Every religious tradition defines its relationship to the natural environment. In the United States’ religious history, that relationship has been most frequently drawn from Genesis 1:28: “And God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (KJV).

For a long time, Judeo-Christian theologians generally agreed that this passage means God intends for mankind to use creation as he sees fit, placing human beings above all other living things, animal or vegetable, in importance. But in the 1960s, as the secular environmental movement was born with the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, a different interpretation of Genesis gained credence. Many theologians now interpret “dominion” as stewardship, pointing to Genesis 2:15, where man is put in the Garden of Eden “to dress and keep it.” They hold that God intends for human beings to care for, not dominate, the natural world.

Now the religious environmental movement is blooming in depth, diversity and impact. Most faith groups are actively pursuing environmental goals, and thousands of individuals motivated by faith are addressing environmental concerns, often through personal behavior or secular groups. There remain, however, some significant disagreements among religious groups. Most major U.S. denominations have official statements on the environment, mostly crafted in the 1980s and early 1990s, that adhere to one of the two interpretations of “dominion.” In the last five years, a concern for all manner of environmental challenges – overpopulation, consumerism, global warming, world agriculture and natural resource usage – has moved up on the priority lists of many faith groups. Today, groups as different as evangelical Christians, Unitarian Universalists and Conservative Jews sometimes find themselves working together on environmental issues, whether trying to influence government policy or turning their own congregations “green.”

Environmentalism has also taken hold among other faiths, whose numbers have grown in the U.S., in part through immigration. Today, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and followers of other religions are approaching environmentalism through the prism of their beliefs.

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Organizations

THINK TANKS

• The Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies defines its mission as promoting “knowledge of the Creation with biblical principles for the purpose of bringing the Christian community and the general public to a better understanding of the Creator and the stewardship of God’s Creation.” It conducts programs to promote Christian environmental stewardship through academic and community programs, outreach and retreats. The institute maintains campuses in Michigan, Washington, Florida and India. Edward A. Johnson is its president. Contact 616- 526-9952.
• The Elliott Allen Institute for Theology and Ecology is a Christian teaching and research institute associated with the University of Toronto in Canada. Dennis Patrick O’Hara is director. Contact 416-926-1300 ext. 3408.
• The Forum on Religion and Ecology wants to establish religion and ecology as an area of study and research in universities, colleges, seminaries and other religiously affiliated institutions. The forum arose out of a series of conferences on the world’s religions and ecology that were hosted by the Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions; the site lists biographies of contributors from around the United States and from other countries. Contact Mary Evelyn Tucker, professor of religion at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., at 570-577-3188, mtucker@bucknell.edu, or contact 617-384-9516, fore@environment.harvard.edu.
• The International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture is an organization of experts on religion, cultures, geographies and their environmental concerns. The society will host its second international meeting in January 2008 on the subject of science, ethics and metaphysics. The society is co-sponsoring another conference, on esotericism, religion and nature, in Charleston, S.C., in spring 2008. Terry Terhaar at the University of California at Santa Cruz is the society’s executive director. Contact terry@religionandnature.com.

