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Nature, Ecology, and Religious Responses to Climate Change

The earliest written sources in history indicate that humans have always had thoughts, worries, and hopes about nature, ecological predicaments and how to explain and cope with climate and environmental hazards. However, with global warming, land erosion, deforestation, flooding, hurricanes, and pandemics, the nexus between the natural environment and human activities have become more frightening, giving rise to apocalyptic and dystopian scenarios.

Is the current crisis seen as a punishment from divine powers or as conspiracies? Is it perceived as an act of humans’ need to repent and change their destructive way of life, or is it just part of a grand plan? Can religious beliefs and forms of spiritualities, or the study of these, inhibit or inspire critical and visionary social solutions and resilience on how issues regarding sustainable development may be analyzed and developed? These and related questions are addressed at the conference “Nature, Ecology and Religious Responses to Climate Change” at the EASR meeting in 2024, hosted by the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

While the conference focuses on the current crisis, we also welcome panels, individual papers, and roundtables addressing historical aspects and more general discussions about nature, ecology, and religion.

Further information on the EASR website