Having Faith in Copenhagen

by Katherine Gustafson · 2009-12-11 06:00:00 UTC
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Faith is in the house at Copenhagen. Hundreds of religiously affiliated representatives from around the world, including some 100 from the US, are roaming the international summit spreading the word that they and their communities are ready to engage on this issue. They represent a vast and diverse religious universe, the members of which know that faith can motivate people to play a part in protecting the earth, reports USA Today.

The influence of religion is enormous; the Alliance of Religions and Conservation reports that religious communities around the globe control around 8 percent of the planet's habitable land, have a role in over half of the world's schools and own more than 7 percent of global financial investments. Religious institutions can help their followers support industries that are environmentally friendly, teach children about ecology, lead activities to draw larger segments of society into climate action and transform their places of worship into green spaces.

"Our role is to remind (politicians) that this is a profound moral issue, and that the basic moral teachings of religion apply to these environmental problems," Jim Ball, head of the Evangelical Environmental Network, told USA Today. And Olav Kjorven, an assistant secretary-general at the U.N., said that religious communities are also ready to be active partners: "The faiths are ready to move on these issues."

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng

Katherine Gustafson
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