World Christianity and Ecological Theologies invites scholars in religious studies and theology from different continents and contexts to a North-South dialogue on environmental ethics, political ecology, and ecofeminism. Throughout the global pandemic, the connection between environmental rapacity, religion, and political interests has once again called scholarly attention to the important conversation on public religion and global environment-related issues. Acknowledging a deficit among scholars of World Christianity in addressing environmental concerns and the field's limited language for framing those concerns, this book aims to bring the fields of study of World Christianity, religion, and ecology into a sustained conversation, with the goal of expanding the theoretical horizons of these fields. World Christianity and Ecological Theologies reiterates that all Christian theologies are contextual, as they shape and are shaped by specific historical and cultural circumstances. It aims at showcasing the ways in which the intersection of religion and ecology is approached by scholars in religious studies and theology in the Global South or by those in conversation with them in the Global North, pointing to what can be generated if these bodies of scholarship are engaged as dialogue partners to investigate new patterns of religious environmentalism.
Raimundo C. Barreto Jr. is associate professor of World Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the editor of the Fortress Press series World Christianity and Public Religion. His most recent book is Protesting Poverty: Protestants, Social Ethics, and the Poor in Brazil (Baylor University Press, 2023). Graham McGeoch is a Church of Scotland minister and teaches theology and religious studies at Faculdade Unida de Vitoria, Brazil. Wanderley Pereira da Rosa is president of Faculdade Unida de Vitoria, Brazil, where he is also a professor of the history of Christianity.
Introduction: World Christianity and Ecological Theologies Raimundo Barreto, Wanderley Pereira da Rosa, Graham McGeoch Part One: Focal Essays: An Invitation for Ecological Engagement and Dialogue Chapter 1: Ecology as the Capacity for Love Jurgen Moltmann Chapter 2: Interdependence, Christianity and Environmental Crisis Ivone Gebara Part Two: A Roadmap for the Conversation Chapter 3: The North/South Divide in Contemporary Christian Ecotheology: South Africa as a Case Study Ernst Conradie Chapter 4: Mother Earth, Mother Africa: African Ecofeminist Voices Sue Rakoczy Chapter 5: Seeking a Morally Viable Response to Climate Injustice Informed by Voices from its Underside Cynthia Moe-Lobeda Chapter 6: "For the life of the world": Insights from the eco-praxis and eco-theology of Eastern Orthodox Christianity Nikolaos Asproulis Part Three: Sampling Ecotheological Concerns in Distinct Contexts and Christian Traditions Chapter 7: In Solidarity with "Mother Earth". African Christianity and the Love of God in the Context of a Degraded Earth Golo Ben Willie Kwaku Chapter 8: Human Uniqueness, Divine Interrelationality, and the Hope of Ecofeminist Theology Ruben Rosario- Rodriguez Chapter 9: World Christianity and Ecology: Ecowomanism Melanie Harris Chapter 10: Embracing Life and Cultivating Hope: The Ecological Dimension of Liberation Theology Luis Martinez Andrade Chapter 11: Hearing the Words of Creatures: Traditional Sources of Knowledge of Creation in Orthodox Christianity Elizabeth Theokritoff Part Four: Earth-Keeping Approaches from the Global South Chapter 12: Ecology testifies to Religiosity: Observations from Oceania Jione Havea Chapter 13: Two Million Trees Planted: The Green Reformation and Ghana's Church of Pentecost David D. Daniels III Chapter 14: An Asian Eco-Spirituality Kwangsun Choi Chapter 15: Christianity in Abya Yala: Motherland, Sustainability and Ecocide Yenny Delgado-Qullaw Bibliography Index
World Christianity and Ecological Theologies represents a spread of essays on a subject of deep significance. Mostly from postcolonial settings in the Global South, these contributions reflect the ferment in current theological scholarship amidst the challenges faced by those most threatened by climate change. In assembling this fine collection, the editors have provided us with a rich resource for contemporary approaches to the theology of creation. --David Fergusson, Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge Only a polycentric yet dialogical approach can help us gain traction on the pressing ecological crises of our times, and thus, World Christianity has much to offer. Nuancing as well as concretizing conversations in religion and ecology from its interconfessional, interdisciplinary, and intercultural plethora, the series' culminating volume invites into ecological engagement and samples ecotheological concerns across diverse contexts and Christian traditions. This volume will be of interest for anyone seeking to be oriented and equipped in the face of our planetary crisis. --Hanna Reichel, associate professor of reformed theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, and author of After Method: Queer Grace, Conceptual Design, and the Possibility of Theology A successful contribution to pursue dialogue on ecotheology between North and South, East and West. A must-read for anyone interested in learning on key topics of ecological theology, addressed especially from the Global South and from Orthodox perspectives. --Guillermo Kerber, coeditor of Penser les relations ecologiques en theologie a l'ere de l'anthropocene An excellent collection of essays that brings together diverse voices to a global dialogue on the intersection between religion and ecology. A global interdisciplinary dialogue that seeks to overcome the divide of power and privilege by amplifying the voices and experiences of those often marginalized in this conversation with emphasis on the abundant wisdom these voices bring. --Rev. Dr. Seforosa Carroll, academic dean and lecturer in cross-cultural ministry and theology, United Theological College, School of Theology, Charles Sturt University, Australia The climate crisis has reached a tipping point, and it is clear that solutions will not come from the West, which has both caused and benefited from the exploitation of the earth's resources. Needed are the marginalized voices, especially from the Global South and Eastern Christianity, which have been largely ignored in the field of World Christianity, but also in the dialogue between religion and ecology. This volume marvelously fills that gap and offers hope for new ways of relating to the earth and to each other. --Aristotle Papanikolaou, professor of theology, Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture, and co-founding director of Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University
