Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development

The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD) is a nonprofit organization. Its projects promote inter-religious cooperation on environmental sustainability and involve religious leaders, seminary students, and communities in several countries. Founded in 2010, the ICSD is based in Jerusalem.[1]

Interfaith Center for
Sustainable Development
TypeNon-governmental organization
FocusInterfaith, Environmental Sustainability
Location
Websitehttp://www.interfaithsustain.com

Engaging Seminaries Project

This project encourages Spiritual divinity and theological schools and seminaries to integrate lessons on faith and ecology. As part of the project, ICSD has published multiple reports on faith and ecology courses being offered by seminaries around the world, and created the world's largest online syllabus collection of such courses.[2]

ICSD also organizes conferences for seminary deans, faculty, and others on religion and ecology. They help equip seminaries to prepare the next generation of religious leaders to engage in Creation care and environmental justice. They have co-organized six conferences so far: The Southeast Symposium on Ecologically Informed Theological Education in Atlanta in March 2018, The Midwest Symposium on Ecologically Informed Theological Education in 2017, the Washington D.C. Symposium on Ecologically Informed Theological Education in 2017, a New York City conference at Union Theological Seminary in 2016, a Jerusalem conference in 2015, and a Jerusalem conference in 2014.[3]

Report on Faith and Ecology Courses in North American Seminaries

ICSD published a Report on Faith and Ecology Courses in North American Seminaries. The release of the report in June 2015 coincided with the release of Pope Francis’s Encyclical "Laudato Si: On care for our Common Home." The report was revised and expanded in September and November, 2015, following input from seminary deans.[4] Research for the report indicated that the number and diversity of courses on faith and ecology at institutions training seminarians in North America increased in the past number of years. Out of 231 seminaries investigated, over 165 courses were found to have been offered at over 55 seminaries in the United States and Canada.[5]

Report on Catholic Ecology Courses in Catholic Seminaries

This report highlights ecologically themed courses offered at Catholic seminaries in North America, Rome, and the Holy Land.[6]

Report on Faith and Ecology Teaching in Holy Land Seminaries

Released in March 2016, the Report on Faith and Ecology Teaching in the Holy Land Seminaries highlights the faith and ecology courses offered by various seminaries in the Holy Land, with a focus on Christian and Jewish seminaries.[7]

Online Faith and Ecology Syllabus Collection

In collaboration with the Green Seminary Initiative and the Seminary Stewardship Alliance, ICSD provides an online, searchable syllabus collection of courses on faith and ecology.[8]

The Faith and Science Earth Alliance
Founding members of the Faith and Science Earth Alliance

The Faith and Science Earth Alliance (FSEA) is a project of ICSD and an offshoot of the United Planet Faith & Science Initiative (UPFSI.org). FSEA holds low-impact, web-based meetings of scientists and faith leaders from across the globe. These meetings are edited into videos which get disseminated through social media and news outlets to promote public awareness, policy, and action. The FSEA also holds public events featuring presentations by these leaders. In December 2014, in collaboration with Stuart H. Scott's UPFSI, the Faith and Science Earth Alliance organized an event at Columbia University in New York City featuring eleven clergy, scientists, and others speaking on faith, science and ecology. A short video was produced following the event and distributed on social media.[9] The event was held in advance of the 2014 People's Climate March.

Interfaith Environmental Conferences
The 17 Participants at ISSREC in Torreciudad, June 2016

Interfaith Religious Leaders Press Conference, Jerusalem, 2017

On July 26, 2017, ICSD organized a press release conference event to bring Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders together to urge people of all faiths to help curb climate change. Speakers included Rabbi David Rosen, AJC International Director of Interreligious Affairs; Father Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land; and Kadi Iyad Zahalha, judge of the Muslim Sharia Courts. They united in order to urge faith leaders to subordinate religious differences in the fight against exploitation of natural resources, waste generation, water scarcity and climate change.[10] They reached a consensus on the religious basis for environmental sustainability and addressing climate change. At the event, a new letter signed by 36 Israeli Orthodox rabbis were released, calling for action on climate change.[11]

Jerusalem Press Conference 2017

Participation in the International Seminar on Science & Religion for Environment Care, Spain, 2016

