Earth at Risk: An Environmental Dialogue Between Religion and Science

The articles in this volume are focused on the challenge of rethinking Christian theology in relation to a just and sustainable society. Although based within a Christian context, Earth at Risk includes representative voices from Jewish, Muslim, and secular perspectives as well as from the scientific and environmental communities, including distinguished physicist and theologian Ian Barbour, the 1999 winner of the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

Though offering different perspectives, the contributors are united in a common conception of our ecological predicament, which is shaped by the growing population demands on our planet and exacerbated by a consumerism that can be exploitative and heedless of the species extinction that accompanies general environmental degradation. The ethical response from the religious and secular communities is clear: In order to deal equitably with the ecological crisis we require patterns of education, ministerial formation, and community life that assume deeper relational commitments to all forms of life.

The main thematic sections include: Science in Dialogue with Religion; Religion Caring for Creation; Ethics, Community, and Environmental Justice; and Strategies for Education, Ministry, and Building Sustainable Communities.

Donald B. Conroy is president of the North American Coalition on Religion and Ecology in Washington, D.C.

Rodney L. Petersen is the executive director of the Boston Theological Institute and an adjunct professor in the Member Schools, Newton Centre, Massachusetts.