RELIGIOUS

CHRISTIAN

• The National Council of Churches of Christ Eco-Justice Programs is a group of Protestant and Orthodox Christians working to protect and restore the environment. The group, based in Washington, D.C., maintains a list of participating denominations. Cassandra Carmichael is director. Contact 202-544-2350, info@nccecojustice.org.
• The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Environmental Justice Program calls Catholics to care for the environment, especially as environmental issues impact the poor. John Carr oversees its work. The group is based in Washington, D.C. Contact 202-541-3181, jcarr@usccb.org.
• The National Catholic Rural Life Conference fosters creation care as part of its mission to protect rural life in America. It is based in Des Moines, Iowa. Robert Gronski is its policy coordinator. Contact 515-270-2634, ncrlcg@mchsi.org.
• A Rocha is an international Christian organization working to care for the environment. The organization has projects in many countries, including Ghana, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Canada and the United States; the U.S. office is in Annapolis, Md. Contact 410-897-9331, usa@arocha.org.
• Earth Ministry is a Christian organization that focuses on mobilizing Christians in the Puget Sound area of Washington to work for a sustainable environment. Though based in Christianity, Earth Ministry’s programs and membership are open to people of all faiths. LeeAnne Beres is executive director. Contact 206-632-2426, laberes@earthministry.org.
• Evangelical Environmental Network is a Christian organization dedicated to promoting biblically based environmental awareness among Christians. It is based in Suwanee, Ga. The group publishes Creation Care, a magazine on religion and the environment. It produces worship and teaching resources for churches and prayer groups on the subject and was the founder of the “What Would Jesus Drive?” awareness campaign. Jim Ball is president and chief executive officer. Contact 678-541-0747, een@creationcare.org.
• Evangelicals for Social Action is an organization committed to connecting Christian principals to major social, cultural and public policy issues, including the environment through “creation care.” Ronald Sider is its president. ESA is on the campus of Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa. Contact 484-384-2990.
• Floresta is a Christian organization that works to reforest areas of the world. It is based in San Diego. Scott Sabin is executive director. Contact 858-274-3718.
• The Network Alliance of Congregations Caring for the Earth, formerly the North American Coalition for Christianity and Ecology, is an ecumenical organization that promotes the establishment of local groups of faith-oriented people who work to care for their local environment and work to educate others about creation care. The alliance is based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Contact 718-496-5139, nacce1@verizon.net.
• Target Earth is an organization of Christian clergy, laypeople, congregations, college fellowships and ministries active in 15 countries in areas of animal and land conservation. The group is based in Tempe, Ariz. Contact 610-909-9740, info@targetearth.org.
• Web of Creation works to provide congregations and individuals with resources for environmental activism and awareness. It is maintained by the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and is a joint project of several Christian denominations and a Unitarian seminary. One of its programs is the Green Seminary Initiative, which helps congregations become more environmentally aware and friendly. David Rhoads is Web of Creation’s director. Contact 773-256-0774, drhoads@lstc.edu or webofcreation@lstc.edu.

JEWISH

• Canfei Nesharim (Hebrew for “the wings of eagles”) is an organization of Orthodox Jews who work to educate others in the Orthodox community about environmental protection as an expression of Jewish tradition. It is based in New York City. Evonne Marzouk is executive director. Contact 212-284-6745, canfei.nesharim@verizon.net.
• The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life seeks to connect Jewish life to the environment through the principles of “tikkun olam,” the Jewish mandate to repair the world. In 2003, the group published What’s Jewish About Protecting the Environment? a report on its first 10 years. The coalition is based in New York City and maintains a list of regional affiliates. Rabbi Steve Gutow is executive director. Contact 212-532-7436.
• The Green Zionist Alliance is an organization that works to provide resources to promote environmental activism in Israel, the Middle East and throughout the Jewish Diaspora. The group maintains offices in Brooklyn, N.Y. Contact via the email form on its Web site. http://www.greenzionism.org
• The Jewish Global Environmental Network is a project of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life that works to create a sustainable future for Israel’s environment. Its contact in North America is Daniel Orenstein of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University in Providence, R.I., 401-863-2499, Daniel_Orenstein@brown.edu.
• Jewish Nature Center promotes Jewish environmental nature education through summer camps and other educational settings. Its offices are in Fairfield, N.J. Contact webmaster@njycamps.org.
• The Noah Project is a British organization that works to raise awareness of environmental issues through education, celebration of Jewish festivals and practical action projects. It is based in London. Contact 020 81232859, info@biggreenjewish.org.
• The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is the advocacy branch of the Jewish Reform movement. Among its environmental concerns are clean water, global warming and endangered species. It is based in Washington, D.C. Contact legislative assistant Marc Katz, mkatz@rac.org.
• The Shalom Center in Philadelphia promotes study and activism around Jewish environmentalism. It was founded in 1983 as part of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, with a focus on the nuclear arms race. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it switched its focus to the environment. Rabbi Arthur Waskow is director. Contact 215-247-9700, ShalomCtr@aol.com.
• Teva Adventure is a nonprofit that seeks to connect Jews and Jewish spirituality to nature through outdoor activities. It is based in Jerusalem, Israel, and Riverdale, N.Y. Contact 718-576-1302, info@tevaadventure.org.
• Teva Learning Center is a nondenominational Jewish environmental educational organization. It is based in New York City. Contact 212-807-6376, teva@tevacenter.org.
• TorahTrek conducts retreats, outdoor adventures and events that make a connection to Jewish life and the environment. Rabbi Mike Comins is its founder. It is based in Los Angeles. Contact info@torahtrek.com.

