Call for Papers: A special issue of the journal Religions on Religion & Ecology.  The Special Issue aims to assess the current explanations for the role of religion in addressing climate change and offer new analyses about religion and climate change from the perspectives of social sciences and humanities.

As the pace and intensity of climate changes increases, so too does the peril it poses to earth and all who live in it. Many religions follow an ethic of caring for those most strongly impacted by the effects of events like climate change and bear the moral legitimacy to mobilize millions to act in order to ameliorate climate change. Historically, many religions have been silent, indifferent, and even hostile to environmentalism, but over the past 25 years, religious communities and organizations have developed green theologies, ethics, and rituals, and have spoken prophetically in defense of nature. But how effective have religions been in mobilization action and persuading individuals, communities, and governments to take action against climate change?

The purpose of this Special Issue is to assess the current state of religious involvement to address climate change and the effects we are already experiencing. What are religions actively doing to combat climate change and has it made a difference? What are the limits on religions’ involvement in and work towards climate justice? Why have some religions taken action to combat climate change while others refuse to engage? The issue will be comparative in scope on several dimensions: From local religious congregations to national bodies; from religions of the book to dark green and eco-spirituality communities; from the developed west to the developing south. Contributions from a variety of disciplines that focus on assessing and explaining the role of religions in addressing climate change are welcome.

Stephen Ellingson Guest Editor
Professor and Chair
Department of Sociology
Hamilton College
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, NY 13323
sellings@hamilton.edu

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page.Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charges (APCs) of 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs) per published paper are partially funded by institutions through Knowledge Unlatched for a limited number of papers per year. Please contact the editorial office before submission to check whether KU waivers, or discounts are still available. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI’s English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

• · religion and the environment
• · climate change
• · climate justice
• · green religion
• · ecopolitics
• · environmental ethics