WORKING WITH FAITHS
WORKING WITH FAITH GROUPS
All faiths have their own relationship with nature, expressed in their scriptures and teachings and also through art, song, dance, prayer and practical action. Drawing on their traditions, faith communities are working in countless ways to care for the environment.
Around the world, faith groups have immense influence socially, educationally, politically and culturally, both at national and local levels. This influence, combined with their spiritual insight and commitment, makes them one of the most powerful agents for social change in civil society.
Each faith has its own distinctive history and teachings, and its own unique relationship with the natural world. See below to find out about some of the key groups supporting or documenting the work of faiths on conservation. And learn more about each faith's history, beliefs and teachings on nature; each section covers the major conservation themes of Habitat, Species and Footprint as well as links for further information.
'I was part of the generation that made the choice – the horrendous strategic blunder – of situating ourselves outside the institutions of faith. Now we have a chance to repent of, and reform from, that error.'
Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, speaking to the Christian Science Monitor in 2007
Documenting, training and supporting faiths to take action
KEY GROUPS WORKING WITH FAITHS ON CONSERVATION
More and more secular organisations are working with faith actors on environmental issues. Here are a few pioneering programmes but at the bottom of each of the faith and conservation pages on the Hub, you will find lists of other groups heavily engaged in faith and conservation.
YALE FORUM ON RELIGION AND ECOLOGY
The Forum, founded in 1998 and based at Yale University since 2006, is an invaluable and comprehensive resource for research, education, engagement, and outreach in the field of religion and ecology.
As well as posting news on religion and ecology, it sends a monthly email newsletter to over 12,000 people, and highlights some 300 engaged projects in the world’s religions.
It organises conferences, publicises publications and provides free, online courses, taken by some 35,000 people. It has also created a new website, Living Earth Community.
UNEP FAITH FOR EARTH COALITION
UNEP founded the Faith for Earth Coalition in 2017 for faith leaders and communities to contribute to environmental action and the Sustainable Development Goals. Over the next eight years, it established a global network of more than 8,000 members who engaged with policy-makers and governments across the globe.
Although it is no longer managed centrally, its interfaith councils continue the work of its three communities of practice. Because it no longer has a centralised website, we have added many of its resources to this one. Click below for the page.
THE LOKA
INITIATIVE
The Loka Initiative is a capacity building and outreach platform for faith leaders and culture keepers of Indigenous traditions working on environmental and climate issues.
Founded by Dekila Chungyalpa, who led WWF US's Sacred Earth programme for six years, it is based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and it aims to foster resilient communities for a sustainable future.
Its PREP course (Preparing Religious Environmental Plans) brings faith leaders together over 10 weeks to work on their own faith-led environmental and climate projects.
LIVING EARTH COMMUNITY
A new website, the Living Earth Community, has been launched by Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology as an ongoing knowledge commons for wondrous exploration of the biodiversity and intelligences woven throughout the natural world.
The website gathers scientific, spiritual, humanistic, and legal resources that investigate the diverse ways Earth and its inhabitants express sentience, intelligence, and creativity.
FAITH PLANS
Faith groups are developing Faith Plans, looking at how they can use their assets, resources and influence to drive practical action on the environment.
The Faith Plans framework is inspired by the success of the original ARC/UNDP 2009 Faith Commitments programme which resulted in more than 60 Plans that have profoundly shaped the faiths response to environmental issues over the past decade and more.
In this latest initiative, more than 80 faith communities and faith-based associations, reaching out to nearly 158 million people, have committed to develop a plan.
USING VIDEO SHORTS TO PROMOTE ECO-ACTION
Short videos increasingly serve as a key medium through which people receive information. Importantly, these videos have the ability to inspire viewers to take action. The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, in collaboration with the Episcopal Diocese of California, hired Nas Daily Studios, which produced 50 one-minute short videos on religion and ecology between September and December 2024.
Nas Daily Studios is a leading producer of short videos on social media. The videos received six million views in total across six social media platforms. Bringing spiritual intelligence to bear on the climate crisis, the videos relate to solar panels on churches, Hindu teachings and vegetarianism, and faith-based tree planting. Additional videos highlight concrete climate solutions by religious institutions and communities, and key ecological messages that are organic to spiritual traditions.
The videos include Catholic, Episcopal, Indigenous, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Jewish, Sikh and other voices. The videos encourage viewers through ecological calls to action. Some of these videos were filmed at COP29. Online ecological ‘challenges’ to encourage practical action have also been launched as part of the video project.
Click below to watch some of the videos.
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Key guidance documents
Interested in getting a collaboration or a project going with a faith community but not sure where to start? Check out these key guidance documents.
