Religion is what binds us together. Ethics is what guides us. Law is how we order our lives in relation to society—a society now including non-human beings, ecosystems, and future generations of all species
The FORUM ON RELIGION, ETHICS, AND LAW IN A TIME OF PLANETARY CRISIS AND POLITICAL DECLINE was presented on April 20, 2024, at the Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, NC. Participants explored topics including:
- Where are we—In a golden age of innovation and progress? Or in the midst of ecological catastrophe and political breakdown?
- How do Religion, Ethics, and Law need to change to respond to our planetary crisis and political decline?
- What is our role in bringing about these changes?
- Where are we going—How will our lives and societies change in the turbulent years ahead and what are the prospects for good outcomes?
The forum was moderated by Susannah Tuttle, Eco-Justice Connection Director of North Carolina Power & Light, North Carolina Council of Churches in Raleigh. Speakers and respondents included:
- Karenna Gore, Executive Director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City
- William Barber, III, Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Beacon Initiative, a North Carolina-based social enterprise committed to advancing business sustainability and environmental justice, and Director of Equitable Investments and Energy Justice at the Coalition for Green Capital.
- Herman Greene, President of the Center for Ecozoic Studies in Chapel Hill and Thomas Berry Scholar-in-Residence of the Earth Law Center in Durango, Colorado.
- Ren Martin, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light
- Neil D’Cruz, pediatric neurologist and contributor to Today’s Ame
rican Catholic.
Primary sponsors of the Forum are Binkley Memorial Baptist Church and the Center for Ecozoic Studies, with appreciation to the Binkley Earth Ministries Team for organizing this forum.
Co-Sponsors of the Forum are Eco-Justice Connection, North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, the Alliance of Baptists, Orange-Chatham Interfaith Care for Creation, Interfaith Creation Care of the Triangle, Climate Action NC, the Earth Law Center, and the Center for Earth Ethics.
