Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is distinct from syncretism or alternative religion, in that dialogue often involves promoting understanding between different religions or beliefs to increase acceptance of others, rather than to synthesize new beliefs.
Spiritual ecology is an emerging field in religion, conservation, and academia recognizing that there is a spiritual facet to all issues related to conservation, environmentalism, and earth stewardship. Proponents of Spiritual Ecology assert a need for contemporary conservation work to include spiritual elements and for contemporary religion and spirituality to include awareness of and engagement in ecological issues.
Thomas Berry, CP was a Catholic priest, cultural historian, and scholar of the world’s religions, especially Asian traditions. Later, as he studied Earth history and evolution, he called himself a “geologian.”
Kit Thomas is an American film maker and record producer best known for his involvement with films that "make a difference".
David Shlomo Rosen KSG CBE is the former Chief Rabbi of Ireland (1979–1985) and currently serves as the American Jewish Committee's International Director of Interreligious Affairs. From 2005 until 2009 he headed the International Jewish Committee for Inter-religious Consultations (IJCIC), the broad-based coalition of Jewish organizations and denominations that represents World Jewry in its relations with other world religions.
Evangelical environmentalism is an environmental movement in the United States in which some Evangelical Christians have emphasized biblical mandates concerning humanity's role as steward and subsequent responsibility for the care taking of Creation. While the movement has focused on different environmental issues, it is best known for its focus of addressing climate action from a biblically-grounded theological perspective.
Religion and environmentalism is an emerging interdisciplinary subfield in the academic disciplines of religious studies, religious ethics, the sociology of religion, and theology amongst others, with environmentalism and ecological principles as a primary focus.
Christian views on environmentalism vary among different Christians and Christian denominations.
Faith in Place is an American organization based in Chicago, Illinois that coordinates religious leaders to address environmental sustainability issues. Partnering with religious congregations, Faith in Place promotes clean energy and sustainable farming. Since 1999, Faith in Place has partnered with over 700 congregations in Illinois.
Judaism intersects with environmentalism on many levels. The natural world plays a central role in Jewish law, literature, and liturgical and other practices. Within the diverse arena of Jewish thought, beliefs vary widely about the human relation to the environment, resulting in a notable history of Jewish environmental thought and activism.
Sister Paula González, S.C., Ph.D., entered the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati in 1954. She earned her doctorate in biology at the Catholic University in Washington, DC, and was a biology professor at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio, for 21 years.
Bet Mishpachah is a Jewish egalitarian worshiping community in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C. It is one of a number of national and international Jewish communities of "LGBT affirming congregations" that specifically welcome and "embrace" the LGBT community, along with all others who "wish to participate in an inclusive, egalitarian, and mutually supportive community." Membership is open to all singles, couples, and families, regardless of religious affiliation, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Bron Raymond Taylor is an American scholar and conservationist. He is professor of religion and nature at the University of Florida and has also been an affiliated scholar with the Center for Environment and Development at the University of Oslo. Taylor works principally in the areas of religion and ecology, environmental ethics and environmental philosophy. He is also a prominent historian and ethnographer of environmentalism and especially radical environmentalist movements, surfing culture and nature-based spiritualities. Taylor is also editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature and subsequently founded the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, serving as its president from 2006 to 2009. He also founded the society's affiliated Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, serving as its editor since 2007.
Fazlun Khalid is a Sri Lankan born British Islamic ecotheologian and the Founder-Director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science based in Birmingham, England. He has served as director of training at the Alliance of Religions and Conservation and as a consultant for World Wildlife Fund.
More than 60 percent of Berlin residents have no registered religious affiliation. As of 2010, at least 30 percent of the population identified with some form of Christianity, approximately 8.1 percent were Muslim, 1 percent were Jewish, and 1 percent belonged to other religions. As of 2018, the number of registered church members has shrunk to 14.9 percent for EKD Protestants and 8.5 percent for Catholics.
Aytzim, formerly the Green Zionist Alliance (GZA), is a New York-based Jewish environmental organization that is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity. A grassroots all-volunteer organization, Aytzim is active in the United States, Canada and Israel. The organization is a former member of the American Zionist Movement and has worked in partnership with Ameinu, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), Hazon, Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, Interfaith Oceans, GreenFaith, Mercaz/Masorti, the National Religious Coalition on Creation Care, and the Jewish National Fund (JNF)—although Aytzim has long criticized JNF for not prioritizing sustainability and environmental justice in its actions. Aytzim's work at the nexus of Judaism, environmentalism and Zionism has courted controversy from both Jewish and non-Jewish groups.
Mary Evelyn Tucker is the co-founder and co-director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale University with her husband, John Allen Grim. Tucker teaches in the joint Master's program in religion and ecology at Yale between the School of the Environment, and the Divinity School. She also has an appointment at Yale's Department of Religious Studies. She has authored and edited close to 20 volumes and has published hundreds of articles. She is a pioneer in the field of religion and ecology. She is the granddaughter of Carlton J.H. Hayes, noted European historian at Columbia University and Ambassador to Spain in WWII under Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As an author, she is largely held in libraries worldwide. She teaches a MOOC specialization of three courses on Journey of the Universe and “The Worldview of Thomas Berry” plus a MOOC specialization of five courses on Religions and Ecology and a course on Christianity and Ecology.
The People's Climate March was a protest which took place on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall, and among 1 million locations throughout the United States, and locations outside the U.S., on April 29, 2017. The organizers, People's Climate Movement, announced the demonstration in January 2017 to protest the environmental policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration. The protests were held at the end of his first 100 days as president, during stormy weather across the U.S. There were an estimated 200,000 participating in the D.C. march.
Yonatan Neril is an interfaith environmental advocate, NGO director, and rabbi. He founded and directs the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD), based in Jerusalem.
The Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology is a multireligious and interdisciplinary project. In collaboration with other academics and environmentalists, it promotes the teaching and study of religion and ecology and highlights the activity of religious environmentalism around the globe. The Forum publishes books and articles, provides a monthly email newsletter, offers online Coursera courses, and maintains an extensive website emphasizing engaged scholarship and action for ecojustice. It has hosted and co-hosted some 28 conferences over the last 25 years.
