PARENT SESSION
Symposium #32: Ecological Restoration and Environmental Justice: Empowering Communities.
Organized by: LM Jablonski and KM Rodriguez
Thursday, August 8. 1:00 PM to 3:45 PM. Maricopa Meeting Room, TCC.
Environmental Justice & Religious Movements - Restoring Engagement in the World.
JABLONSKI, LEANNE*,1,2, POLING, TARA1, 1 MEEC - Marianist Environmental Education Center, Dayton, OH2 University of Dayton, Dayton, OH
ABSTRACT- Challenged by Lyn White's criticisms of western faith in the 1970s, academics and a minority in mainstream faith communities have probed their traditions for a theological framework to address environmental issues. Involvement increased in the 1990s when 32 international scientists urged the religious community to apply their unique role in moral formation to address environmental degradation. A set of environmental values have emerged across denominational lines which are embraced by Judeo-Christians through the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE), an alliance of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Coalition for the Environment and Jewish Life, the National Council of Churches and the Evangelical Environmental Network. This religious environmental justice (EJ) movement is similar to its secular cousin in recognizing equal access to environmental protection and the rights of nature independent of utilitarian values. It differs in the moral emphasis that views the Earth as "sacred." Specific responses include education, worship, advocacy, direct institutional and personal action, corporate responsibility, and land stewardship. The Marianist Environmental Education Center and Interfaith Global Climate Change Campaign integrate restoration science and education with the development of religious values. Uniting the educational, moral and land resources of faith communities to the emerging knowledge of ecological restoration could advance the EJ agenda. For under-represented groups in urban settings, religious organizations may be the best vehicle for advancing ecological literacy and engaging local participation.
KEY WORDS: environmental justice, religion, values, restoration ecology