Connections Quarterly Spring 2016 - Environment | Seite 10

Engaging the Intersection
of Religion, Ethics and
Nature in Secondary Schools
By Bridgette McGoldrick

G

lobal warming, species extinction,
rising sea levels, deforestation,
holes in the ozone, increasing population, famine, refugee crises, a widening gap between the rich and the poor...
Media accounts and scientific reports
continue to remind us that our current behaviors regarding environmental trends,
and accompanying social injustices, are
just not sustainable. However, the causes
and proposed solutions for these trends
have become some of the most contentious issues of our time. As Pope Francis
recently stated in his encyclical about the
environment “Although the post-industrial
period may well be remembered as one of
the most irresponsible in history, there is
reason to hope that humanity at the dawn
of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having generously shouldered
its grave responsibilities (Bagley, http://
insideclimatenews.org/news/18062015/
pope-francis-eight-major-messages-hisown-words-encyclical-climate-changeglobal-warming-environment).” Progressive educators continue to seek out
opportunities to engage student thought

Page 8 Spring 2016

and action in these very issues. The nexus
of religion, nature and ethics offers fertile ground for creative pedagogy as we
grapple with the question about “how do/
should homo sapiens fit on the planet?”
(Orr, 50). Moreover, it seems incumbent
upon us to ensure that students are better
equipped for developing answers to what
David Orr has posed as one of the most
pressing questions in the age of ecological concern, which is where do we go from
here?
The idea that this nexus is a place worth considering isn’t new. The idea that the intersection of “religion and nature” matters began in
the late 1960s as a response to criticism that
the world’s religious traditions are one of the
most problematic sources of environmental
degradation. Not everyone agrees; however,
Lynn White’s thesis put forth in an issue of
Science in 1967 has resulted in decades of
investigation and lively scholarly exchanges
about the relationship between religion and
nature. In short, the thesis stated that religion
was both a cause of and held a solution for
remedying ecological destruction (White,

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