“9th Annual Graduate Conference in Religion and Ecology: Creation & Preservation” (Yale Divinity School and Yale School of the Environment)

The 9th annual Graduate Conference in Religion and Ecology, hosted at Yale Divinity School, will take place on February 21, 2025.

 

The theme of this year’s conference is “Creation & Preservation.” This conference will feature keynote speaker Mark Cladis, Brooke Russell Astor Professor of the Humanities at Brown and Chair of Brown’s Religious Studies Department. We are also pleased to welcome acclaimed musician Henry Jamison, whose intensely lyrical, ecologically-inspired songs boast up to 91 million streams on Spotify, who will play an acoustic set at our closing reception. We are thrilled to spotlight 24 student presenters from universities around the world, alongside four workshops and a gallery of artistic works. This is an in-person conference, with the exception of two student presenters from abroad who will present over Zoom.

 

Creation & Preservation:

By creation we mean many things: the land, Turtle Island, erets (הארץ), the cosmos, the Word, the biosphere, the environment. But also, creativity, art, and innovation. Preservation we understand as conservation, yes: how do we keep the ravages of climate change from destroying landscapes and ecosystems; how do we manage land and agriculture; how do we relate human life to the more-than-human world? But in its desire to keep things the same, the theme of preservation must also acknowledge the element of time. We can see it not just as an effort to halt progress, but as sustenance, life in its constant flux, the living love of transient things which brings about the need to steward. How are human theologies or cosmologies related to the land on which we live? What views and methods allow us to relate wisely and compassionately to interdependent life systems? What are the implications of preservation and conservation, as opposed to or hand in hand with innovation?

 

Food Provided (Breakfast (light continental fare), coffee and tea, lunch, closing reception. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options will be provided; please specify your requirements below. For anyone whose dietary restrictions we are unfortunately not able to meet, a student kitchen is available. )