Can faith fight climate change? Talk on religion and environment

Religion and the environment 2Four religious leaders with roots in Ohio will speak in a panel discussion called “Faiths Worldwide Tackle Environmental Challenges” on Oct. 13 at Ohio State.

The event is part of a monthly breakfast program series hosted by the Ohio State-based Environmental Professionals Network, a statewide professional networking group.

“We’ll hear from outstanding religious leaders at local and national levels about their faiths’ approaches and rationales for environmental stewardship,” said David Hanselmann, the network’s coordinator and a lecturer in CFAES.

“Perhaps the strengthening faith-based initiatives can even help overcome the political gridlock that so many environmental issues are challenged by,” said Hanselmann, who works in CFAES’s School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR). The network is a service of the school.

Protestant, Catholic, Jewish views

Speaking on the panel will be:

Moderating the discussion will be Greg Hitzhusen, who studies religion and the environment as an assistant professor in SENR and holds a master of divinity degree from Yale University Divinity School.

Lead-in to Cardinal Turkson talk

Hanselmann said the event will serve as a lead-in to a Nov. 2 talk at Ohio State by Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana. Turkson led the development of Pope Francis’s Laudato Si environmental encyclical, which the Vatican released in June. The pope quoted from the encyclical in his Sept. 24 address to Congress.

Registration for the Oct. 13 program, which costs $10 and includes a full breakfast, is open to both members of the network and the public. Details and a link to online registration and payment are at go.osu.edu/OctoberEPN. The registration deadline is noon Oct. 9.

The event is at Ohio State’s Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive in Columbus.

The event’s sponsors are Ohio Interfaith Power and Light, the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio, and the COMPAS program at Ohio State.

For more information, contact Hanselmann at hanselmann.3@osu.edu or 614-247-1908 or go to go.osu.edu/OctoberEPN.

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