In June, 2016, the International Seminar on Science and Religion for Environment Care[12] took place in Torreciudad, Spain, and was organized by the Environmental Ethics chair of University of Alcalá, the Tatiana Perez de Guzman el Bueno Foundation and the Social Promotion of Culture Foundation. ICSD's founder and executive director, Rabbi Yonatan Neril, was one of seventeen participants in the Seminar, and participated in a press conference in Madrid following the event.[13]

The Seminar produced a declaration, which stated: "The vast majority of people living on our planet believe in the importance of spiritual and religious traditions in their daily lives [...]." As Pope Francis wrote in Laudato Si': "This should spur religions to dialogue among themselves for the sake of protecting nature, defending the poor, and building networks of respect and fraternity” (§201).[14] The Declaration contained six points on the impact science and religions can have together in promoting ecological sustainability, and emphasized how "we need Science and Religion working together to make this necessary change happen."[15]

Participation in the Parliament of World Religions, Salt Lake City, 2015

The Parliament was partially focused on climate change, and featured religious leaders speaking out on the moral imperative to act. At the ‘Climate Change and You’ event, speakers included H.H. Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, and ICSD director Rabbi Yonatan Neril.[16] The event was organized and facilitated by the Global Interfaith WASH alliance. Rabbi Neril also spoke on a panel on Values Based Approaches to Social Justice & Sacred Activism, which was organized by Brahma Kumaris.[17]

Participation in the Islamic Climate Change Symposium, Istanbul, 2015

The International Islamic Climate Change Symposium took place on August 17–18, 2015 in Istanbul and centered upon the launch of the Islamic Climate Change Declaration. Muslim clerics gathered with clergy of other faiths to offer, in the words of the Declaration, an "urgent and radical reappraisal" of modern society.[18] Rabbi Yonatan Neril, ICSD's founder and director, attended and spoke at the Symposium.

Faith and Ecology Conference for Seminarians, Jerusalem, 2014
Faith and Ecology Conference for Seminarians in Jerusalem, 2014

On October 22, 2014, ICSD organized the Faith and Ecology Conference in Jerusalem, which brought together over 100 Christians, Jewish and Muslim clergy and seminary students. The gathering provided tools and inspiration to expand faith-based environmental teaching and action within seminaries. Religious figures of all three Abrahamic faiths spoke on the connection between faith teachings and ecological stewardship, including Bishop William Shomali of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, head of Yeshivat Hesder Petach Tikva, and Imam Wassim Barhum of Ein Rafa. A scientific perspective on climate change and ecological issues was provided by Dr. Nurit Hashimony Yaffe from the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo.[19]

The Conference was co-organized by ICSD, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and the Salesian Pontifical University—Jerusalem campus.[20]

Interfaith Climate and Energy Conference, Jerusalem, 2012

The ICSD and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung held the Interfaith Climate and Energy Conference[21] in Jerusalem on March 19, 2012. The Conference featured Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders[22] from Israel, and via pre-recorded religious leaders who spoke on the ethical need and religious basis for improvements on climate change and the use of renewable energy. A video was filmed as part of the conference.

Panel from the 2012 Interfaith Climate and Energy Conference. From left: Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, Rabbi Daniel Sperber, and Sheik Muhammed Amara.

Collaboration on Interfaith Event at UN Climate Change Conference, South Africa, 2011

ICSD collaborated with the Southern Africa Faith Communities Environment Institute and The Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change[23] to organize two events in conjunction with the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference.[24] The events featured a number of religious leaders and scientists who called for immediate action to address climate change. The speakers included Bishop Geoff Davis representing Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Christiana Figueres, head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mohandas Gandhi and a Member of Parliament in South Africa.

2011 UN Climate Change Conference

Interfaith Eco Forum, Jerusalem, 2011

In July 2011, ICSD held a panel discussion featuring Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious figures speaking on the importance of environmental conservation and how it relates to their respective religions.[25] One speaker, Auxiliary Bishop to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Msgr. William Shomali, stressed, "We are tourists on this land, and we will leave it one day, but we must leave it clean for the next generations, we must be accountable for how we use this common home." These sentiments were echoed by Deputy Minister of the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Affairs Haj Salah Zuheika and AJC International Director of Inter-religious Affairs Rabbi David Rosen, who agreed that respect for nature is equivalent to a respect for G-d and for G-d's creations.[26]

