“The foundational moral experience is reverence for the human person, and her/his environment.” For centuries, Christian moralists have focused almost exclusively on the first part of this statement—“the person”. The current environmental crisis extending from the later 20th Century to the present raises numerous challenges to that focus and other traditional approaches to Christian Ethics.
This course will focus on the appropriate kind of reverence that Christians, who would be moral, need to give to the environment and the sort of behaviors that need to follow from that reverence. Since profound wonder is at the heart of reverence, the course begins by reviewing what various disciplines–ecology, astrophysics, quantum physics, geology, etc.–tell us about the Earth in all of its magnificent complexity. This wonder is jarred by the stark reality of the “state of the Earth.”
Later in the course, we explore various approaches to environmental ethics and begin to see the cause and effect relationship the proponents of these various methods hold as the trigger for the current environmental crisis. From an ecumenical perspective, Christian and Jewish sources will be reviewed for the moral wisdom they offer to Christians today. Special attention will be given to the various statements on the environment published by Roman Catholic magisterial bodies from around the globe and the Franciscan tradition.
Finally, several lectures will be devoted to providing the student with a basic “environmental science literacy.” We will place these sources of moral wisdom in dialogue with wisdom drawn from other disciplines and draw some conclusions: What kind of perceptual and attitudinal changes must we make regarding the environment? What changes must we make in our consumption patterns and lifestyle? How can we reconcile those elements of the Christian tradition that have seemingly contributed to the assault upon the earth? What forms of Christian spirituality assist in the formation of a moral life fitting for reverence of the environment? How must we rethink our relation to the Earth the human community, and future generations if we are not to destroy ourselves and our planet?
REQUIRED TEXTS:
- Leonardo Boff. Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1997
- John Hart. What Are They Saying About Environmental Theology? Paulist Press, 2004.
- Dawn M. Nothwehr, ed. Franciscan Theology of the Environment: An Introductory Reader. Quincy, IL: Franciscan Press, 2003.
- David Toolan, At Home in the Cosmos. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2001.
- Required assignments found on MOODLE.
- Required readings found on CTU Library Reserves.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
- Drew Christiansen and Walter Glazer, eds. And God Saw That It Was Good: Catholic Theology and the Environment. Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, 1996.
- Carol J. Dempsey & Mary Margaret Pazdan, Eds. Earth, Wind, and Fire: Biblical and Theological Perspectives on Creation. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2004.
- Christine E. Gudorf, James Edward Huchingson. Boundaries: A Casebook in Environmental Ethics. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003.
- Michael S. Northcott, A Moral Climate: the Ethics of Global Warming Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2007.
- John J.W. Rogers and Trileigh Tucker. Earth Science and Human History 101 (Science 101) Westport, CT Greenwood Press, 2008
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: For each assignment, write several questions and/or ideas and insights from the readings that strike you as interesting ideas to be discussed further in class. [M. Div. 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6; MAPS 2.1, 2.2; MA 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9]
Environmental Ethics Method Presentation: Toward the end of the course we will explore 6 different approaches to doing environmental ethics. Students will be asked to sign up to do a 20 – 30 minute presentation of one of the methods. This will be followed by the discussion of a case study using the methods presented in a given session. The professor will provide more specific guidelines prior.
Reflections on “Planet Earth”: The Discovery Channel has produced a set of 5 DVDs that contain some of the most phenomenal film footage of the various ecosystems, plant, and animal life on Earth. Students are to view the entirety of two (2) of the DVDs “Planet Earth.” [Example: Pole to Pole, Mountains, Deep Oceans]. After viewing each of the DVDs, prepare a prayerful reflection in response to what you saw. The set of DVDs are on Reserve at CTU’s Bechtold Library. You need to view the DVD in the room provided at the Library.
Final Paper/Project: A research paper or eco-theological issue project of about 15-20 pages. Please create a plan for your paper or project and then schedule a meeting with the professor before you begin this exercise. The purpose of the paper is to explore how Catholic Social Teaching concerning the environment provides direction for the resolution of a concrete environmental problem.
