by the Living the Change Team

March 2020

We asked faith leaders in our GreenFaith and Living the Change communities from all over the world about how their faiths inform their relationship to the earth, the environment, and to climate change. We also asked how their faiths view collective climate action.

We have heard beautiful and moving stories of inspiration and reflection, and want to share some of these insights with you.

For this post, we talked to Lindsey Fielder-Cook, Representative for Climate Change at Quaker United Nations Office; Dr. Ather Hussain al-Azhari, Imam, Writer & Lecturer at Leicester Central Mosque; and Mat McDermott, Senior Director at the Hindu American Foundation in the United States in our most recent round of “Stories of Change.”

Here is what they said.

The Role of Faith in Understanding Climate Change

Imam al-Azhari described how he views his understanding of the earth and environment is shaped by his Muslim faith:

“We live in a world where we advocate change all the time - political, social and even spiritual - but we do not take any steps ourselves. Allah informs us that He will not change a community till they change themselves (Quran, 13: 11). In my opinion, environmental affairs is one area where it is futile to desire change globally without one taking steps at home to make a difference.”

Lindsey Fielder-Cook shares:

“I was so caught up in peace and justice concerns as a humanitarian worker in war zones, that I was not very aware of my relationship with the earth. But as I began to understand how our lifestyles are destabilizing nature, and how rising temperatures could lead to the violent, failed countries where I had worked, I began to understand that climate change (and other environmental crises) are a peace and justice concern.

Mat McDermott believes as a Hindu that

“the most grounding thing one can do, living in the shadow of our changing climate, is learning to become more easeful in constant change, uncertainty, and loss, while being receptive to the beauty, joy, and potential for growth that is omnipresent, even in such perilous times.”

He cautions us to try - and not let the imperfect stop us. He notes:

“Let us not denigrate sincere efforts, even when they are slight or seem symbolic. Without constant cultivation of ease and contentment within change, and accepting the fact that our efforts to live lives more ecologically aware will always be imperfect in some way, despair and inaction looms large. Action is better than inaction.”

Making Personal Changes as a Person of Faith

All shared that they are deeply committed to living lightly and working on climate change.

Imam al-Azhari describes his life and the inspiration he has drawn from other faith leaders on how to practice an environmentally conscious life:

“As a Muslim Imam, I appreciate the wonderful guidance given to us on green affairs from our religion. Without a doubt, my family and I are certainly moving towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle. Diet is one area where change has been most difficult. Having said that, my daughter Aisha (12) - who is very vocal on environmental concerns - is always reminding us of the need to recycle, cut out waste and make purchases that consider the environment, too.”

Mat McDermott describes how he lives his life in this age of rapid climate change:

“For most of my life I have eaten a vegetarian diet, largely vegan in the past several years. For more than a decade all of my electricity comes from renewable energy, purchased through my utility. It’s not a perfect solution — a fully renewable energy supply would be better — but it’s an important and easy step that anyone can take. I tend to walk anywhere I need to go on a daily basis. It is a pleasurable way of moving around. If I am in a place with adequate long-distance train travel, I prioritize using it and enjoy that as well. I make an annual contribution to offset the carbon emissions of traveling this way. It’s an imperfect solution.”

We wrote more about how individual changes, and working together collectively in climate change connect in this blog post.

We leave you with this from Lindsey Fielder-Cook, who speaks about her personal transformation:

“Transformation needs to come from the heart to sustain, which is why faith is so powerful a call to act, a call to conscience in how we live and how we are with others. We can help create a more courageous and compassionate world so desperately needed to face the environmental and existential crises before us.”

We could not agree more.

Our sincere thanks to Lindsey Fielder-Cook, Imam al-Azhari, and Mat McDermott for your insights.

Editor’s note: Interviews with each faith leader were shortened and lightly edited for readability and clarity.

Thomas Delaney

Tom (21) was born and raised in North India, where his parents, inspired by their Christian faith, have sought to live in and serve urban poor communities. He is currently living in Lucknow, working for an Indian not-for-profit teaching children Hindi literacy. He and his dad, Mark, recently wrote a book - Low Carbon and Loving It – about climate change and their experiences in India and Australia.

How does your faith help you in times of struggle, change, and new beginnings?
My faith helps me in grappling with struggles, including how to respond to climate change, by assuring me that God is in control, and that, at the end of the day, things will be ok. This is very important in an issue like climate change, where sometimes things feel hopeless.

How does your faith describe the relationship between all living things, the Earth, and the Divine?
Genesis describes a God who lovingly created the cosmos, marvelled in it, and commanded humanity to steward it. In Romans 8, Paul pictures the whole creation, which has been ‘subject to frustration’, groaning for redemption and salvation. It seems God cares for all of creation (though I’m still working out what that means for mosquitoes!)

What does your faith tradition teach about material consumption and simplicity?
Jesus warns powerfully about the dangers of wealth, espousing and practising a lifestyle of simplicity. He teaches that wealth and consumption does not lead to eternal life, but rather to destruction. This undermines the lie of advertising: “you will be happy if you just have this”. Instead, Jesus tells us that ‘life to the full’ consists not in an abundance of material possessions, but rather in being free of the grip they hold. On the other hand, Jesus does care deeply about the poor having enough to meet their basic needs, as demonstrated both by his teaching (‘give to those who ask of you’) and actions (feeding the multitudes). God wants us all to have enough, but having too much can alienate us from the poor and distract us from our relationship with God. Personally, we have found living simply vital to be able to empathise and relate with our poor neighbours, and also enriching for our spiritual journeys.

How does your community approach examining and changing our lifestyles?
My community consists primarily of my family. We challenge and encourage each other to change, and are with each other on the journey. For instance, when I experimented with veganism for several months, my mum and dad graciously catered to this in their cooking. Living without a car, in both India and Australia, is a family decision.

What role does your community play in providing you with a guide to life?
Having a community of like-minded people is vital in encouraging and guiding us towards a better life. As an individual alone, it is very difficult to sustain counter-cultural values and actions.

Which sacred text most inspires you to act for change?
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” - Matthew 6:31-34 Consumerism is built on selfish desire for more and more, which is itself rooted in a fear of not having enough. When Jesus encourages us to not worry about the basic necessities of food, drink and clothing, how much more are we not to worry about keeping up with the Jones’ gadgets, cars and clothes?

What have you done to improve the sustainability of your diet, transportation, and/or energy use?
I have been a vegetarian for 10 years. I’ve also experimented with veganism, but have since settled on a non-legalistic attempt to keep my dairy consumption low. My family has never owned a car, and I celebrate the fact that, at 21, I don’t know how to drive and nor do I want to learn. We keep energy use low by living in a small house, with relatively few gadgets. However, the least sustainable part of my lifestyle remains flying between Australia and India every year or two. How would you describe the experience of making these lifestyle changes? Some changes are challenging: living without an air-conditioner in North Indian summers, for instance. Other aspects of attempting to live sustainably are a joy: riding a bicycle, patching my clothes. My faith helps me make meaning from the difficulties and joys of trying to tread lightly on the earth.