Faith voices for ecocide law
“Faith voices for ecocide law” is a remarkable collection of texts, drawing on the vast wisdom, teachings and practices of the world religions and indigenous spiritual traditions. It focuses on the relationship between humans and nature in general, and on the need for a new international crime of ecocide in particular. The authors are recognised spiritual leaders in their faith traditions (see below). The book is a resource for discussion and education by faith communities, universities and other organisations.
Faith voices for ecocide law is published by End Ecocide Sweden and Stop Ecocide International with partners: Cambridge Mosque Trust, Centre for Applied Buddhism, Green Faith, Interfaith Centre for Sustainable Development, Parliament of World’s Religions, Pacific Conference of Churches, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology and Azote.
The Faith for Ecocide Law initiative is an interreligious coalition gathering religious and spiritual leaders and voices to express support for an international crime of ecocide. Learn more:
https://www.faithforecocidelaw.earth
Contact:
Pella Thiel, End Ecocide Sweden, pella.thiel@endecocide.se , +46 736589884.
Religious endorsement of ecocide law:
From the World Council of Churches
From the UNEP Faith for Earth initiative
From the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
From the Bishops of the Church of Sweden
From Pope Francis
Contributors:
Reverend James Bhagwan is the General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, the peak ecumenical organisation for the Pacific/Oceania region, comprising 33 member churches and 10 national councils of churches that account for at least 70 % of the region’s human population. Christian-Pacific perspective: Reweaving Our Ecological Mat
Jamie Cresswell is the Director of the Centre for Applied Buddhism and the President of the European Buddhist Union. His background includes a degree in Buddhist studies as well as practice and study in many traditions and schools. Buddhist Perspective: Opening a Treasure House of Possibilities
KG Hammar was the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden from 1997 to 2006. Hammar is a researcher at the University of Lund and author of several books on theology. Christian perspective: Transforming the world into the dream of God
Michele Lamb is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Buddhism, and Fellow of the University of Essex Human Rights Centre. Buddhist Perspective: Opening a Treasure House of Possibilities
Helene Lindmark is a Sámi Noaidi, wisdom keeper. She grew up in Liikavaara, a village in the northern part of Sápmi, Sweden. She walks the Shamanic tradition of her ancestors’ heritage from Sápmi; the northern parts of Sweden, Russia and Finland. Indigenous Sami perspective: The drum is the heartbeat of Mother Earth
Appolinaire Oussou Lio is the Tolinou DJAKA Atawévi, prince of the Tolinou kingdom of Benin, writer, geographer and naturalist, President of GRABE-BENIN. He works for the validation of endogenous knowledge, the culture of peoples and the protection of forests and sacred sites. Indigenous Vodun perspective: The Sacred Pool “Zɛkpͻn Adonͻ”
Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad a.k.a. Professor Timothy Winter is currently the Sheikh Zayed Lecturer of Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University. He has published and contributed to numerous academic works on Islam. He is also the founder of the Cambridge Muslim College. Prof Winter has been the main force behind the decade-long project to build the Cambridge Central Mosque, Europe’s first eco-mosque. Islamic perspective: A re-enchantment of our vision of the natural world
Rabbi Yonatan Neril is the founder and director of The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development in Jerusalem and co-author of the bestselling book Eco Bible. Jewish perspective: Caring for creation is key to receiving the blessings of the Creator
HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati is the President and spiritual head of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram. He is the founder and co-founder of several humanitarian and environmental organisations including Ganga Action Parivar and the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, and on the Board of World Religious Leaders. Hindu perspective: From a greed culture to a green culture
Mary Evelyn Tucker teaches at Yale University at the School of the Environment and the Divinity School. She is, with John Grim, the Co-Director of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology. Tucker was a member of the Earth Charter Drafting committee and the International Earth Charter Council. Interreligious perspective: On the need for a new Earth Ethics
Together we strive to end ecocide and heal the Earth. We are the temples, churches, pagodas, mosques, synagogues, cathedrals and sacred sites all around the world. With faith, hope, love and care for our common future!
From the Faith for Ecocide law Manifesto