MUSLIM

• The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences is an international organization that voices a Muslim perspective on environmental issues. It publishes the newsletter EcoIslam. It is based in Birmingham, England. Fazlun Khalid is its founder and director. Contact 44 (0)121 440 3500.

MULTIFAITH

• The National Religious Partnership for the Environment is an umbrella organization consisting of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Council of Churches of Christ and the Evangelical Environmental Network. The group works to lobby legislators and effect legislation on environmental issues. The group is based in Amherst, Mass. Paul Gorman is executive director. Contact 413-253-1515, nrpe@nrpe.org.
• The Interfaith Council for Environmental Stewardship was founded by a group of Jewish, Catholic and Protestant theologians, environmental scientists and economists to foster care for the environment among people of faith. The group’s Cornwall Declaration on Environmental Stewardship has been signed by many religious leaders. Its offices are in Washington, D.C. Contact info@stewards.net.
• The Interfaith Stewardship Alliance is an organization of religious leaders who promote the Cornwall Declaration, a statement about man’s role as steward of God’s creation. They have been critical of current climate science and some religious environmental activism. They are based in Burke, Va. Contact Melinda Ronn, media contact, 888-397-6238, MelindaKayRonn@aol.com.
• GreenFaith is an organization of members of different religions in New Jersey that works to connect faith to care for the environment. The Rev. Fletcher Harper is executive director. The group’s offices are in New Brunswick, N.J. Contact revfharper@greenfaith.org.
• The Green Yoga Association works to foster ecological awareness in the yoga community. It is based in Oakland, Calif. Laura Cornell is founder and director. Contact studios@greenyoga.org.
• The Regeneration Project is a San Franciso-based interfaith organization that works to link faith and ecology. Its main project is Interfaith Power and Light which promotes renewable energy and energy conservation among congregations nationwide. There is a list of Interfaith Power and Light offices in different states. The Rev. Sally Bingham is its president. Contact 415-561-4891.
  

DENOMINATIONAL MINISTRIES AND STATEMENTS

• The National Council of Churches of Christ Eco-Justice Programs maintains an anthology of environmental statements of 14 member denominations. Contact info@nccecojustice.org.
• The Episcopal Ecological Network is a ministry of the Episcopal Church that advocates on behalf of the church for care of the environment. A list of steering committee members based across the United States is posted.
• The Environmental Education and Advocacy program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America provides resources of ELCA churches on caring for creation. Contact Mary Minette, director, 202-626-7935, mary.minette@elca.org.
• The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopted a social statement titled “Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice” in 1993. Contact Frank Imhoff, associate director for news, 773-380-2955.
• The Lutheran Earthkeeping Network of the Synods is a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America designed to foster care for the planet among ELCA congregations. Madison Christian Community in Madison, Wis., is a member of LENS and uses solar power. Contact Jeff Wild, pastor, 608-836-1455.
• The Mennonite Creation Care Network encourages the church to engage in care of the environment and serves as a network for Mennonites engaged in that work. Luke Gascho heads the network, which is based in Wolf Lake, Ind. Contact 260-799-5869, lukeag@goshen.edu.
• Presbyterians for Restoring Creation is a grass-roots national organization of Presbyterians associated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who are concerned about the environment and work to support the church’s environmental statements and goals. Its coordinator is Rebecca Barnes-Davies, 415-451-2826.
• The Southern Baptist Convention passed a statement on evangelicals and environmentalism at its 2006 annual meeting. Contact the SBC Executive Committee Office for Convention Relations, 615-782-8610.
• The Unitarian Universalist Association has a Ministry for Earth that certifies UU congregations as “green sanctuaries.” The denomination maintains a list of its statements on environmental justice, climate change, and green buildings and practices. The Rev. Katherine Jesch is coordinator of the Green Sanctuary program, which is based in Lyme, N.H. Contact katherine.jesch@uuministryforearth.org.
• The United Methodist Church’s General Board of Church and Society has a statement on the natural world. Contact John Hill, program director for economic and environmental justice, 202-488-5654, jhill@umc-gbcs.org.
• The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism issued a statement on the environment at its 2003 convention. Contact Rabbi Jerome Epstein, executive vice president, 212-533-7800, Epstein@uscj.org.
• The theology department at Marquette University maintains a Web page on the Catholic Church’s statements and policies on ecological degradation. The site includes papal statements, encyclicals, addresses, letters and pastoral statements by bishops.

