To Till and to Tend

When our newly elected government takes office in January, one of the top issues on the agenda will be energy and climate policy, and one of loudest voices for the environment will be the faith community. If you still need evidence that the environment has become a religious issue, look no further than the newly released Green Bible. A joint project of the Sierra Club, the Humane Society, and the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program, the Green Bible aims to “equip and encourage people to see God’s vision for creation and help them engage in the work of healing and sustaining it.” 

More than a trendy spin on traditional religious text, the Green Bible is the basis for a plan of action for the Christian Creation Care movement. In addition to highlighting hundreds of passages related to the environment, the Green Bible includes essays from scholars and spiritual leaders including Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and advice on how to get more involved with the environmental movement. Practicing what it preaches, the Green Bible is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink, with a cover made from natural cotton and linen fibers. The release is gaining wide attention, with mentions in the New York Times and ABCNews. With Bible sales between $400 and $600 MILLION annually in the U.S. alone, and specialized Bibles for everyone from couples to sports fans, this attention comes as no surprise.

I commend the National Council of Churches for taking part in this ground-breaking effort to incorporate care for the earth into the fabric of religious life. The environmental Bible sends a clear message about the interests and priorities of contemporary Christians. This effort is both a market- and faith-based push for environmentalism, combining two of the major greening forces at play today.

The Bible carries a powerful message about our responsibility to care for our planet. The Jewish community can look to this project as a model as we update our own liturgy for the twenty-first century. While some may be skeptical of a ‘new take’ on the text, it is not necessary to modify the Torah to use it as a teaching tool- the message is already there. As we are told in Genesis, “The human being was placed in the Garden of Eden to till it and to tend it.”  Jewish environmentalism is fundamentally based in our sacred texts, and the Green Bible serves as yet another reminder of how strong a message these texts send.

Rachel is an Eisendrath Legislative Assistant working on environment and energy issues at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC. She will be a regular guest blogger on To Till and To Tend this year, posting entries every other Thursday. This, and all of Rachel’s entries, can also be found on the Religious Action Center blog.

Today in my Politics of Developing Nations course, a young woman from Jordan spoke about women in Islam. She made a particularly interesting statement that caught my attention: once she moved to the U.S. she had to start explaining, and therefore thinking about, all her Islamic and Arabic customs. At home, it was just normal to pray 5 times a day, it was just normal to wear a Hijab (the head scarf), it was just normal to fast on Ramadan. She just did them out of habit, and so did everyone else. By having to think about why she chose to wear the Hijab, and why she fasted, she appreciated her choices and therefore reaffirmed her decisions that much more

           

I thought this was a great challenge not just for religion, but for all aspects of our lives. I think it is important to remind ourselves and even explain why we do the things we do.

 

Why do you recycle every day? Yes, we want to save the trees, but what is the deeper meaning for you? What are you trying to accomplish every time you don’t use a plastic water bottle?

 

Why do we rest on the Sabbath? Is it just a tradition? Is that what you were taught to do growing up? Why do you continue this practice as an adult? Why is the Sabbath special for you and how do you celebrate this day of rest?

 

Why are we voting for a specific presidential candidate? This is my first presidential election (I am so EXCITED – my absentee ballot is already in) – but with less than 1 week left until election day – the stances and issues supported by each candidate has become seemingly less significant compared to the price of wardrobes, SNL stints, and who can see Russia from their house. I, too, have to over look the hype present in my school (one of the vice presidential candidates is a University of Delaware Alum – he is speaking here on friday) and explain to myself why I voted the way I did.

What were the issues that are important to me? Where does each presidential stand on these issues? I have to make this decision and be able to explain it – if only to justify them to myself.

 

        It is so easy to fall into routine, mechanically performing our daily tasks.  Though we may not be regularly asked to explain ourselves, sometimes it is necessary to step back and review the things that have become a habit. Each choice you make is a representation of your individual and unique culture, beliefs, and values. So I invite you take time to explain why you do those everyday tasks, and why are they important to you every day.

Oil Energy Money supports our communal mission to combat climate change by engaging in the moral imperitive of Earth Stewardship.  As he says, “This is why, while politicians argue over the cost of climate change and who to bill, religious leaders can encourage grass roots environmentalism on a global scale.”

67% of Americans who say they care about the environment do so because it’s “God’s creation.”

Almost 50% of Sierra Club members go to a house of worship at least once a month.

Whoa.

I hope that it’s no surprise to any readers that there is a strong faith-based environmental movement. The National Religious Partnership for the Environment – made up of Jews (COEJL), Catholics, Protestants (NCC Eco-Justice) and Evangelicals (Evangelical Environmental Network) – has been around for over 15 years. Interfaith Power and Light (IPL) is an environmental initiative with over 25 state chapters. To these organizations and many of their affiliated houses of worship, connection between Earth stewardship and faith is clear.

Sierra Club has recently noticed this powerful movement and published a report: Faith in Action: Communities of Faith Bring Hope for the Planet, which includes the stats mentioned above. Beyond an introduction which delves into the power of faith-based action, it shares stories of 52 communities of faith – one for each state, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico – where their faith propelled them to critical ecological and sustainable action. As the report notes, the environmental movement has been secular, shying away from “values” and, dare I say it, “creation.” Never before has a study like this been done. But the environmental (and political) significance is enormous!

Though there is a clear danger in grafting “God” with “politics,” (I hope I don’t need to explain) even Sierra Club can’t ignore its wonders. 86% of the world’s population affiliates with a religion. The report notes that all the religious environmental initiatives “coalesce around a few key broadly shaped principles: stewardship, justice and concern for ‘the poor,’ and concern for one’s neighbor and future generations.” Agreement on these principles may not bring world peace. Frankly, slight variations of interpretation continue to yield devastating wars.

If we can harness the energy of religious faiths to the issues of earth stewardship, then we might just have a chance.

Word on the street (or, really, from British Consulate) is that British royalty and political leadership have been interested in the US faith-based initiatives on climate change. Under the auspices of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, the Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical communities have come together to advocate for the health of our shared planet and the poorest among us who will be most affected. Consequently, representatives from the different communities of faith (including someone from Presbyterians for Restoring Creation) were asked to share our experiences in interfaith programming and advocacy with religious, communal and political leaders of Belfast, Northern Ireland as part of a US Interfaith Climate Change Delegation last week.

In the United States, we use the strength of a coalition of religious voices to make a powerful unified statement on Capitol Hill. In Belfast, it is not only rare for the Catholic and Protestant communities to advocate together for a cause – it is nearly unheard of; these communities have been fighting to the death over Irish vs. British alliance in a thirty-plus year conflict called “the Troubles.” The hope of the British Consulate was that uniting on climate change could be a catalyst for greater peace.

Though it was difficult to look beyond the fear and anger that remains in the divided communities, our mission was clear and our language strong. As religious communities, we have obligations to our neighbors, the poorest among us and generations yet to come. This is a mandate we all share and may inspire dialogue and joint action.

How a people can move fully beyond the terror of the Troubles and into a place of cross-community environmental efforts will not be easy. Nonetheless, neither the memory of terror nor the issues of climate change will simply disappear. Both require great effort and compromise. I hope that we, the delegates, enabled new conversations and connections and empowered the current efforts of the grassroots movement.

Some interesting links:

Northern Ireland Environmental Link

The Christian International Aid organizations are focusing on Climate Change and its impact on the World’s Poor this Lenten season – fantastic and powerful materials:
Trocaire
TearFund‘s Carbon Fast