1979. The record for melting arctic sea ice was set in 2017. All models predict the disappearance of the Arctic Sea ice in summer within a few decades, which will not be without consequences for the climate in Europe. The summer melting of arctic sea ice accelerated far beyond climate model predictions. Added to its direct repercussions of coastal regions flooding, melting of continental ice leads to radical climatic modifications in favour of the apocalyptic scenario. Fig.1 Evolution of temperature anomaly from 1880 to 2020: the apocalyptic scenario Sea level rise As a direct result of the melting of continental glaciers, sea level rise has been worldwide recorded14 ,15. The average level of the oceans has risen by 22 cm since 1880 and 2 cm since the year 2000 because of the melting of the glaciers but also with the thermal expansion of the water. In the 20th century, the sea level rose by around 2 mm per year. From 1990 to 2017, it reached the relatively constant rate of just over 3mm per year. Several sources contributed to sea level increase including thermal expansion of water (42%), melting of continental glaciers (21%), melting Greenland glaciers (15%) and melting Antarctic glaciers (8%). Since 2003, there has always been a rapid rise (around 3.3 mm / year) in sea level, but the contribution of thermal expansion has decreased (0.4 mm / year) while the melting of the polar caps and continental glaciers accelerates. Since most of the world’s population is living on coastal regions, sea level rise represents a real threat for the humanity, not excluding the apocalyptic scenario. Multiplication of extreme phenomena and climatic anomalies On a human scale, an average of 200 million people is affected by natural disasters each year and approximately 70,000 perish from them. Indeed, as evidenced by the annual reviews of disasters and climatic anomalies, we are witnessing significant warning signs. It is worth noting that these observations are dependent on meteorological survey systems that exist only in a limited number of countries with statistics that rarely go back beyond a century or a century and a half. In addition, scientists are struggling to represent the climatic variations of the last two thousand years which could serve as a reference in the projections. Therefore, the exceptional nature of this information must be qualified a little. Indeed, it is still difficult to know the return periods of climatic disasters in each region. But over the last century, the climate system has gone wild. Indeed, everything suggests that the climate is racing. Indeed, extreme events and disasters have become more frequent. For instance, less than 50 significant events were recorded per year over the period 1970-1985, while there have been around 120 events recorded since 1995. Drought has long been one of the most worrying environmental issues. But while African countries have been the main affected so far, the whole world is now facing increasingly frequent and prolonged droughts. Chile, India, Australia, United States, France and even Russia are all regions of the world suffering from the acceleration of the global drought. Droughts are slowly evolving natural hazards that can last from a few months to several decades and affect larger or smaller areas, whether they are small watersheds or areas of hundreds of thousands of square kilometres. In addition to their direct effects on water resources, agriculture and ecosystems, droughts can cause fires or heat waves. They also promote the proliferation of invasive species, creating environments with multiple risks, worsening the consequences on ecosystems and societies, and increasing their vulnerability. Although these are natural phenomena, there is a growing understanding of how humans have amplified the severity and impacts of droughts, both on the environment and on people. We influence meteorological droughts through our action on climate change, and we influence hydrological droughts through our management of water circulation and water processes at the local scale, for example by diverting rivers or modifying land use. During the Anthropocene (the present period when humans exert a dominant influence on climate and environment), droughts are closely linked to human activities, cultures, and responses. From this scientific overview, it may be concluded apocalyptic scenario is not only a literature genre inspired from the pure imagination. Instead, many scientific arguments are in favour of this dramatic destiny of Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Fig.2. Sea level rise from 1880 to 2020: a possible apocalyptic scenario (www.globalchange.gov, 2021) Apocalyptic genre in recent writing As the original landmark of apocalyptic writing, we must place the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 587 BC and the Exile in Babylon. Occasion of a religious and cultural crossing with imprescriptible effects, the Exile brought about a true rebirth, characterized by the maintenance of the essential ethical, even cultural, of a national religion, that of Moses, kept as pure as possible on a foreign land and by the reinterpretation of this fundamental heritage by the archaic return of what was very old, both national traditions and neighbouring cultures. More precisely, it was the place and time for the rehabilitation of cultures and the melting pot for recasting ancient myths. This vast infatuation with Antiquity, remarkable even in the vocabulary used, was not limited to Israel: it even largely reflected a general trend. The long period that preceded throughout the 7th century BC and until 587, like that prior to the edict of Cyrus in 538 BC, was that