RELIGION AND CLIMATE JUSTICE: AN ECO-THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
Keywords:
Religion, Climate Justice, Eco-theology, Environmental Stewardship, Sustainable Development, Global SouthAbstract
Climate change presents one of the most urgent moral, environmental, and socio-economic challenges of the 21st century, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations in the Global South. While scientific and policy responses dominate climate discourse, growing scholarship recognizes that environmental crises are also deeply ethical and spiritual in nature. This study examines the theological foundations of climate justice and their implications for environmental stewardship and sustainable development. The main objective is to analyze how major religious worldviews—including Christianity, Islam, African Traditional Religion, and Eastern philosophies—construct ecological ethics and contribute to climate action. The study adopts a qualitative research design grounded in documentary analysis of peer-reviewed literature, policy reports, and publications from faith-based organizations. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis to identify recurring theological, ethical, and policy-related patterns across traditions. Findings reveal that religious traditions consistently emphasize stewardship, sacredness of nature, intergenerational responsibility, and moral accountability as central ecological principles. Christian ecotheology frames environmental care as obedience to divine creation mandates; Islamic environmental ethics emphasize trusteeship (khalifah), balance (mizan), and prohibition of corruption (fasad); African Traditional Religion views ecological degradation as a rupture in sacred relational order; while Eastern philosophies stress harmony between humans and nature. These ethical frameworks significantly inform community-based climate adaptation, conservation practices, and environmental advocacy, particularly in the Global South. However, the study also finds a persistent gap between theological environmental ethics and formal climate governance structures. Religious moral capital and transnational networks remain underutilized in national climate policy and sustainable development planning. The study concludes that integrating faith-based ethical frameworks into climate governance can strengthen environmental stewardship, enhance community resilience, and advance climate justice-oriented sustainable development.References
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