SECULAR ORGANIZATIONS WITH RELIGIOUS PARTNERSHIPS

• The Alliance of Religions and Conservation is an international secular organization that works to help religious bodies develop environmental stewardship programs. It’s based in Bath, England. Contact +44 (0)1225 758 004, info@arc.org.
• The Cedar Tree Institute works with organizations, including religious groups, to develop environmental projects in Northern Michigan. Contact 906-228-5494

National sources

GENERAL

• The Rev. Jim Ball is president of the Evangelical Environmental Network in Washington, D.C. Contact 678-541-0747, een@creationcare.org.
• Edward Brown is the founding director of Care of Creation, a Christian environmental mission agency based in Madison, Wis. He is the author of the forthcoming Our Father’s World: Mobilizing the Church to Care for Creation (2008). Contact 608-469-7821.
• John Carr is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ secretary for social development and world peace and was a participant in the Vatican’s “Climate Change and Development” 2007 seminar. He is on the board of trustees of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. Contact via the communications department of the USCCB, 202-541-3000, commdept@usccb.org.
• Cassandra Carmichael is director of the National Council of Churches’ Eco-Justice Programs. Contact 202-544-2350, info@nccecojustice.org.
• The Rev. John Chryssavgis is the theological adviser to the ecumenical patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America on environmental issues. Chryssavgis’ writings include Beyond the Shattered Image, about Orthodox perspectives of the environment. Contact JChryssavg@aol.com.
• The Rev. Richard Cizik is vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. He has been a major proponent of creation care. Last year, the signers of the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance’s open letter to the NAE’s president called on him to keep Cizik from speaking out about global warming. Contact 202-789-1011, govaffairs@nae.net.
• Calvin DeWitt is a professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a co-founder of the International Evangelical Environmental Network and an adviser to the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. He identifies himself as an evangelical Christian. Contact 608-265-2564, cbdewitt@wisc.edu.
• Paul Gorman is the founder and executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment in Amherst, Mass. The partnership, which says it represents 100 million Americans, is an alliance of major faith groups and denominations across the spectrum of Jewish and Christian communities and organizations in the United States. Contact 413-253-1515, nrpe@nrpe.org.
• Selena Fox is a high priestess and senior minister of Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church and pagan resource center near Mount Horeb, Wis. One of the group’s main concerns is environmental preservation. Contact 608-924-2216, selena@circlesanctuary.org.
• Rebecca Greenwood is the author of Destined to Rule: Spiritual Strategies for Advancing the Kingdom of God (2007), in which she discusses the role and responsibilities of Christians as “rulers” over creation. Contact via Chosen Books publicist Adam Ferguson, 616-676-9185 ext. 395, aferguson@chosenbooks.com.
• Fazlun Khalid directs the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences in Birmingham, England. He co-edited Islam and Ecology. He wrote an article for Our Planet on the Islamic approach to environmental protection. Contact 44 121 440 3500/8218, ahlan@ifees.org.
• Rabbi Steve Gutow is executive director ofthe Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, based in New York. The coalition has been concentrating on fuel economy and climate change, and also will be focusing on power plants and on children’s environmental health. Contact 212-532-7801.
• The Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III is dean of the Washington National Cathedral and an Episcopal priest who has preached from the cathedral’s pulpit about global warming and the need for Christians to act. Contact 202-537-6200, dean@cathedral.org.
• Evonne Marzouk is executive director of Canfei Nesharim, an organization of Orthodox Jews committed to preserving the environment. It is based in New York City. Contact 212-284-6745, canfei.nesharim@verizon.net.
• Jesse Miranda is president of Alianza de Ministerios Evangélicos Nacionales (AMEN), a multidenominational association of Hispanic Protestant lay and clergy leaders in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. The alliance is based in Costa Mesa, Calif. He was one of the signers of the Evangelical Climate Initiative. Contact 714-556-3610 ext. 254, jmiranda@vanguard.edu.
• The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus is editor in chief of First Things, president of the Institute on Religion and Public Life in New York City and a signer of the Cornwall Declaration. Contact 212-627-1985.
• Robert Royal is president of the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington, D.C., and a signer of the Cornwall Declaration. Contact 202-289-8775, info@frinstitute.org.
• Rabbi David Saperstein is director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Contact via aide Alexis Rice, 202-387-2800, arice@rac.org.
• The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon is chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition in Washington, D.C. He was one of the signers of the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance’s letter to the National Evangelical Association president urging that the NAE not take “any official position” on global warming. Contact 202-547-8570.
• Ronald Sider is the president of Evangelicals for Social Action and a professor of theology, holistic ministry and public policy and director of the Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. He has written several books, including Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving From Affluence to Generosity, a 1977 book widely recognized as fueling the current Christian movement to care for the environment. Contact 484-384-2990.
• The Rev. Robert A. Sirico is president of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty and a signer of the Cornwall Declaration, which calls concerns about manmade global warming “unfounded or undue.” Contact 616-454-3080, rsirico@acton.org.
• Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth is a medical doctor and former emergency room director and chief of medical staff who now writes, preaches and teaches full time about faith and the environment. He is executive director of A Rocha. He wrote Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action (2007). Contact contact@servegodsavetheplanet.org.
• The Rev. Jim Wallis is founder and editor of Sojourners, a progressive evangelical magazine in Washington, D.C., and a signer of the Evangelical Climate Initiative statement. Contact through Jack Pannell, 202-745-4614, media@sojo.net.
• Rabbi Arthur Waskow is a Reconstructionist rabbi who is director of the Shalom Center, which promotes activism and education around Jewish environmentalism. Contact 215-844-8494, awaskow@shalomctr.org.
• Donald E. Wildmon is chairman of the American Family Association in Tupelo, Miss. He signed the Cornwall Declaration, which calls concerns about manmade global warming “unfounded or undue.” Contact through Diane O’Neal, 662-680-3886.