of restorations and rebirths, of returns to distant sources and cultural crossings. In the biblical literature of this period, one is struck by the almost systematic link between, on the one hand, a very sustained mythical reinvestment even in form and, on the other, the frequent use of biblical archaisms. The example of Shadday, a word firmly rooted in the Semites of the Northwest and epithet of El in the oldest layers of the books of Genesis and Exodus, is most eloquent. This term reappears precisely at the time of the Exile as a designation of the divinity of the Patriarchs and of the God of Israel; Daily, ecological catastrophes now describe the normal state of societies exposed to "risks", in the sense that Ulrich Beck gives to this term: "the risk society is a society of catastrophe. The state of emergency threatens to become a normal state there1”. Now, the "threat" has become clearer, and catastrophic "exceptions" are proliferating as quickly as species are disappearing and climate change is accelerating. The relationship that we have with this worrying reality, to say the least, is twofold: on the one hand, we know very well what is happening to us; on the other hand, we fail to draw the appropriate theoretical and political consequences. This ecological duplicity is at the heart of what has come to be called the “Anthropocene”, a term coined at the dawn of the 21st century by Eugene Stoermer (an environmentalist) and Paul Crutzen (a specialist in the chemistry of the atmosphere) in order to describe an age when humanity would have become a "major geological force" capable of disrupting the climate and changing the terrestrial landscape from top to bottom. If the term “Anthropocene” takes note of human responsibility for climate change, this responsibility is immediately attributed to overpowering: strong as we are, we have “involuntarily” changed the climate for at least two hundred and fifty years. Therefore, let us deliberately change the face of the Earth, if necessary, install a solar shield in space. Recognition and denial fuel the signifying machine of the Anthropocene. And it is precisely what structures eco-apocalyptic cinema that this article aims to study. By "eco-apocalyptic cinema", we first mean a cinematographic sub-genre: eco-apocalyptic and post-eco-apocalyptic films base the possibility (or reality) of the end of the world on environmental grounds and not, for example, on damage caused by the possible collision of planet Earth with a comet. Post-apocalyptic science fiction (sometimes abbreviated as "post-apo" or "post-nuke") is a sub-genre of science fiction that depicts life after a disaster that destroyed civilization: nuclear war, collision with a meteorite, epidemic, economic or energy crisis, pandemic, alien invasion. Conclusion Climate and politics have been linked together since Aristotle. With Montesquieu, Ibn Khaldûn or Watsuji, a certain climatic determinism is attributed to the character of a nation. The break with modernity made the climate an object of scientific knowledge which, in the twentieth century, made it possible to document, despite the controversies, the climatic changes linked to industrialization. Both endanger the survival of human beings and ecosystems. Climate ethics are therefore looking for a new relationship with the biosphere or Gaia. For some, with the absence of political agreements, it is the beginning of inevitable catastrophes. For others, the Anthropocene, which henceforth merges human history with natural history, opens onto technical action. The debate between climate determinism and human freedom is revived. The reference to the biblical Apocalypse was present in the thinking of thinkers like Günther Anders, Karl Jaspers or Hans Jonas: the era of the atomic bomb would mark an entry into the time of the end, a time marked by the unprecedented human possibility of 'total war and annihilation of mankind. The Apocalypse will be very relevant in describing the chaos to come if our societies continue their mad race described as extra-activist, productivist and consumerist. In dialogue with different theologians and philosophers (such as Jacques Ellul), it is possible to unveil some spiritual, ethical, and political resources that the Apocalypse offers for thinking about History and human engagement in the Anthropocene. What can a theology of collapse mean at a time when negative signs and dead ends in the human situation multiply? What then is the place of man and of the cosmos in the Apocalypse according to Saint John? Could the end of history be a collapse? How can we live in the time we have left before the disaster? Answers to such questions remain unknown and no scientist can predict the trajectory of this Great Acceleration taking place at the Late Anthropocene. When science cannot give answers, Man tries to infer his destiny for the legend, religion and the fiction. Climate Fiction is developed into a recording machine containing every kind of fictions that depict environmental condition events and has consequently lost its true significance. Aware of the prospect of ecological collapse additionally as our apparent inability to avert it, we tend to face geology changes of forceful proportions that severely challenge our ability to imagine the implications. Climate fiction ought to be considered an important supplement to climate science, as a result, climate fiction makes visible and conceivable future modes of existence inside worlds not solely deemed seemingly by science, however that area unit scientifically anticipated. 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Nature communications 11, no. 1 (Nature Publishing Group 2020): 1-11.

