Le Duc - Religious Prophetic Voice and Environmental Well-Being

Religious Prophetic Voice and Environmental Well-Being

Anthony Le Duc

Abstract

Addressing the ecological crisis requires an interdisciplinary, dialectical, and dialogical approach. Religion’s contribution to this dilemma also has to be in this manner. However, there is an additional contribution that religion is in a favorable position to make – its prophetic voice. This essay discusses how religion can offer its prophetic voice in order to promote environmental flourishing and counter environmentally harmful actions and social developments. The essay proposes that the two aspects of prophetic communication – speaking forth and speaking against – serve to help accomplish these goals. Speaking forth energizes towards positive change while speaking against criticizes negative developments and calls for accountability. The essay also highlights a number of examples of prophetic voices from diverse backgrounds that can serve as inspiration for effective prophetic environmental communication.

Keywords: prophetic voice, dialogue, environmental crisis, ecological crisis