ACADEMICS

SCHOLARS WHO FOCUS ON RELIGION IN GENERAL AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• J. Baird Callicott is a professor of philosophy and religious studies at the University of North Texas in Denton and president of the International Society for Environmental Ethics. He has written several books, including In Defense of the Land Ethic: Essays in Environmental Philosophy and Earth’s Insights: A Multicultural Survey of Ecological Ethics From the Mediterranean Basin to the Australian Outback. Contact 940-565-2266, callicott@unt.edu.
• Thomas Richard Dunlap is a history professor at Texas A&M University in College Station. He is the author of Faith in Nature: Environmentalism as Religious Quest. Contact 979-845-7107, t-dunlap@tamu.edu.
• Nancie Erhard is an assistant professor of comparative religious ethics at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She is the author of Moral Habitat: Ethos and Agency for the Sake of Earth (2007). Contact 902-420-5823, nancie.erhard@smu.ca.
• Richard C. Foltz is an associate professor of religion at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He is the author of Worldviews, Religion and the Environment: A Global Anthology. Contact 514-848-2424 ext. 5730, rfoltz@alcor.concordia.ca.
• Roger S. Gottlieb is a philosophy professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. He has written several books on religion and the environment, including A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and Our Planet’s Future (2006), and he edited Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology (2006). Contact 508-831-5439, gottlieb@wpi.edu.
• Bron Taylor is president of the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture, and a professor of religion at the University of Florida, where he teaches many courses on religion and ecology. He oversees the university’s master’s and doctoral programs in religion and nature and is the editor of the the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature and the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture. These resources and Taylor’s own work on nature religions, can be found at www.religionandnature.com. Contact 352-392-1625, ext. 127, bron@religion.ufl.edu.
• Mary Evelyn Tucker is a senior lecturer and research scholar in the forestry and environmental studies and in religious studies at Yale University in Hartford, Conn. She is the author of Worldly Wonder: Religions Enter Their Ecological Phase and co-coordinator of Harvard University’s Forum on Religion and Ecology. Contact maryvelyn.tucker@yale.edu.
• Paul Waldau is an assistant professor at Tufts University in Boston and director of its Center for Animals and Public Policy. He has taught a course in religion and ecology. Among his specialties is the way different world religions view animals. Contact 508-887-4671, paul.waldau@tufts.edu.
• Harold G. Coward is professor emeritus of history and founding director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He has written about religious perspectives on population and consumption. Contact 250-721-7382, hcoward@uvic.ca.