This article offers a description of transdisciplinary facilitation that is suitable for theologians and ministers. The reflective aspect of transdisciplinary facilitation is illustrated through an engagement with transdisciplinary research on environmentalism and ecotheology. This article also suggests that Ernst Conradie could be appreciated, drawn on and critiqued as a transdisciplinary theologian and not a contextual theologian.

This paper focuses on the historical development of ecospirituality, that is, a faith and practice both generating and informed by an appreciation of environmental concerns, among the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain. Decisions made within and by such groups are significantly determined by their understanding of the moral and ethical character of the environment and their relation to it. This ethical and moral character might derive from a variety of sources; in contemporary concerns for the environment it resides primarily in the cultural, economic, and political context of particular social phenomena. Quakers, it would seem, are more or less typical environmentalists in so far as their decision either to buy or refrain from buying this or that item is informed by both moral and religious judgement. The historical trajectory of Quaker consumption is characterised by a principle, plaining, that has enabled Quakers to frame their environmentalism in a more or less unique way. During the first hundred years of the movement (1650-1750), Quakers adopted a system of discipline in which committees (local, regional, and national) imposed upon the membership a strict regime of prescriptions and proscriptions. These lists of dos and don’ts, justified by reference to Biblical and other texts, concerned virtually every aspect of life, and these decisions were informed by specific environmental sensibilities central to Quaker faith and practice. From 1750 to 1950, this intense and intrusive discipline, upheld through group-surveillance, diminished. After 1950, the evolution of the group from a discipline which itemised the plain to the internalisation of individual members of the process of plaining was more or less complete. Discipline was increasingly a matter of self-surveillance. Contemporary Quakers emphasise efficient and effective dissemination of information, particularly relating to issues such as human rights and the environment. This process contributes to the local and national narratives which together sustain a kind of ecospirituality which has developed over the course of three centuries. Este artículo analiza el desarrollo histórico de la eco-espiritualidad, una fe y una práctica generadora y resultante de una percepción de los problemas medioambientales entre la Sociedad Religiosa de los Amigos (cuáqueros) en Gran Bretaña. Las decisiones tomadas por y dentro de estos grupos están significativamente determinadas por su compresión del carácter moral y ético del medioambiente y por su relación con el mismo; en cuanto a las inquietudes ecologistas contemporáneas residen fundamentalmente en el contexto cultural, económico y político de determinados fenómenos sociales. Parecería que los cuáqueros serían más o menos ecologistas típicos en función de si su decisión de comprar algo o abstenerse de hacerlo es resultante de juicios morales y religiosos. La trayectoria histórica del consumo de los cuáqueros está caracterizada por un lema, la "sencillez" (plaining), que los ha incapacitado para encuadrar su ecologismo en una vía más o menos única. Durante el primer siglo de vida del movimiento (1650-1750), los cuáqueros adoptaron un sistema disciplinario en el que comités locales, regionales y nacionales impusieron un estricto régimen de prescripciones y prohibiciones entre sus miembros. Dicho régimen, justificado por referencias a textos bíblicos y de otra índole, afectaba a cada aspecto de su existencia y se fundamentó en la específica sensibilidad ecológica de la fe y la práctica cuáqueras. De 1750 a 1950 esta intensa y molesta disciplina, sustentada en la vigilancia grupal, disminuyó. De modo que podemos considerar que la evolución del grupo desde una disciplina que desglosaba el plan hasta la internacionalización de miembros individuales de la "sencillez" (plaining) estaba más o menos realizada en 1950. La disciplina fue pues convirtiéndose progresivamente en una cuestión de auto-vigilancia. Los cuáqueros contemporáneos destacan por su diseminación eficiente y efectiva de información, particularmente relacionada con aspectos como los derechos humanos y el medioambiente. Este proceso contribuye a sus narrativas locales y nacionales que juntas sostienen un tipo de eco-espiritualidad que se ha desarrollado a lo largo de tres siglos. Descriptores: Eco-espiritualidad; Ecologismo; Cuaquerismo; Plaining.