- (a) Select a specific environmental problem that faces the people in your country.
- (b) Explore the historical, social, political, economic, ecological dimensions of the problem. Use the knowledge gained from the environmental literacy segments of this course to bring concrete scientific understanding to bear on your analysis.
- (c) Ground your analysis of the issue using Christian doctrinal sources, the Catholic magisterial teachings from your local Church, statements from the Roman Magisterium and other resources explored in this course, and show the critique this moral wisdom brings to bear on the problem.
- (d) Draw conclusions and make a recommendation for the resolution of the problem.
MA Students need to be explicit about and focus on the advantages/disadvantages, strengths & weaknesses of the ethical method used to arrive at a potential resolution to the problem posed in the paper. [MA 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.7, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3]
- Div. and MAPS Students need to focus on a pastoral project that brings the conclusions of the paper to bear concretely on preaching, catechesis, and social action in a parish setting. [M. Div. 2.1-2.6; MAPS 2.1, 2.2]
SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS:
Week 1: Introduction
- Johnson, “Turn to the Heavens,” in Judith Dryer, Visions & Values, 53-69.
- Holmes Rolston, III, “Ecology: A Primer for Christian Ethics,” Journal of Catholic Social Thought 4/2 (Summer 2007): 293-312.
- In Class: B. Swimme, The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos, Part I, “The Generosity of the Sun.” [27 min.]
Week 2: Biblical Vision of Creation: Write and bring to class today: Using your experiences of relationship with the Earth, along with insights from other sources of learning, write a 3-page reflection in which you trace your attitudes, values, perceptions, behavior, and lifestyle – starting with your earliest awareness of the environment to the present. Response to these two fundamental questions: How ought a Christian to be in relationship to the Earth? What ought a Christian to do in relationship to the Earth? How consistent is your “doing” with what you know you “ought” to do? Why?
- Toolan, At Home in the Cosmos: Chapt. 1 Does God Care About Whales? 9-21; Chapt. 2 Nature Symbolic of Promise, 22-40.
- Nothwehr, ed., Franciscan Theology of the Environment
- Hayes, A New Reading of the Sources, 9-21.
- Kay, Concepts of Nature in the Hebrew Bible, 23-42.
- Bratton, Christian Ecotheology and the Hebrew Scriptures, 47-62.
- Karris, Colossians 1:15-20 – Christ Jesus as Cosmic Lord and Peacemaker, 67-91.
- Dempsey & Pazdan, eds. Earth, Wind, and Fire
- Bowe, “Soundings in the New Testament Understanding of Creation,” 52-66
- Laffey, “The Priestly Creation Narrative: Goodness and Interdependence,” 24-24.
- In Class: B. Swimme, The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos, Part II, “Birthplace of the Universe.” [28 min.]
Week 3: Development of Scientific Materialism DVD Reflections are due.
- Toolan, At Home in the Cosmos-Chapt. 3 Imperial Ecology and the Death of Nature; Chapt 4 The Competitive Ethos Triumphant
- Nothwehr, ed., Franciscan Theology of the Environment –
- Short, “The Franciscan Spirit,” 111-127.
- Dreyer, ’[God] Whose Beauty the Sun and Moon Admire’:Clare & Ecology, 129-139.
- Doyle, The Canticle of Brother Sun & the Value of Creation, 155-72.
- Nairn, Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures as an Exercise of the Moral Imagination, 175-84.
- Dempsey & Pazdan, Eds. Earth, Wind, and Fire
- McGinn, “All Creation Groans in Labor: Paul’s Theology of Creation in Rom 8: 18-23,” 114-123.
- In Class: B. Swimme, The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos, Part III, “The All-Nourishing Abyss” [26 min.]
Week 4: State of the Earth- Research the endangered species of your homeland. Write a one page reflection providing a theological argument for why this matter should be of concern for Christians. Bring your reflection to class.
- Boff, Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor-Ch. 1 The Ecological Era. 1-34; Ch 3 Ecological Crisis, 63-85; Ch 4 All Capital Sins Against Ecology, 86-103.
