Two become one: Tufts course treats religion and ecology as a single discipline

Keeping pace with an international trend led by universities, religious leaders, and philosophers around the world, Tufts now offers a course uniting the topics of religion and ecology, two seemingly disparate subjects.

According to Environmental and Population Health Professor Paul Waldau, who teaches the Religion and Ecology course at Tufts, religion influences a person's attitude towards the natural world and the living beings that comprise that world.

"The religion-and-ecology approach allows us to see different dimensions of religion," Waldau said.

Through his course, which is cross-listed in the Comparative Religion Department and the Environmental Studies Departments, Waldau attempts to show students how different attitudes towards ecology may originate in the religious ideas that are embedded into a culture.

"You can be a perfectly good Jew, Christian, Muslim, etc. and be friendly to the natural world," Waldau said. "But sadly, you can be fully Jew, Christian, Muslim, etc. in some people's minds and be very unfriendly to the environment."

Studying religion and ecology as a single discipline identifies the environmental currents underlying different religious beliefs, which influence believers to treat the earth in various ways. The doctrines of most popular religions include both positive and negative attitudes towards ecology.

Waldau hopes that his classes, in addition to encouraging environmental awareness, will produce an understanding of personal values and the importance of knowing about various religious traditions. By addressing issues of both religious and ecological heritage, Walthau intends to bring students a new perspective on both.

"I'm teaching people who will become leaders," Waldau said. "It's a fascinating challenge to enable them to see the roots of a problem."

In an effort to do so, Waldau exposes his students to the philosophies of Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grimm, writers and educators who are leading the religion and ecology movement.

According to Waldau, teaching religion and ecology as a single topic has political significance. If religious institutions become active in the fight against environmental degradation, he said, the government and corporations will be quicker to limit environmental damage. Waldau is encouraged by the fact that the American Academy of Religion has recently suggested that several prominent religious figures are interested in addressing ecological problems.

Additionally, Waldau suggested, both religious institutions and ecologists could benefit from treating environmental problems together: ecologists could secure the support of millions of religious practitioners around the world, and religious institutions could gain ecologically minded supporters by presenting themselves in an environmentally conscious way.

An activist in the religion and ecology movement, Waldau strives to conduct his classes in the most comprehensive and open-minded manner possible. In his mind, the most effective method of teaching allows for the discussion of as many views as possible. The least effective method is to treat the topic purely academically.

Tufts is one of more than 30 universities across the United States to offer courses on religion and ecology as a single discipline, according to Waldau. These courses take several forms, all discussing ecology or animal protection in relation to religious beliefs. Some popular courses relating to religion and ecology include "Religion and Nature" or "Religion and Ethics."

Outside classes, Tufts students are taking Waldau's message to heart, combining faith and environmental awareness on their own time. The student-run ECO club recently teamed up with Hillel to celebrate Tu B'Shevat (Holiday for the Trees), educating students on the links between faith, culture, and the environment.

In addition to his current Tufts course, Waldau teaches a course on religion and animals at Harvard that will also be offered at Tufts next fall. He has written a book called Specter of Skepticism that discusses the Christian philosophy of animal treatment. He also leads "The Great Ape Project," a movement founded in the early 1990s to help establish protection for chimps, apes, and orangutans.