Whereas the ecological crisis has elicited a response from many quarters of American Christianity, classical (or denominational) Pentecostals have expressed almost no concern about environmental problems. The reasons for their disregard of the environment lie in the Pentecostal worldview which finds expression in their: (1) tradition; (2) view of human and natural history; (3) common theological beliefs; and (4) scriptural interpretation. All these aspects of Pentecostalism emphasize and value the supernatural--conversely viewing nature as subordinate, dependent and temporary. Therefore, the ecocrisis is not problematic because, for Pentecostals, the natural environment is: of only relative value; must serve the divine plan; and will soon be destroyed and replaced. Furthermore, Pentecostals are likely to continue their environmental disregard, since the supernaturalism which spawns it is key to Pentecostal identity.

A significant and growing number of authors and commentators have proposed that ecologically enlightened (‘greened’) religion is the solution or at least a major part of the solution to the global ecological crisis. These include Birch, 1965 p90; Brindle, 2000; Callicott, 1994; Gardner, 2002, 2003, 2006; Gore Jr., 1992; Gottlieb, 2006, 2007; Hallman, 2000; Hamilton, 2006b, a, 2007b; Hessel & Ruether, 2000b; Hitchcock, 1999; King, 2002; Lerner, 2006a; McDonagh, 1987; McFague, 2001; McKenzie, 2005; Nasr, 1996; Oelschlaeger, 1994; Palmer, 1992; Randers, 1972; Tucker & Grim, 2000; and White Jr., 1967. Proponents offer a variety of reasons for this view, including that the majority of the world’s and many nations’ people identify themselves as religious, and that there is a large amount of land and infrastructure controlled by religious organisations worldwide. However, the most important reason is that ‘religion’ is said to have one or more exceptional qualities that can drive and sustain dramatic personal and societal change. The underlying or sometimes overt suggestion is that as the ecological crisis is ultimately a moral crisis, religion is best placed to address the problem at its root. ¶ Proponents of the above views are often religious, though there are many who are not. Many proponents are from the USA and write in the context of the powerful role of religion in that country. Others write in a global context. Very few write from or about the Australian context where the role of religion in society is variously argued to be virtually non-existent, soon to be non-existent, or conversely, profound but covert. ¶ This thesis tests the proposition that religion is the solution to the ecological crisis. It does this using a case study of mainstream religion in Australia, represented by the Catholic, Anglican, and Uniting Churches. The Churches’ ecological policies and practices are analysed to determine the extent to which these denominations are fulfilling, or might be able to fulfil, the proposition. The primary research method is an Internet-based search for policy and praxis material. The methodology is Critical Human Ecology. ¶ The research finds that: the ‘greening’ of these denominations is evident; it is a recent phenomenon in the older Churches; there is a growing wealth of environmentalist sentiment and ecological policy being produced; but little institutional praxis has occurred. Despite the often-strong rhetoric, there is no evidence to suggest that ecological concerns, even linked to broader social concerns (termed ‘ecojustice’) are ‘core business’ for the Churches as institutions. Conventional institutional and anthropocentric welfare concerns remain dominant. ¶ Overall, the three Churches struggle with organisational, demographic, and cultural problems that impede their ability to convert their official ecological concerns into institutional praxis. Despite these problems, there are some outstanding examples of ecological policy and praxis in institutional and non-institutional forms that at least match those seen in mainstream secular society. ¶ I conclude that in Australia, mainstream religion is a limited part of the solution to the ecological crisis. It is not the solution to the crisis, at least not in its present institutional form. Institutional Christianity is in decline in Australia and is being replaced by non-institutional Christianity, other religions and non-religious spiritualities (Tacey, 2000, 2003; Bouma, 2006; Tacey, 2007). The ecological crisis is a moral crisis, but in Australia, morality is increasingly outside the domain of institutional religion. The growth of the non-institutional religious and the ‘spiritual but not religious’ demographic may, if ecologically informed, offer more of a contribution to addressing the ecological crisis in future. This may occur in combination with some of the more progressive movements seen at the periphery of institutional Christianity such as the ‘eco-ministry’ of Rev. Dr. Jason John in Adelaide, and the ‘Creation Spirituality’ taught, advocated and practiced by the Mercy Sisters’ Earth Link project in Queensland.

