Ecology Resources - Spirituality and Ethics
Online Resources for Research and Education
Dec 21, 2008
The relationship between humans and the environment provokes much debate on the role of spiritual and religious belief, philosophy and cultural development . Online resources reflect this with traditional and holistic perspectives, from nature writing to scientific debate, which offer both academic and popular contributions.
Those included below are just a small sample of the range of material available for researchers in this area.
The Forum on Religion and Ecology
This forum is an multireligious, interdisciplinary and multicultural project on the environment. The forum’s website contains information about the project itself and details of publications and events on religion and ecology. It includes a section that explores the interaction between humans and the environment from the perspective of Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Indigenous Traditions, Islam, Jainism, Judaism and Shinto.
The Journal of Buddhist Ethics
This online journal considers a range of ethical issues. These include jurisprudence, medical and philosophical ethics, human rights, ecology and the environment, social and political philosophy and interfaith dialogues on ethics.
Earthlight
Earthlight is a free online collection of fully referenced articles, reviews and essays, 'exploring the encounter of spirituality and ecology in our time', representing the move away from clearly defined traditional religious denominations. It offers insights into various aspects of ecological, environmental and spiritual thinking, with attractive artwork giving a virtual magazine format.
Orion Magazine has a strong Web presence to support its mission to 'reconnect human culture with the natural world, blending scientific thinking with the arts, engaging the heart and mind, and striving to make clear what we all have in common'. The website contains a considerable amount of the material from the hard-copy magazine, as well as online-only features, including contributions from an international range of writers, academics and ecologists.
The Trumpeter
The Trumpeter is an environmental journal from Athabasca University, Canada, dedicated to the pursuit of understanding and wisdom as it attempts to aid in the development of an ecosophy, or, wisdom born of ecological understanding and insight. Covering science, philosophy, history, politics, theory, culture and art, The Trumpeter sets out to illustrate the interconnected nature of the subject of ecology with all others. The magazine content may be downloaded as PDF files.
The World Conference of Religions for Peace
The website of the World Conference of Religions for Peace provides religious leaders from around the world with a forum in which they can discuss collective challenges and work towards conflict resolution and peace. Their remit includes Conflict Transformation and Reconciliation, Action and Advocacy for Children, Disarmament and Security, Development and Ecology, Human Rights and Responsibilities, and Peace Education.
Carnegie Council: the Voice for Ethics in International Affairs
The website of the Carnegie Council is a comprehensive resource including articles, reading lists, lesson plans, study guides and book reviews. The Council's remit covers ethics, international relations, environmentalism and globalisation and this is reflected in the wide ranging subject material available.
Further Research
Most of the sites listed above have links to further related websites and some also include recommended reading lists, archives and library collections. Online resources open up the possibilities for research in all areas but in vast topics, such as ecology, a few strong starting points can be a great help in focusing the development of the research. Checking the reliability of source material is a key factor in using the internet for research - all the resources listed here offer genuine and referenced information.
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