- Toolan, At Home in the Cosmos-Ch. 5 Is There an Environmental Crisis? 75-91; Ch. 6 Pushing the Limits, 92-103; Ch. 7 The Dynamics of Unsustainability, 104-125.
- Dempsey & Pazdan, Eds. Earth, Wind, and Fire
- Dempsey, “Creation, Evolution, Revelation, & Redemption: Connections & Intersections, 1-23.
- Reid, “Sabbath, the Crown of Creation, 67-76.
- Stephen M. Gardiner, “Ethics and Global Climate Change: A Survey Article,” Ethics (April 2004): 555-600.
- Nothwehr, “The Kogi Mamas and Environmental Ethics,”481-518.
- In Class: “From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brother’s Warning”
Week 5: The New Cosmology & Christology
- Boff, Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor-Ch 2 An Ecological View of the Cosmos, 35-62
- Toolan, At Home in the Cosmos-Ch. 8 Evolution and Theological Repair, 132-155; Ch. 9 A Physics of Promise, 156-177; Ch.10 The Voice of the Hurricane, 178-191
- Nothwehr, ed., Franciscan Theology of the Environment
- Hayes, An Excerpt from Bonaventure: Mystery of the Triune God, 201-246.
- Hayes, The Cosmos: A Symbol of the Divine, 249-266.
- Hoebing, St. Bonaventure & Ecology, 269-280.
- 34 Scientists, “Open Letter to the Religious Community,” {and response}, ii-xv.
- Rayan, “The Earth is the Lord’s,” 130-148.
- Nothwehr, “Tree of Life.”
- In Class: “The Earth is the Lord’s”
Week 6: Earth Ethics – Cosmic Mutuality & Doing Justice To Creation
- Boff, Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor-Ch 6 Reclaiming the Dignity of the Earth, 115-139.
- Nothwehr, ed., Franciscan Theology of the Environment
- Osborne, Incarnation, Individuality, and Diversity, 295-303.
- Mulhulland, Christ: The Haecceitas of God, 305-312.
- Short, ‘Pied Beauty’: Gerard Manley Hopkins and the Scotistic View of Nature, 313-322.
- Ingham, “A Certain Affection for Justice, 325-332.
- Toolan, At Home in the Cosmos-Ch. 11 The Fallout for Spirituality, 195-219; Ch. 12 Citizens of the Earth, 220- 240.
- Dempsey & Pazdan, Eds. Earth, Wind, and Fire
- Hilkert, “Creation in the Image of God and Wisdom Christology,” 147-163.
- Wiley, “Creation Restored, God’s Basileia, the Social Economy and Human Good,” 77-102.
- Nothwehr, “”The Ecological Spirit and Cosmic Mutuality: Engaging the Work of Denis
- Edwards,” 167-88.
Week 7: Environmental Ethics Method 1
- Prepare & Bring to Class: – Case study found on CTU Library Reserves – Gudorf & Huchingson, “Nature Creates Deserts Too: Addressing Desertification in China,” 146-152.
- Gudorf & Huchingson, “Theory in Environmental Ethics,” 1-24.
- Smith – Chapt 1 – Deep Ecology and its Radical Vision
- Chapt 2 – The Ethics of Ecofeminism
- Warner, “Was St. Francis a Deep Ecologist?” 225-240.
- Richards, “The Nature-Culture Dilemma,” 8-13.
- Sessions, “The Deep Ecology Movement: A Review,” 105-125.
- Curtin, “D?gen, Deep Ecology, and the Ecological Self,” 195-213.
- Gebara, “Ecofeminism: A Latin American Perspective,” Cross Currents 53 no 1 Spr 2003, p 93-103.
- Fraser, “Where The Divine Meets The Created: The Feminist And Ecofeminist Trinitarian Theologies Of Elizabeth A Johnson And Ivone Gebara,” Religious Studies and Theology 23 no 2 2004, p 53-77.
- Van Schalkwyk, “Women, Ecofeminist Theology and Sustainability in a Post-apartheid South Africa,” Journal of Theology for Southern Africa no 130 Mr 2008, p 6-23.
