Interfaith Responses to Climate Justice: Ethical Frameworks Across Religious Traditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/jrme.v1i1.6894Keywords:
Climate Justice, Comparative Theology, Global Ethics, Interfaith Ethics, Moral Frameworks, Religion Ecology, SustainabilityAbstract
Climate change has generated extensive scientific and policy responses; however, the ethical dimensions of climate justice across religious traditions remain insufficiently systematized in comparative scholarship. Existing studies often examine single traditions or lack a structured interfaith analytical framework, leaving a clear gap in understanding shared and divergent moral foundations across religions.This study addresses this gap through a qualitative comparative interfaith analysis of four major world religions Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The research employs systematic textual analysis of primary religious scriptures, doctrinal interpretations, and international interfaith climate declarations. A thematic coding approach is used to identify and compare key ethical constructs, including stewardship, justice, responsibility, and protection of vulnerable populations.The findings reveal both normative convergence particularly in principles of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and intergenerational justice and theologically grounded divergences that shape distinct ethical interpretations. The study’s primary contribution lies in developing a structured comparative framework for interfaith climate ethics, advancing the field beyond descriptive analyses toward a more integrated and analytically rigorous model. This framework provides a foundation for incorporating religious ethical perspectives into global climate justice discourse and policy engagement, demonstrating the relevance of interfaith moral consensus in addressing contemporary environmental challenges.
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