SCHOLARS WHO FOCUS ON A SINGLE RELIGION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Timeline

A timeline of the religion and environment movement in the United States:

• In 1967, historian Lynn White Jr. wrote an article for Time magazine in which he slammed American Christianity for not caring about the environment. Christianity, White wrote, “bears a huge burden of guilt” for promoting “dominion” theology, which he said permits people to misuse the environment.
• In 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated.
• In 1973, 40 evangelical leaders signed the Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern. That group eventually became Evangelicals for Social Action, which made “creation care” one of its four main concerns. Twenty years later, another group of evangelical leaders signed an updated version, called the 1993 Chicago Declaration.
• During the 1990s, a pair of competing statements on Christians’ relationship with the environment focused attention on the issue. In 1994, An Evangelical Declaration on the the Care of Creation asserted a Christian responsibility for “creation care.” In 1999, the Cornwall Declaration on Environmental Stewardship answered with a defense of the concept of human dominion over the Earth and the importance of private property rights trumping government regulations.
• In 1992, then Vice President Al Gore and Carl Sagan convened a meeting of the leadership of the major organizations in American Jewish life, eminent rabbis, denominational presidents and Jewish U.S. senators in Washington, D.C., to discuss the creation of a Jewish response to the mounting environmental crisis. One year later, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life was founded.
• In 2002, the University of Florida initiated the country’s first doctoral program in religion and nature. The same year, the Evangelical Environmental Network launched the “What Would Jesus Drive?” campaign to focus attention on fuel efficiency. The program attracted major media attention to the growing Christian environmental movement.
• In 2006, a divide opened between American evangelical leaders on the subject of global warming. In February, 86 evangelical leaders signed the Evangelical Climate Initiative, a statement that calls for legislation that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Among the signatories were presidents of 39 evangelical colleges and leaders of aid groups and churches, including the Salvation Army and megachurch pastor Rick Warren. In July, 22 other evangelical leaders, under the banner of the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, wrote a letter to Ted Haggard, then the president of the National Association of Evangelicals; the letter cast doubt on current climate science and asked the NAE to refrain from adopting any official position on global warming. Among those signatories were Charles W. Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries; James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; and Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
• In 2007, the Vatican held a seminar titled “Climate Change and Development,” its first seminar on global warming. At the seminar’s end, Pope Benedict XVI told the assembled scientists the world must find a way to “respect creation” while “focusing on the needs of sustainable development.”

Background

• Palomar College in San Marcos, Calif., maintains a Web site outlining the approaches of different religions to the environment.
• Harvard Divinity School’s Center for the Study of World Religions maintains a section on religions of the world and ecology. Harvard’s Forum on Religion and Ecology maintains a page outlining all the major world religions’ relationship to the natural world.
• Read the text of the Evangelical Climate Initiative and its list of signatories.
• The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty maintains a page of resources on environmental stewardship. It includes the Cornwall Declaration and a list of its signatories as well as commentary on many subjects involving religion, the environment and religious environmental activism, goals and positions.
• Hillel, a foundation that fosters Jewish life on college campuses, has a list of Jewish religious and secular organizations that work to improve the environment in Israel and the Middle East.
• Read a 1997 report titled The Greening of Mainline American Religion, by Mark Shibley and Jonathon Wiggins, as it appears on the Web site of Sage Journals.
• Read “Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action,” the statement released Feb. 8, 2006, by the Evangelical Climate Initiative.
• Read “An Open Letter to the Signers of ‘Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action’ and Others Concerned About Global Warming,” by the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance.
• Read “A Call to Truth, Prudence and Protection of the Poor: An Evangelical Response to Global Warming,” by the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance.
• Read the Cornwall Declaration on Environmental Stewardship as posted on the Web site of the Interfaith Council for Environmental Stewardship.

• Read An Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation of 1994 as posted on the Web site of the Evangelical Environmental Network.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Harry Brown is executive director of Maine Interfaith Power & Light, a nonprofit organization based in Portland that is working to bring environmentally friendly electricity to consumers in the state. Contact 207-721-0444, harry@meipl.org.
• Betsy Hardy is the administrator of Vermont Interfaith Power & Light, a group that works to educate faith communities and individuals about global warming and engage them in conservation. Contact 802-434-7307.
• Donald K. Swearer is a visiting faculty member in Buddhist studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. He is an expert on ecology and Buddhism. He will be on leave for the spring term 2008. Contact 617-495-2889, dswearer@hds.harvard.edu.

