The Religion & Culture Web Forum

February 2007

The Earth Charter as a New Covenant for Democracy

By J. Ronald Engel
Senior Research Consultant, Center for Humans and Nature
Senior Research Fellow, Martin Marty Center
University of Chicago Divinity School

Respondents:
Klaus Bosselmann, University of Auckland
Lois Livezey, New York Theological Seminary
Paul Heltne, Center for Humans and Nature
Stephen Rowe, Grand Valley State University
Laura Westra, University of Windsor (Emerita), York University

In this issue of the Web Forum, we present a discussion of the Earth Charter, a document drafted in 2000 that is the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and widely endorsed of the many international declarations that have sought to articulate a new “global ethic” of sustainability, justice, and peace since the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972). The featured essay by Ron Engel represents ongoing work both inside and outside of the Divinity School on issues of environmental ethics and international democracy.

Read Dr. Engel's background to the Earth Charter and this essay
Read the text of the Earth Charter
Read the full essay
Read the invited commentary or respond on the discussion board

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