Religion and Climate (Harvard Divinity School)
As our world collectively grapples with the negative effects of a changing climate, care for the environment and advancing a more sustainable future are increasingly important areas of focus at Harvard. HDS has been, and continues to be, a vital partner in University-wide conversations about climate change and a leader in exploring environmental issues through a multireligious perspective. As former HDS Dean David Hempton said, “This crisis has laid bare the dire need to bridge cultural and religious divides that inhibit progress. This is where Harvard Divinity School can make a difference in the fight for a more sustainable future—by bringing the full force of the humanities to the conversation.”
Much of HDS’s climate-related programming this year has involved convening conversations to consider the embedded religious dimensions of political, economic, and social systems that have contributed to climate collapse and environmental injustice. “Religion in Times of Earth Crisis,” a webinar series devoted to discussing the climate crisis, was a response to Professor Mayra Rivera’s American Academy of Religion 2022 presidential address, “What is the Role of the Study of Religion in Times of Catastrophe?” Sponsored by the Center for the Study of World Religions, Religion and Public Life, and Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, among other programs, this six-part series featured members of the HDS faculty who explored, through their respective areas of expertise, “what an expansive understanding of religion can provide in these times of Earth crisis.”
To highlight a few examples, Professor Dan McKanan’s presentation was part of his ongoing effort to rethink the tradition of conservation so that it includes efforts not only to preserve and protect special places but also protect the ordinary places where we live and work. The Rev. Matthew Ichihashi Potts reflected on “the spiritual crisis at the heart of climate catastrophe and the potential for a religious response.” And Professor Teren Sevea spoke about stories of multispecies ancestors and colonizers, Islamic conceptions of the environment, and narrative traditions of Islamic ecological care. Each speaker contributed important perspectives on the ways that an understanding of religion can guide us in these times of environmental catastrophe.
https://www.hds.harvard.edu/hds-fund-community-impact-report/religion-and-climate
