Religion and Eco-Anxiety: Pastoral and Ethical Perspectives
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 108
Special Issue Editors
Interests: post-reformation theology (mainly Anglican, Methodist & Baptist); issues of ecumenical dialogues and reception of their results; theological anthropology; ecclesiology; mariology; doctrinal and social activities of the world council of churches
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: ethics; bioethics; ethics of social life; moral theology; animals; animals rights; catholic church teaching; theology; animal studies
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Ecology is a field of research undertaken in a variety of fields, including the social sciences and humanities. Within these fields, thought is also undertaken in philosophy and theology. We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the pastoral and ethical reflection on the ecological issues. The aim of this Special Issue of Religions is to seek answers to questions about the formation of religious consciousness in matters of ecology and about the ethical justification of specific actions and models for shaping social and economic life. It is also crucial to identify the axioms on which such reflection is based.
There are at least three fields of research which emerge from the above-given description:
The first is the biblical teaching about the created world as the basis for the Christian understanding of ecology as such;
The second is the theological and anthropological understanding of the human being at the same time as the crown of creation, as its responsible steward;
The third is the consequences of specific ecological approaches in pastoral teaching and lives of believers.
The scope of this Special Issue is on Christian theological reflection, which draws its basic data from divine revelation and rational enquiry. The fundamental assumption is the recognition of the dependence of man and the created world on their creator, God. In this way, man is seen as the responsible steward of God's creation, established over it not to oppress and destroy it, but to use its resources to protect and preserve it for future generations. This leads us even as far as to the ecology of the human body and of the family.
Although we adopt mainly Christian perspectives, we are open to other religious approaches, as non-Christian religions, which can also provide valuable insights into the discussion about ecology. All this adds up to a project of broad reflection on ecological issues in ethical as well as religious and pastoral terms. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Przemysław Kantyka
Dr. Krzysztof Smykowski
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- ecology
- eco-theology
- eco-anxiety
- God’s creation
- environment
- sustainability
- ethics
- pastoral teachings for the environment
- responsible management of environment
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