One Home Video Project

In 2012, ICSD produced an interfaith eco video, "We Have Only One Home: Global Faith Leaders Addressing the Ecological Crisis." In the video, global faith leaders - including the Dalai Lama, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and Chief Rabbi Sacks - deliver a message of inspiration on the importance of protecting the earth, our common home. They advocate action for environmental sustainability.[27] It is the most recent addition to the web's largest video collection on faith and ecology, assembled by the ICSD, and was posted on a number of sites including Deseret News and the Huffington Post[28] The video was produced with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung[29] and the Julia Burke Foundation.[30]

Holy Land Faith Leaders

ICSD submitted a statement to the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land (CRIHL) pertaining to the Rio +20 United Nations Earth Summit.[31] CRIHL represents the highest religious authorities in Israel. The statement by the ICSD proposed that inter-religious strife should be put aside so that people can work together to better the future.

In May 2011, CRIHL endorsed another statement submitted by ICSD calling for religious and political leaders and faith communities to act to curb climate change. Some of the statement read, "We call on adherents of our faiths in the Holy Land and worldwide to address this crisis by undertaking a deep reassessment of our spiritual and physical relationship to this God-given planet and how we consume, use and dispose of its blessed resources ... We hope that environmental challenges in our common home of the Holy Land and Planet Earth move religious adherents to overcome inter-religious strife and work together for ours and our children’s common well-being."[32]

Eco Israel Tours

Eco Israel Tours is a branch of the ICSD which provides a range of eco-tourism programs in Israel.[33]

Jewish Eco Seminars
Summer 2012 Jewish Eco Seminars program.

Jewish Eco Seminars (JES) is another ICSD initiative that works with a range of Jews in Israel and North America to increase their ecological awareness and strengthen their Jewish identity.[34] Currently JES offers over 13 programs on a range of subjects. These programs include outdoor, experiential activities as well as talks, classes and site visits on Israel-focused Jewish environmental topics.[35]

Core teachings on Judaism and the environment

ICSD director Rabbi Yonatan Neril contributed to the 2012-2013 collection "Uplifting People and Planet: Eighteen Essential Jewish Lessons on the Environment". It includes 18 articles on core Jewish teachings in regard to the environment. It was part of the year of learning partnership of Canfei Nesharim[36] and Jewcology,[37] and JES was a partner to the initiative.

Jewish Climate Initiative

The Jewish Climate Initiative is a branch of JES and the ICSD. It focuses on tikkun olam (literally "repairing the world" in Hebrew) by providing a Jewish response to the current climate change crisis that threatens the ecosystems of Earth. Its focus areas are ethics, policy and activism, and science and technology, and how to utilize those areas to make a difference in the world.

Interfaith Workshops for Seminary Students on Sustainability
Yarkon Park Seminar Group.

The Interfaith Seminary Students Sustainability Project brings together Jewish, Muslim, and Christian seminary students[38] from Israel for seminars on coexistence and ecological sustainability. These seminary students use their religious backgrounds to address the pressing matters of the environment. The seminars focus on environmental sustainability and human sustainability. Each session includes explorations of modern ecological and social challenges which are led by experts of the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faiths.

Interfaith Eco Poetry Events
Two Performers in 2016

ICSD has organized two Interfaith Eco Spoken-word Poetry Slams in Jerusalem. The first was June 4, 2015 and titled Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet, Consume with Care in honor of World Environment Day, with 60 attendees. The second was June 30, 2016 and included over 15 diverse performers and 80 audience members. The performances focused on the common challenges and goals of environmental sustainability from a faith-based perspective. Videos of many of the performances can be found on ICSD’s official YouTube channel.[39]

