Tuesday 23 October 2007
Toronto, Canada - Response to the environmental crisis is one of the most serious needs of our times, according to feminist theologian Cristina Vanin. She says Canadians need to experience an ecological conversion.
Professor Vanin of the University of Waterloo made her remarks at the University of Toronto, Canada during a seminar on Ecology, Environment and Religion. The October 18 event was the latest in a series on Religion and Public Policy hosted by Massey College and organized by the Rev. Dr. Lois Wilson, Ecumenist-in-Residence at the Toronto School of Theology.
Referring to the efforts of Catholic sisters, dubbed “green nuns”, to reduce damage to the environment in their everyday life, Vanin said increasing numbers of communities of Catholic sisters are seeking to “live out what they believe rather than just theorizing”. “They have embraced the UN’s Earth Charter and are asking what to do about the buildings and properties they own,” she says.
Vanin cited the development of a number of ecology projects ranging from a sanctuary for heritage seeds created by the Sisters of Providence at their property on the St. Lawrence River to a “green chapel” developed by the Loretto Sisters near Niagara Falls.
Says Vanin, “Members of religious orders today are seeking to respond to local and national environmental issues based on their faith, Catholic social teachings, and the principles outlined in ecumenical initiatives such as the World Council of Churches’ programme ‘Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation’”. The models they are creating serve as practical examples for policy makers of what ecologically-sustainable lifestyles can look like, she says.
Peter Timmerman, a Zen Buddhist and member of the Canadian Forum on Religion and Ecology told seminar participants, “We are not just individuals. We share the life support of the planet and breathe the same air.” Addressing the question of how people of faith can engage in public policy discussions about ecology and the environment, Timmerman cautioned against trying “to beat economists at their game”.
Timmerman dubbed the prevailing economic model of unrestrained use of natural resources and no limits-to-growth as the religion of “econotheism”. He noted wryly that “as people of faith we can critique and analyze the failures of religion and should apply that to a critique of ‘econotheism’”.
There are profound religious dimensions to disputes between Canada’s indigenous peoples and the country’s federal government over fishing and land rights, according to Sarah King, a doctoral candidate at the Centre for Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. “Religion shapes Canadian attitudes to land and landscapes,” she says. “There is an explicit union of faith and public policy in reference to claims by indigenous peoples for hunting and fishing rights.”
King’s research points to the conflicting religious views of the land which underpin current disputes over where and when indigenous peoples can fish and hunt. Referring to Duncan Campbell Scott, a Canadian government land negotiator of the early 20th century, King says his attitude to indigenous peoples reflected that of Protestants at the time who believed that “the sad destiny of aboriginal people would be to die out or be Christianized.”
Today, says King, indigenous peoples are responding to court cases over land disputes with ceremonies and prophecies that incorporate elements of traditional aboriginal spiritual beliefs, Catholic teachings, and Charismatic Christian practices. Says King, “the connection between spirituality and the land is not just historical”.
This seminar series on religion and public policy continues November 14 with a presentation on Religion, Peace, and Conflict by Ernie Regehr of Project Ploughshares, the ecumenical agency of the Canadian Council of Churches mandated to identify, develop, and advance approaches that promote the peaceful resolution of political conflict.
(By Kristine Greenaway, Programme Manager, Congress 2008)