What the World’s Faith and Wisdom Traditions Offer in the Time of Ecological Crisis

Friday, Nov 9 | 1:00 – 6:00 pm
Saturday, Nov 10 | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Instructor: Karenna Gore
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Climate Change is about more than science and economics. It raises questions about our moral obligations to one another across space and time and the nature of our interconnectedness. The same is true of other aspects of our ecological crisis: deforestation, extinction of a vast number of species, and the depletion and contamination of soil, water and air. A deep inquiry into human belief systems yields insights into both the root causes of this problem and the sources of hope. Our studies will include Laudato Si by Pope Francis, the legacy of the Standing Rock prayer camp, The Time to Act Is Now: A Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change, The African Methodist Episcopal Church Statement on Climate Change and other and other words and actions from world religions, spiritualities and Indigenous traditions. We will also examine the ways in which theological language has been used to bolster support for the continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels.

About Karenna Gore
Karenna Gore is the director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary. She is an attorney, advocate, writer and educator. Her past experience includes work in the legal center of Sanctuary for Families, which serves victims of domestic violence and trafficking and as Director of Community Affairs for the Association to Benefit Children (ABC), which provides early childhood education and other services for families living in poverty in New York City. She worked on the editorial staff of Slate magazine and is the author of Lighting the Way: Nine Women Who Changed Modern America (2006). Karenna is a graduate of Harvard College, Columbia Law School and Union Theological Seminary. She is the eldest child of Al and Tipper Gore and lives in New York City with her three children.