A Changed Climate for Theology: ecological challenges and opportunities for the Christian tradition (CT9049P)

Content

The ecological phenomenon of climate change relates to the essentially religious question of who we are and how we are to live. The unit examines the question of what an ecological context and approach means for Christian theology and praxis. It identifies some of the challenges this presents for questions of faith and understanding, and explores a number of significant ecological resources in the rich Christian tradition. The unit adopts an interdisciplinary stance which integrates, and draws into mutual dialogue, three main components. 1) an ecological survey which focusses primarily on the question of climate change as well as the issues which are intricately connected with it (e.g. population, energy use, deforestation). 2) An introduction to ecological philosophy and principles (e.g. human-centredness vs bio-centredness, social vs ecological justice, animal ethics). 3) Exploration of a number of Christian texts (including Scripture, Augustine, Aquinas, and contemporary ecological theology).

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

15 points in systematic theology

Pedagogy

Online lessons, forum and tutorial engagement

Indicative Bibliography

• Bauckham, Richard. Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2010.
• Cain, Clifford Chalmers. An Ecological Theology: Reunderstanding Our Relation to Nature. Vol. 98, Toronto Studies in Theology. Lewiston, Queenston, Lampeter: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2009.
• Conradie, Ernst M., Bergmann, Sigurd, Deane-Drummond, Celia and Edwards, Denis, eds. Christian Faith and the Earth: Current Paths and Emerging Horizons in Ecotheology. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. (recommended for purchase)
• Edwards, Denis. Ecology at the Heart of Faith. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2006.
• Dieter T Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether, eds. Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000.
• Gardiner, Stephen M. A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
• Habel, Norman C. and Trudinger, Peter. Exploring Ecological Hermeneutics. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008.
• Johnson, Elizabeth A. Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. (recommended for purchase)
• McFague, Sallie. A New Climate for Theology: God, the World and Global Warming. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008.
• Northcott, Michael S. and Scott, Peter M. Systematic Theology and Climate Change: Ecumenical Perspectives. London: Routledge, 2014. (recommended for purchase)
• Santmire, H. Paul. Before Nature: A Christian Spirituality. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.

Assessment