LibGuides: Environmental Studies: Biblical Resources

Web Resources

Earth Ministry
Earth Ministry was born out of a recognition of the underlying spiritual and moral roots of the environmental crisis, and the desire to help people of faith see more clearly the connections between their faith, their daily lives and ecological concerns.
The Global Catholic Climate Movement
This link contains information on Catholic teachings related to the environment, as well as information about global warming.
National Religoius Partnership for the Environment
From their website: "The National Religious Partnership for the Environment is an association of independent faith groups across a broad spectrum: the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops along with its affiliated program arm the Catholic Climate Covenant, the National Council of Churches USA and its affiliate Creation Justice Ministries, the Jewish Council on Public Affairs and its affiliate the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, and the Evangelical Environmental Network"
Web of Creation
The Web of Creation was established to foster the movement for personal and social transformation to a just and sustainable world from religious perspectives.
Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology
News, events, links to articles and multi-media.

Library Resources

Bible and ecology : rediscovering the community of creation by Richard Bauckham
Call Number: 261.88 B32b
ISBN: 9781602583108
Publication Date: 2010
"This is a book about the Bible's understanding of the place of humans within the rest of God's creation." --Preface.
Bonhoeffer's Christocentric theology and fundamental debates in environmental ethics by Steven C. van den Heuvel
Call Number: 230.044 H48b
ISBN: 9781498296212
Publication Date: 2017
There is widespread understanding of the close connection between religion and the ecological crisis, and that in order to amend this crisis, theological resources are needed. This monograph seeks to contribute to this endeavor by engaging the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Caring for creation : responsible stewardship of God's handiwork by Calvin B. DeWitt ; with responses by Richard A. Baer, Jr., Thomas Sieger Derr, Vernon J. Ehlers ; edited by James W. Skillen and Luis E. Lugo.
Call Number: 261.8362 D51c
ISBN: 9780801058028
Publication Date: 1998
Is there a Christ-centered response to such environmental crises as global warming, land degradation, and species extinction? In Caring for Creation, Calvin DeWitt presents a biblical approach to being a good steward of the earth.
Green kingdom come: Jesus and a sustainable earth community by Joe Grabill
Call Number: 261.88 G75g
ISBN: 9781604940909
Publication Date: 2009
This book is the first to connect Jesus with our ecological crises today. It features sustainable principles based on his sayings. It suggests green practices and attitudes. Green Kingdom Come! weaves together science and religion. A cross-cultural appendix lists sixty sacred and secular names for the oneness of both Earth and universe systems. Help create an Earth Community livable for all species, a green kingdom come! - - Back cover
Creation care and the gospel : reconsidering the mission of the church by Colin Bell and Robert S. White, editors ; foreword by Lascelles G Newman ; introduction by Edward R Brown.
Call Number: 261.88 C86b
ISBN: 9781619707252
Publication Date: 2016
What does the Gospel have to do with Creation Care? From Augustine to Martin Luther, theologians and preachers recognized that God speaks to his people through "two books", namely the Bible and his created world. In this volume an international group of theologians, scientists and creation care practitioners explore what this ancient truth means for us today. They show how care of God's creation must be an integral part of the mission of Christ's church, an expression of joyful worship, and a path of hope for a world in desperate need of it. - from the back of the book.

Deep Blue : Critical Reflections on Nature, Religion and Water by Sylvie Shaw
ISBN: 9781317488187
Publication Date: 2014
'Deep Blue' brings together the work of influential scholars in the field of nature religion, ranging across anthropology, mythology, sociology and psychology. The essays examine the interrelationship between spiritual practice, critical thinking, and environmental concern.
Ecologies of grace: environmental ethics and Christian theology by Willis Jenkins
ISBN: 9780195328516
Publication Date: 2008
Only recently have theologians begun to think and write about the ecological crisis in a focused manner. It is clear, however, that people of faith must come to grips with that crisis and find a way of thinking about it in the context of their beliefs. This book offers an introduction to Christian environemntal ethics.
Faith in nature : environmentalism as religious quest by Thomas R. Dunlap ; foreword by William Cronon.
ISBN: 9780295985565
Publication Date: 2005
Faith in Nature traces the history of environmentalism―and its moral thrust―from its roots in the Enlightenment and Romanticism through the Progressive Era to the present. Drawing astonishing parallels between religion and environmentalism, the book examines the passion of the movement's adherents and enemies alike, its concern with the moral conduct of daily life, and its attempt to answer fundamental questions about the underlying order of the world and of humanity's place within it.
The Wiley Blackwell companion to religion and ecology by John Hart, editor
ISBN: 9781118465561
Publication Date: 2017
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Ecology offers a comprehensive overview of the history and the latest developments in religious engagement with environmental issues throughout the world...Newly commissioned essays from noted scholars of diverse faiths and scientific traditions present the most cutting-edge thinking on religion's relationship to the environment...Readings then address the changing nature of theology and religious thought in response to the challenges of protecting the environment.
Worldly Wonder : Religions Enter Their Ecological Phase by Mary Tucker
ISBN: 9780812697544
Publication Date: 2011
Mary Evelyn Tucker describes how world religions have begun to move from a focus on God-human and human-human relations to encompass human-earth relations. She argues that, in light of the environmental crisis, religion should move from isolated orthodoxy to interrelated dialogue and use its authority for liberation rather than oppression.

Ecotheology
Publication Date: Indexed in its entirety: 1996-2006 Full text coverage: no. 3 (1997), v. 7, no. 2 (2003)-v. 11, no. 4 (2006)
Succeeding Journal Title:
Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture
Contains theological reflections on ecological issues.
Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture
Publication Date: 01/01/1997 to present (with a 3 Month delay) *Full text delay due to publisher restrictions ("embargo")
Ecotheology: Journal of Religion, Nature & the Environment (1997 - 2006)
Changed to Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture
Contains theological reflections on ecological issues

A few of the articles you can find by searching the Pioneer Trail using the search string religion and environment.

Naturally Ambivalent: Religion's Role in Shaping Environmental Action by Vaidyanathan, Brandon; Khalsa, Simranjit; Ecklund, Elaine Howard.
Publication Date: Sociology of Religion. Winter2018, Vol. 79 Issue 4, p472-494. 23p. 1 Chart.
This article examines the role of religion in shaping environmental action by bringing contemporary arguments in cultural sociology to bear on longstanding debates about the role of religion in environmental care.
The Role of Religion in Environmental Attitudes. by Arbuckle, Matthew B.; Konisky, David M
Publication Date: Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell). Dec2015, Vol. 96 Issue 5, p1244-1263. 20p. 3 Charts, 2 Graphs.
This article examines the role of religion in public attitudes about the environment. While some have found that various aspects of theology and religious practices are responsible for lower levels of concern about the environment, the overall evidence is inconclusive, largely because the typical sample size is insufficient to gain insight into differences between religious traditions.
Structuring the Religion-Environment Connection: Identifying Religious Influences on Environmental Concern and Activism by Darren E. Sherkat; Christopher G. Ellison.
Publication Date: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 46(1):71-85
Recent research on the connection between religion and environmental concern and activism has led to divergent conclusions, with some studies finding a negative effect of religious factors, and others finding no influence or a positive effect. Using a conceptual apparatus of structuration theory, we explain how these divergent findings might be reconciled.