Environmental Solidarity ─ How Religions Can Sustain Sustainability

The past few decades have seen the beginnings of a convergence between religions and ecological movements. The environmental crisis has called the religions of the world to respond by finding their voice within the larger Earth community. At the same time, a certain religiosity has started to emerge in some areas of secular ecological thinking. Beyond mere religious utilitarianism, rooted in an understanding of the deepest connections between human beings, their worldviews, and nature itself, this book tries to show how religious believers can look at the world through the eyes of faith and find a broader paradigm to sustain sustainability, proposing a model for transposing this paradigm into practice, so as to develop long-term sustainable solutions that can be tested against reality.

Pablo Martínez de Anguita is professor of forestry and rural development at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid.

Part I: A Promising Earth 1. Sunrise in Copan Part II: Understanding the Environmental Problem 2. An Environment in Degradation 3. The Planet and Us 4. The Possessions of Odysseus Part III: Seeking an Ethic for Nature 5. Antecedents 6. The Social Answers Part IV: Finding a Religious Sense 7. Environment and Religion 8. The Human Problem 9. Ecology as If God Were Happening Part V: Environmental Solidarity: A New Paradigm 10. Relating Environmental Solidarity to Economics, Policy and Ethics 11. Fitting Environmental Solidarity Within the Catholic Faith 12. Epilogue: Sunset in Barcelona