A significant and growing number of authors and commentators have proposed that ecologically enlightened (‘greened’) religion is the solution or at least a major part of the solution to the global ecological crisis. These include Birch, 1965 p90; ... . Proponents offer a variety of reasons for this view, including that the majority of the world’s and many nations’ people identify themselves as religious, and that there is a large amount of land and infrastructure controlled by religious organisations worldwide. However, the most important reason is that ‘religion’ is said to have one or more exceptional qualities that can drive and sustain dramatic personal and societal change. The underlying or sometimes overt suggestion is that as the ecological crisis is ultimately a moral crisis, religion is best placed to address the problem at its root. ¶ ... ¶ This thesis tests the proposition that religion is the solution to the ecological crisis. It does this using a case study of mainstream religion in Australia, represented by the Catholic, Anglican, and Uniting Churches. The Churches’ ecological policies and practices are analysed to determine the extent to which these denominations are fulfilling, or might be able to fulfil, the proposition. The primary research method is an Internet-based search for policy and praxis material. The methodology is Critical Human Ecology. ¶ ...

Consent form, persmission letter and declaration translated into Portuguese. Interview schedule translated into Makhua and Portuguese
Economically, Mozambique is one of the poorest countries globally. Given to its poor state, Mozambique remains environmentally deteriorated. Fortunately, the Mozambican government has embarked on environmental programmes as a strategy for ecological management. However, these strategies seem irrelevant due to ineffective implementation of such programmes. It lacks local community awareness, involvement and participation. The church lacks eco-theology as well as theology that can protect nature and people’s struggles. This study investigated the policies and their implementation towards environmental management in Mozambique. The study also discussed church’s role and proposed a comprehensive theology towards the environment in the city of Nampula. Nampula city is one of the busiest cities in the province and in the northern region of Mozambique due to its business attractions. This study was limited to the Union Baptist Church of Nampula. The data collection was based on two approaches, fieldwork and literature analysis. Fieldwork approach resulted in 20 Nampula citizens’ residents being interviewed. The finding showed that environmental crisis is a socio-economic, political and religious problem of concern. It also revealed that the citizens of Nampula face detrimental and environmental health impacts caused by a weak waste management policy. The incapacity of the implementation of waste management policy, deficiency in the enforcement of awareness and local people input contribute for ecological crisis, leading for water pollution and health problems. The ambiguity of making ecological regulations and resources available worsens ecological crisis. When such regulations are drafted and promulgated without local people’s participation, it may indicate that the law-makers exclude local knowledge about environment into the scientific debate. This can lead local people to resist and not participate even when they are called for. Hence, the research has shown that to make a dynamic ecological policy and an effective waste management, a combination of both top-down and bottom-up approaches are needed. A top-down approach guarantees constant framework while the bottom-up approach encourages local community involvement. In this study, the significance of local community involvement, church advocacy, and pressure in making waste management policy function constitute a key finding. Without active involvement of local people in planning, designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and the decision-making process participation, the earth management may never take place. Therefore, the challenge remains for the government, the church, and the private sector to draw and define methods to attain economic development, protect ecological and civil society.
Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
M. Th. (Missiology)

Abstracts in English, Xhosa and Afrikaans.
Using an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach, this study investigates the eco-theological contributions of three main interlocutors from East and Southern Africa, namely Samson Gitau, Kapya Kaoma and Jesse Mugambi, all of whom are African theologians. The three theologians seek to address ecological degradation from an African ecological perspective, by drawing on African Indigenous Knowledge Systems and African Christianity and Religiosity. The contributions of the three theologians in their respective chapters enable the study to identify the systems and practices that are under-researched and not utilised even though they are ecologically sensitive systems. Owing to a number of factors, African Indigenous Wisdom Knowledge Systems have not been adequately explored. African Indigenous Wisdom is a body of knowledge systems with ecological overtones. From a theological and African religiosity perspective, Gitau, Kaoma and Mugambi highlight the need for natural theology to be adopted by the Church as an institution. Gitau stresses the importance of relations based on the African concept of God, humanity and creation. The study addresses the gap in the existing knowledge by drawing on the main interlocutors to investigate the ecological crisis and by adopting an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach. According to this approach, as applied by Gitau, Kaoma and Mugambi, the indigene’s systems are not adequately explored and churches in Africa are ecologically insensitive. African churches ought to embrace Indigenous Wisdom Knowledge Systems and form an African eco-theology. The study has brought to the fore the ecological overtones of African religious belief systems and African Christianity that, together, provide the basis for Christian ecological ethics inside and outside the faith community. Gitau, Kaoma and Mugambi condemn the Church as an institution and other voices for not taking a leading role in addressing contemporary ecological issues.
Olu phando lusebenzisa iindidi ngeendidi zophando, esi sifundo siphanda ngegalelo labangeneleli abathathu – uGitau, uKaoma kwakunye noMugambi – kwela candelo lengqiqo-buThixo eligqale kulwalamano oluphakathi kwenkolo nendalo. Bobathathu ke aba baziingcali zengqiqo-buThixo zase-Afrika. Ezi ngcali zontathu zijongene nokuthotywa kwesidima sendalo, kwakunye nokonakaliswa kwayo, besebenzisa ukuqonda kwase-Afrika, betsala kwizimvo zeeNkqubo Zolwazi Lwemveli Lwama-Afrika, ubuKhristu ngokwama-Afrika kwakunye nenkolo. Igalelo lengcali nganye, ngokwezahluko abathe bazibhala, libangela olu phando luzibone izithuba ezikhokhelela kwiinkqubo nezithethe ezingaphandisiswanga, nezingasetyenziswayo, nangona zona ziyihlonipha indalo. Ngenxa yeemeko ngeemeko, ulwazi lwesintu alunikwanga ngqalelo ngokwaneleyo. Xa kujongwa intlalo ngokwesintu, kuyacaca ukuba ulwazi lwesintu lulwazi olucwangcisekileyo, olukwaquke nolondolozo lwendalo. Xa sisondela kulo mba wolondolozo lwendalo ngokwengqiqo-buThixo, uGitau, uKaoma kwakunye noMugambi bagxininisa ukubaluleka kwecandelo lengqiqo-buThixo elijongene nokutyhileka kukaThixo endalweni, kwakunye nokwamkelwa kweli candelo emabandleni onke, kwiimvaba zonke, nakwinkolo yesintu. UGitau ugxininisa ukubaluleka kobudlelwane obusekwe kwindlela uThixo abonwa ngayo ngama-Afrika, kuluntu nakwindalo. Olu phando luzama ukuvala isikhewu esikulwazi olukhoyo ngokufumana ukuqonda kwaba bangeneleli bathathu, ngenjongo yokujongana nolondolozo lwendalo olusebenzisa iindidi ngendidi zokuphanda. Le nkqubo yophando phakathi kwamacandelo ngamacandelo isetyenziswa nguGitau, uKaoma kunye noMugambi ibonakalise inyani yokuba iinkqubo zesintu azihlolisiswanga ngokwaneleyo kwaye iinkonzo zaseAfrika aziyiniki ngqalelo indalo, kwaye kufuneka zamkele ulwazi lwesintu ukuze kwakheke icandelo lengqiqo-buThixo elingqale kulo mba wolondolozo lwendalo ngokwase-Afrika. Olu phando luveze into yokuba inkolo yesintu kunye neenkonzo zase-Afrika zilufanele ulondolozo lwendalo, kwaye imigaqo yokuziphatha yamaKhristu malunga nolu londolozo ezinkonzweni nasekuhlaleni, lusekwe phezu kwazo. UGitau, uKaoma kwakunye noMugambi bayalikhalimela ibandla lamaKhristu, kunye nezinye izimvo ezichazwayo kolu phando, ngokungathathi nxaxheba ikhokelayo ekulungisweni kwemiba yangoku yolondolozo lwendalo.
