Laws of nature: Jo Flanagan says Quakers should support a change

‘Today’s laws do not protect nature and they do not protect those who defend nature.’

It is high time that those of us who form faith groups addressed the destruction of nature. To this end a report has been published, offering Buddhist, Islamic, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Christian-Pacific and Indigenous Sámi and Vodun perspectives on the urgent need for an ecocide law. ‘Faith Voices for Ecocide Law’ has been written by eminent theologians and indigenous wisdom keepers, and edited by the ecologist Pella Thiel.

The central message from all the contributors is that to protect nature (our home) from destruction, ecocide must become an international crime. They identify the cause of this destruction, saying in their ‘Faith for Ecocide Law Manifesto’ that: ‘Many of us have forgotten that we are not separate from Nature but a part of life on this planet, and that when we damage Nature, we damage ourselves. To live in peace with each other we must live in peace with the Earth.’ This Manifesto calls for ecocide (mass damage or destruction of ecosystems) to become a crime against peace at the International Criminal Court, so that people in a position of power have a duty of care and can be held responsible for their actions. An amendment to the Rome Statute has already been drafted and has been well received.

Why is it so important for faiths to address the destruction of nature? The report quotes Gus Speth, a former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies: ‘I used to think that top global environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science, we could address these problems, but I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a spiritual and cultural transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.’

Also quoted is a co-director of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, who points out that all of the world’s religions have views of nature which form the basis for how various cultures value nature. It is vital to include these perspectives when considering how humans can coexist with nature in a mutually-enhancing way. This involves a revaluing of nature as a source of life, not a resource to be exploited.

So far religions have not substantially integrated scientific and ecological findings into their preaching, teaching and living. But eighty-four per cent of people on the planet are affiliated with a religion, so faith leaders, clergy and religious teachers could play a crucial role – if they can overcome that apathy!

The possibility of inspiring their faith communities to take significant action on the climate crisis clearly resonates with several contributors. One rabbi comments that ‘As a fundamental part of many people’s lives, religion can be a key motivator by shaping values. Religion appeals not just to our intellect but to our soul – and this is where change is most needed. When God is at the centre of our environmental awareness, it becomes much more powerful. At this moment in history, we need a major infusion of energy specifically to help faith groups inspire behavioural change for sustainable living.’

A Hindu spiritual leader, who says that ‘our world family is not only all human beings but all living beings’, also embraces this mission: ‘As religious leaders and faith communities we must be the change and also bring the change. We must bring the light in this time of darkness, and be the light. Faith leaders can play a very important role in reversing climate change and ensuring sustainable development. We must inspire our congregations and our communities to be the solution because the time to act is now. The future is in our hands and it depends on how we live in the present.’

As the Manifesto points out, today’s laws do not protect nature and they do not protect those who defend nature. More than four environmental defenders are murdered every week, with attacks driven by industries like mining, logging and agribusiness. Indigenous communities face high risks of violence, and simultaneously hold a key role in protecting biodiversity because the areas they occupy hold eighty per cent of the planet’s biodiversity.

A Sámi wisdom mother, whose village is being destroyed by a mining company, expresses the grief and responsibility she feels for future generations: ‘I have grandchildren who are going to walk this Earth, and I cannot let them go through what is now happening. There won’t be anything left … I will never be able to show my grandchildren the place I was born; it will be gone.’

She notes that the same companies are also destroying the Amazon. Making ecocide a crime is ‘a brilliant idea’, she says. Her enthusiasm is shared by a Vodun leader from Benin: ‘All over the Earth are sacred places, which help us to respect and revere the living world and live in harmony and peace. But we also need the law to reflect this ancient knowledge and support community in this the largest sense, the community of life.’

In Islam, to violate the order of creation and the balance of the world is a crime against the almighty, as well as a crime against the world’s creatures. An Islamic theologian insists: ‘Instead we should be looking at the natural world not as resources to be conserved and husbanded, but as having rights of its own, its own integrity, independent of human needs.’

From a Buddhist perspective, to believe in a hierarchical system of nature with humans at the top, free to use and overexploit the natural world, is a profoundly mistaken idea which has caused devastation to forests, seas, land and animals, but also to ourselves. Socially-engaged Buddhism calls for inner transformation to overcome the three poisons at the roots of the climate crisis (delusion, greed and ill will) by cultivating wisdom, courage and compassion. They emphasise the need for dialogue and taking action now.

Christian theology also calls for transformation – for us to ‘empty ourselves of the ego, the self-occupation that has caused the planetary crises we are now living in’ and to escape from the prison of consumerism.

A Pacific-Island Christian notes how the values of different cultures are reflected in their economies. While western economies revolve around profit and economic growth, the traditional economies of the Pacific are concerned with people, showing care and compassion for everyone within extended families, particularly the sick and elderly, and providing respect, hospitality, generosity and forgiveness. Nobody is excluded.

Their islands will soon be under water, but Pacific Christians uphold their interconnectedness to the land, sea and sky. They recognise the need to work together for the common good to ensure the land and sea is not raped, and ‘to speak with one voice to the suffering that our environment and our communities are experiencing’. They say an ecocide law will help them to hold governments and proponents of extractive industries to account.

I hope Quakers can use this discourse, and other information on the Faith for Ecocide Law initiative, to explore whether Quakers, as active supporters of climate justice, should also support this urgent campaign.

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