IN THE EAST

• The Rev. Floyd Flake is a former U.S. congressman and pastor of the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in Jamaica, N.Y. He was one of the signers of the Evangelical Climate Initiative. Contact 718-206-4600 ext. 0.
• Mark E. Graham is an assistant professor of moral theology at Villanova University in Villanova, Pa., where he teaches a course on Christian environmental ethics and another titled “Caring for the Earth.” He has written about sustainable agriculture as a Christian ethic. Contact 610-519-4703, mark.graham@villanova.edu.
• The Rev. Fletcher Harper is an Episcopal priest and executive director of GreenFaith, an interfaith organization that works to connect faith to care for the environment in New Jersey. Contact 732-565-7740, revfharper@greenfaith.org.
• Laurel D. Kearns is an associate professor of the sociology of religion and environmental studies at Drew University in Madison, N.J. She teaches courses on religion and the Earth and on Christianity and ecology. She has written about religiously based eco-justice, eco-theology and the evangelical environmentalism movement and is currently writing a book about Christian-based ecological activism. Contact 973-408-3009, lkearns@drew.edu.
• Rachel Lettre is president of Shomrei Adamah (Hebrew for “Guardians of the Earth”), a nonprofit Jewish environmental organization in the greater Washington, D.C., area. Contact 202-216-9508, rlettre@hotmail.com.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Patrick N. Allitt is a history professor at Emory University in Atlanta. He has written about American Catholics and the environment. Contact 404-727-4471, pallitt@emory.edu.
• E. Calvin Beisner is a professor of social ethics at Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He helped draft a letter to Ted Haggard, then the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, from evangelical leaders urging the NAE to pull back from involvement in global warming. Contact 954-771-0376, cbeisner@knoxseminary.org.
• The Rev. Wellington Boone is a bishop and pastor of the Father’s House and Wellington Boone Ministries in Norcross, Ga. He was among the signers of the Evangelical Climate Initiative. Contact 770-840-0888.
• Sid Brown is an assistant professor of religion at Sewanee, The University of the South, in Sewanee, Tenn. She has taught a course on Buddhism and the environment. Contact sbrown@sewanee.edu.
• Imad Damaj is president of the Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs in Richmond. He has called global warming as big a threat to American national security as terrorism and has cited Quranic verses to spur Muslims to care for the environment. Contact 804-674-4464.
• The Rev. Gerald Durley is pastor of Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. He has promoted the Canadian documentary The Great Warming, about climate change, to his congregation and other local ministers, rabbis and imams. Contact 404-752-6869.
• Catherine M. Roach is an associate professor women’s studies at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She is an expert on the spiritual and religious idea of “Mother Nature.” Contact 205-348-8415, croach@nc.ua.edu.
• Loren E. Swartzendruber is president of Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va. Earlier this year, he discussed creation care form an Anabaptist perspective for a British Broadcasting Corp. program. Contact 540-432-4000.
• Eric M. Woodrum is a professor of sociology and anthropology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He has written about the effects of religion and theology on the environmental movement. Contact 919-515-9027, eric_woodrum@ncsu.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• Darby Kathleen Ray is an associate professor of religious studies and director of the Millsaps Faith and Work Initiative at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. She is the editor of Theology That Matters: Ecology, Economy and God (2006). Contact 601-974-1337, raydk@millsaps.edu.
• Gerald Smith is a religion professor at Sewanee, The University of the Southeast, in Sewanee, Tenn. He has taught a course on religion and ecology. Contact 931-598-1144, gsmith@sewanee.edu.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Charles Gillam is director of Sustainable Sanctuary Coalition, a group of Kansas City, Mo., churches that work together on local environmental issues. Contact nfo@sustainablesanctuary.org.
• David Haberman is a professor of religious studies at Indiana University, where he teaches a course titled “Religion, Ecology and the Self.” He is a contributor to Harvard University’s Forum on Religion and Ecology. Contact 812-855-8894, dhaberma@indiana.edu.
• Carol Johnston is an associate professor of theology and culture and Marti Steussy is a professor of biblical interpretation at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. They teach a course titled “The Bible and the Earth.” Contact Johnston at 229-931-2334, johnston@cts.edu, and Steussy at 229-931-2337, msteussy@cts.edu.
