Religion and Environmentalism: Exploring the Issues (Religion in Politics and Society Today)

A foundational resource for readers investigating religiously motivated environmentalism this book provides both a global overview of the subject and a detailed discussion of key figures concepts organizations events and documents.Beginning in the late 1960s a growing number of activists scholars and scientists asserted that traditional religions had been major contributors to the environmental crisis. In response theologians religious organizations and religiously motivated activists became increasingly involved in environmental issues. At the same time emerging nature-based belief systems emphasized values and lifestyles based in environmentalism. More recently religiously motivated environmentalism has become a powerful force in shaping environmental policy and human action globally and has joined with secular environmentalism to address related issues. This book explores the background and current state of religious environmentalism. The book begins with an overview essay examining the history and context of religious environmentalism and its significance today. A chronology then profiles the most important events related to religious environmentalism. A section of more than 50 alphabetically arranged reference entries follows with each entry providing objective information about people places events movements works and other topics. The entries include cross-references and suggestions for further reading and the book closes with a selected annotated bibliography of major works.An introductory essay provides an overview of the origins and present-day significance of religious environmental activismA chronology features important events related to religion and the environmentMore than 50 alphabetically arranged reference entries provide objective essential information about people works theories movements events and other topics related to religious environmentalismEntries cite works for further reading and an annotated bibliography directs users to additional resources