Volgens 'n interdissiplinêre en multidissiplinêre benadering ondersoek hierdie studie die ekoteologiese bydraes van drie Afrika-teoloë uit Oos- en Suider-Afrika, naamlik Samson Gitau, Kapya Kaoma en Jesse Mugambi. Hierdie drie teoloë beskou die kwessie van ekologiese agteruitgang uit 'n Afrika- ekologiese perspektief en put uit inheemse Afrika- kennisstelsels en die Afrika-Christendom en religiositeit. ʼn Ondersoek na die bydraes van elke teoloog, elkeen s’n in ʼn afsonderlike hoofstuk, bring stelsels en praktyke aan die lig wat nog nie genoegsaam nagevors is nie, en nie gebruik word nie, alhoewel dit ekologies sensitiewe stelsels en praktyke is. As gevolg van verskeie faktore is inheemse Afrika- wysheid-en-kennisstelsels nog nie voldoende ondersoek nie. Inheemse Afrika-wysheid-en- kennisstelsels is kennisstelsels met 'n ekologiese ondertoon. Uit 'n teologiese perspektief dring Gitau, Kaoma en Mugambi daarop aan dat die Kerk as 'n instelling die ekologiese teologie volgens Afrika-religiositeit aanvaar. Gitau beklemtoon die belangrikheid van verhoudings wat op die Afrika-konsep van God, menslikheid en skepping gebaseer is. Hierdie studie vul 'n leemte in die bestaande kennis aan deur uit die primêre gespreksgenote se kennis te put om die ekologiese krisis deur ʼn interdissiplinêre en multidissiplinêre benadering aan te pak. Volgens hierdie benadering, wat deur Gitau, Kaoma en Mugambi volg word, is inheemse kennisstelsels nog nie na behore ondersoek is nie, is kerke in Afrika ekologies onsensitief, en moet hulle inheemse wysheid-en-kennisstelsels omhels om 'n Afrika-ekoteologie te ontwikkel. In die studie tree die ekologiese toonaard van die Afrika- gelowe en die Afrika-Christendom na vore, wat saam die grondslag vir ʼn Christelike ekologiese etiek binne en buite die geloofsgemeenskap vorm. Gitau, Kaoma en Mugambi veroordeel die Kerk as 'n instelling en ander stemme omdat hulle nie 'n leidende rol in die aanpak van hedendaagse ekologiese kwessies speel nie.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
M.Th (Systematic Theology)

Chapter 2 addresses the most explicitly material aspect of making Pushkar paradise. The chapter explores the environmental degradation that has befallen the town’s holy lake, and then focuses on efforts by local Hindus to clean it. In the chapter, the author contends that the broad goal of making Pushkar paradise and, more specifically, the task of cleaning the lake, involve a robust process of ritualization. Here, cleaning becomes not only cast within the vocabulary of karma and Hindu duty (dharma) but is in fact yoked to other religious activities, too, like circumambulation and feeding animals. Thinking alongside the work of Catherine Bell, the author aims to show how environmentalism becomes ritualized and, in turn, renders a place sacred.