• James B. Martin-Schramm is an associate professor of religion at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He has written about population, consumption and Christian ethics and about Christian environmental ethics. Contact 563-387-1251, marschja@luther.edu.
• John T. McGreevy is a history professor at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Ind. He is co-author of an article about Catholic involvement in the environmental movement in the mid-20th century. Contact 574-631-4114, mcgreevy.5@nd.edu.
• Sara Shady is an assistant professor of philosophy at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn. In May 2006, she gave a presentation titled “An Ethical Response to Global Warming” as part of the college’s “Christian Responses to Global Warming Forum.” Contact 651-638-6174, sshady@bethel.edu.
• Darren E. Sherkat is a sociology professor at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He is the author of a paper on religious influence on environmental concern and activism that appeared in The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Contact 618-453-7614, sherkat@siu.edu.
• Lisa Sideris is an assistant professor of religious studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. She wrote Environmental Ethics, Ecological Theology and Natural Selection, which looks at Christian environmental ethics and its relationship to Darwinian theory. Contact 812-855-6119, lsideris@indiana.edu.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Susan Power Bratton is the chair of the environmental studies department at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She is the author of Environmental Values in Christian Art (2007). Contact 254-710-3405.
• Christopher G. Ellison is a professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. He has written about religious influences on the environmental movement. Contact 512-232-6312, cellison@prc.utexas.edu.
• Laura Hobgood-Oster is a professor of religion at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where she has taught a course on religion and ecology. Contact 512-863-1669, hoboster@southwestern.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• The Rev. Heather Clements is an associate professor of systematic theology at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif. She has written about an Anabaptist and Mennonite environmental ethic. Contact 626-815-6000 ext. 5239, hclements@apu.edu.
• The Rev. Sally Bingham is an Episcopal priest who leads the Regeneration Project, which sponsored “Spotlight on Global Warming,” a program that showed the film An Inconvenient Truth in thousands of congregations of all faiths across the country in the same week in October 2006. It also sponsors the Interfaith Power and Light program, which fosters statewide coalitions of congregations of all faiths to work on the issue of global warming. The Regeneration Project is based in San Francisco. Contact 415-561-4891, info@theregenerationproject.org.
• The Rev. Charles E. Blake Sr. is a bishop and pastor of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles. He was among the 86 signers of the Evangelical Climate Initiative. Contact 323-733-8300.
• Gary L. Chamberlain is a professor of theology, religious studies and environmental studies at Seattle University. He has written about the religious response to the global water crisis. Contact 206-296-5322, gchamber@seattleu.edu.
• Rabbi Mike Comins is the founder of TorahTrek, an organization that connects Jewish spirituality to outdoor adventures. He is the author of A Wild Faith: Jewish Ways Into Wilderness, Wilderness Ways Into Judaism (2007). He lives in Los Angeles. Contact info@torahtrek.com.
• Michael E. Lodahl is a professor of theology at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. He has written about Methodism and its relationship to nature and about Wesleyan thought and environmental ethics. Contact 619-849-2331, mlodahl@ptloma.edu.
• Vijaya Nagarajan is an associate professor in the department of theology and religious studies at the University of San Francisco, where she teaches a course on religion and the environment. She is an expert in the religious traditions and ecology of South India. Contact 415-422-5837, nagarajan@usfca.edu.
• Lance Nelson is professor and chairman of theological and religious studies at the University of San Diego. He is an expert on religion and ecology in Hindu India, including the religion’s attitudes toward animals. Contact 619-260-4054, lnelson@sandiego.edu.
• Tri Robinson is the founding pastor of the Vineyard Boise Church in Boise, Idaho. He is the author, with Jason Chatraw, of Saving God’s Green Earth: Rediscovering the Church’s Responsibility to Environmental Stewardship (2006). Contact 208-377-1477, tri.robinson@vineyardboise.org.
• Ines Talamantez is a professor in the religious studies department at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she teaches a course on American religion and ecology. Contact 805-893-4326, talamant@religion.ucsb.edu.
• Duncan Ryuken Williams is an associate professor of Japanese religion at the University of California, Berkeley. One of his areas of study is Buddhism and environmentalism. Contact duncanw@berkeley.edu.