Motivated for Action and Collaboration: The Abrahamic Religions and Climate Change

Abstract

Leaders of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have publicly advocated action to mitigate the adverse effects of human-forced climate change. Particularly prominent prior to, during, and after the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change were Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Pope Francis, and Patriarch Bartholomew. Also prominent was a group of Islamic clerics, leaders of organizations, and scholars who collaborated in issuing a declaration on climate change three months prior to COP 21. Informed by the Earth sciences, these leaders shared their faith-based rationales for acting locally to internationally as indicated in the documents explored in this article. Examples of organizations motivated by their leaders' faith perspectives demonstrate their readiness to act informed by scientists. To work effectively, these religious leaders and activist groups require well-substantiated conclusions from data collected to counter unsubstantiated claims by climate skeptics. Earth scientists will find among the religious leaders and groups allies in the quest for a flourishing planet.

Challenging the Levels: The Catholic Church as a Multi-Level Actor in the Transition to a Climate-Compatible Society

“…Religious communities in their various forms and shapes are an important element in these partnerships for sustainable development. Ecumenical Christian actors, especially the World Council of Churches (WCC), as well as majoritarian Catholic faith-based organizations such as Pax Christi, were involved in broaching sustainability as a basis from which to face the challenges of the modern world [11][12][13][14]. They continued to participate actively in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 (aka the Rio+20 Conference), where the idea of the SDGs was developed [15].…”

The Efficacy of Using SCB Guidelines to Facilitate Conservation Science-Faith Collaboration: Experiences in the Field

“…During a forum at the 2016 IMCC in Newfoundland/Labrador, several participants identified as impediments to conservationfaith collaboration some researchers' negative views of faiths as causes of strife and violence in the world, discomfort with religious and spiritual ways of thinking beyond material reality, desire to work only within their fields of expertise in which they are well-trained, and biases, assumptions and stereotypes of organized religions and other faiths (Schaefer, 2016). These characteristics parallel the "conflict" and "contrast" categories in which scholars have placed religion in relation to science (e.g., Haught, 1994;Barbour, 1997).…”

New Hope for the Oceans: Engaging Faith-Based Communities in Marine Conservation

“…In statements issued and campaigns initiated, they have drawn upon their traditions and ethical systems to identify behavior that the faithful should demonstrate toward other species and systems of Earth. Efforts by religious communities on the adverse effects of human-forced climate change have been prominent recently (Schaefer, 2016), some have addressed the effects on oceans specifically (e.g., Francis, 2015;Bartholomew, 2016), and all have enormous potential for benefitting marine conservation locally to globally.…”

“…Whereas, scientists can identify problems and steps toward their resolution, support for research, problem solving, and implementation of solutions must come from societal sources. Among the most promising are spiritually motivated religious and indigenous communities that may be reliable collaborators with marine scientists in achieving shared conservation goals (Expertsvar, 2013;Schaefer, 2016).…”