ABSTRACT
Human actions can contribute to climate change, yet, they are also a powerful force to help to stop the negative effects of climate change by identifying harmful practices and by calling us with prophetic wisdom to care for the earth and its species. This chapter explores the potential of spiritual and religious traditions to help educators and children understand and respond to the challenges of climate change. These sacred traditions convey, each in their own way, a deep sense of reverence for the world, for animal, plant and earth life. The earth is seen as sacred and suffused with the creative or spiritual force of the divine. Unfortunately humans (particularly in recent decades & centuries, and particularly in the West) have become shortsighted and lacking in memory when it comes to our fragile dependence on this beautiful earth. Our contemporary educational system has much to gain not only from reclaiming these ancient (Greek Goddess Gaia) and modern insights and teachings from Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam (and many more) but also from non-religious traditions like Humanism, atheism and new age traditions. This chapter illustrates how the world's spiritual and religious traditions can help us to address the ethical dilemma of climate change.