- Warren, “Feminism and Ecology,” 3-20.
- Spretnak, “Ecofeminism,” 3-14.
- Spretnak, “Toward an Ecofeminist Spirituality,” 127-132.
Week 8: Environmental Ethics Method 2
- Prepare & Bring to Class: – Case study found on CTU Library Reserves – Gudorf & Huchingson, “Nature Red in Tooth, Claw, and Bullet: Hunting and Human Presence in Nature,” 191-199.
- Smith – Chapt 3 -Animal “Rights” and the Questions of Human Behavior
- Chapt 4 -The “Naturalists” and Leopoldian Ethics
- Gaffney, “Animals and Ethics,” 297-299.
- Lofton, “The Morality of Hunting,” 241-250.
- Rolston III, “Duties to Endangered Species,” 718-726.
- Gunn, “Why Should We Care About Rare Species?” 17-37.
- Marietta, “Environmental Holism,” 251-258.
- Moline, “Aldo Leopold and the Moral Community,” 99-120.
Week 9: Environmental Ethics Method 3
- Prepare & Bring to Class: Case study found on CTU Library Reserves – Gudorf & Huchingson, “Heart Thieves: Preserving Endangered Ecosystems or Endangered Cultures in Madagascar,” 58-66.
- Smith – Chapt 5 – Liberation Ecotheology
- Chapt 7 – Eco-ethics of the Catholic Magisterium
- Boff, Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor
- Ch. 5 – Liberation Theology and Ecology, 104-114.
- Boff, “St. Francis – A Model for Human Liberation,” 38-47.
- Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Chapter 10.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Firer Hinze, “Catholic Social Teaching and Ecological Ethics,” 165-182.
- Christiansen, “Ecology and the Common Good,” 183-195.
Week 10: Catholic Environmental Tradition 1 DVD Reflections are due today.
- Hart – Chapt 1 – Creation, Creatures, and Community Consideration
- Chapt 2 Common Ground and Common Good
- Boff, Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor, Ch. 7 – All in God, God in All, 140-157.
- Lucia A. Silecchia, “Discerning the Environmental Perspective of Pope Benedict XVI,” Journal of Catholic Social Thought 4/2 (Summer 2007): 271-292.
Week 11: EARTH WEEK Catholic Environmental Tradition 2
- Bring to class today: a Pastoral Letter on the environment or/and ecological issues from the local church of your country of origin. Be prepared to highlight contents of that document and discuss the effectiveness of its implementation. Also, as part of the discussion you will take turns listening to one another tell about local environmental pastorals. As you listen to your classmates present their pastorals, notice the similarities & differences from your own document and any ways in which their pastoral presents additional challenges to your local church.
- Hart – Chapt 3 – Sacramental and Common Creation
- Chapt 4 – Transforming Tradition and Conserving Creation: Northern Visions
- Boff, Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor, Ch. 8 – The Spirit is Sleeping in the Rock,” 158-173.
- Baum, M. Hellwig, W. Malcolm Byres, “Global Climate Change and Catholic Responsibility: Facts and Faith,” Journal of Catholic Social Thought 4/2 (Summer 2007): 373-401.
Week 12: Catholic Environmental Tradition – 3
- Bring to class today: a Pastoral Letter on the environment (See above)
- Hart – Chapt 4 – Transforming Tradition and Conserving Creation: Southern Visions
- Chapt 6 – Creation Consciousness and Concern
- Boff, Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor, Ch. 9 – “Split a Piece of Wood and I am There,” 174-186.
Week 13: Catholic Environmental Tradition – 4 LAST CLASS ALL PAPERS DUE
- Hart – Chapt 7 – Care for Creation and Community
- Nothwehr, ed., Franciscan Theology of the Environment
- Nothwehr, Benedictine Responsibility & Franciscan Mutuality, 403-431.
- Boff, Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor
- Ch. 10 – “Eco-Spirituality,” 187-202.
- Ch. 11 – “All the Cardinal Ecological Virtues,” 203-220.
- Summation & Evaluation