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References
  1. "The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development: about the organization". ICSD website. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012. October 10, 2012.
  2. "Engaging Seminaries". The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  3. "Symposium on Ecologically Informed Theological Education: Implications for Teaching, Learning and Seminary Life". interfaithsustain.com. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  4. "News the Pope will love: Faith and ecology teachings making world more holy". Green Prophet. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  5. "More seminaries offering courses on faith, environment, study finds | National Catholic Reporter". ncronline.org. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
  6. "Report on Catholic Ecology Courses in Catholic Seminaries" (PDF). The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development.
  7. "Report on Faith and Ecology Teaching in Holy Land Seminaries" (PDF). The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development.
  8. "Online Faith and Ecology Syllabus Collection". The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. August 10, 2016.
  9. Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (2016-07-11), Faith and Science Earth Alliance Speaks Out, retrieved 2016-08-10
  10. "All faiths must unite to fight climate change, clergy urge". Israel21c. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  11. "Interfaith Leaders in Jerusalem Agree on Urgency of Curbing Climate Change". Mad Mimi. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  12. "Ciencia y religiones dialogan para conservar el medioambiente". Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  13. "Líderes religiosos se alían con la ciencia para incluir el cambio climático en sus sermones" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  14. "Laudato si' (24 May 2015) | Francis". w2.vatican.va. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  15. "Final Declaration". Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  16. Neril, Yonatan (2015-10-22). "Amidst Hottest Year on Earth, Faith Leaders Unite and Call for Climate Action". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  17. "Salt Lake 2015: Schedule | Parliament of the World's Religions". parliamentofreligions.org. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  18. "Islamic Call on Climate Appeals to 1.6 Billion Muslims". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  19. "Faith leaders join hands to protect the planet". Israel21c. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  20. "Jerusalem's on fire, but these "enemies" put faith in ecology". Green Prophet. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  21. "Religious Leaders Work to save Planet." Web log post. Israel21c. N.p., 20 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Sept. 2012. <http://israel21c.org/news/religious-leaders-work-to-save-planet/>.
  22. Kloosterman, Karin. "Holy Land Leaders: Muslims, Jews, Christians Link to Save the Planet." Web log post. Green Prophet. N.p., 16 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Sept. 2012. <http://www.greenprophet.com/2012/03/holy-land-faith-leaders-renewable-energy/>.
  23. http://www.interfaithdeclaration.org/
  24. "Faith leaders call for urgent action on climate change", Christian Today, 3 Dec 2011
  25. "Holy Land clerics launch interfaith Earth forum", Ma'an News Agency, 25 July 2011
  26. "Terra Santa: a mudança verde das religiões", Instituto Humanitas Unisinos, 25 July 2011
  27. "An inter-religious appeal in the context of the UN Summit Rio +20", Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung, 22 June 2012
  28. Neril, Yonatan. "One Home: Protecting the Earth Through Interfaith Education and Activism." Huffington Post. N.p., 4 Aug. 2012. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yonatan-neril/interfaith-environmental-education-and-activism_b_1721157.html>.
  29. http://www.kas.de/israel/de/publications/31405/
  30. "http://www.juliaburkefoundation.com/pdf/JBF_Newsletter_2012.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2013-08-28. External link in |title= (help)
  31. Udasin, Sharon. "Erdan Elected Vice Chairman of Rio+20 Summit." Jerusalem Post. N.p., 22 June 2012. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.jpost.com/Sci-Tech/Article.aspx?id=274803>.
  32. "http://www.interfaithsustain.com/programs/holy-land-faith-leaders/rio-20-earth-summit-statement/". Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2012-10-10. External link in |title= (help)
  33. Yanyang, Zhang. "News Analysis: Israel Becomes Oasis of Eco-tourism Options." English.xinhua.com. Xinhua, 11 Aug. 2011. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-08/11/c_131041593.htm>.
  34. "Eco Tourism." interfaithsustain.com. The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, n.d. Web. 13 June 2013. <http://www.interfaithsustain.com/programs/eco-tourism/>.
  35. Palevsky, Stacey. "Jewish Environmental Education Takes Root in the Bay Area." The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California., 18 Mar. 2008. Web. 12 June 2013. <http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/34984/jewish-environmental-education-takes-root-in-the-bay-area/>
  36. "Year of Jewish Learning: Core Teachings on Torah and the Environment." canfeinesharim.org. Canfei Nesharim, n.d. Web. 19 June 2013. <http://www.canfeinesharim.org/learning/>.
  37. "Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment." jewcology.com. Jewcology, n.d. Web. 19 June 2013. <http://www.jewcology.com/content/view/Year-of-Jewish-Learning-on-the-Environment>.
  38. Ya'ari, Elizabeth. "All Across the Jordan River: An Interfaith Seminar on the Lower Jordan River." Web log post. Foeme.wordpress.com. N.p., 5 June 2012. Web. 12 Sept. 2012. <http://foeme.wordpress.com/2012/06/05/all-across-the-jordan-river-an-interfaith-seminar-on-the-lower-jordan-river/>.
  39. "Jerusalem Opens Up to Faith and Ecology Through Spoken Word and Song". The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
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