Connections Quarterly Spring 2016 - Environment

1203-1207). Discussions and debates in the aftermath of this publication thus provide innumerable opportunities to explore with students the fundamental assumptions and contested perspectives in play in debates about religion’s role and its impact on human culture and the natural world. by both implicit and explicit religious impulses. Examples of these schools’ efforts include the ritual restoration of a surrounding natural area, the cultivation of gardens on campus, student participation in grassroots activism around ecological and social justice issues, and outdoor education that inspires transformative experiences for students in natural environments. In addition to these engaged practices, here are a few suggestions (by no means comprehensive) that could build upon existing work or explore the nexus of religion, ethics and nature in our curriculums. There are a variety of ways that educators can engage the intersection of religion, ethics and nature. More than a few schools are already modeling innovative sustainability practices, and I believe that some of this commitment to “being green” is inspired For Chapel Programs: 1. Introduce a thematic approach to religion, ethics and nature for the year. • Have students pick a global issue. As the year progresses incorporate this issue into services, readings or discussions with particular attention on the moral and ethical questions related to it. For example, examine how the loss of biodiversity is approached by different peoples in the world by having students find news articles about the issue in different countries. • Or, have students reflect and discuss the moral/ethical components of this issue by asking them to think about how the different religions/cultures might have certain internal and external barriers. Ask them to consider how these barriers might work to inhibit the kind of transformations that are widely considered necessary if humans are to achieve solutions to this global issue. • Use a bulletin board to post the different articles that identify the moral/ethical issues related to this topic. Or, document the barriers identified by students in discussions as a way to facilitate big picture understanding of this issue from many different religious/ cultural perspectives. Continues on page 10 CSEE Connections Spring 2016 Page 9

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