Faith and ethics

South Africa’s Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (80) is one of the world’s leading figures in the fight against oppression. He received worldwide recognition during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid and, later, as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in1996 but has continued as a tireless campaigner for health and human rights. Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

Fazlun Khalid is recognised as one of 15 leading global eco-theologians and is listed amongst the "500 Most Influential Muslims in the World" by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan. He received the Muslim News Awards for Excellence in Engineering, Science and Technology in 2004 for developing a scientific approach to Islamic environmental practice. He founded the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences a leading global Islamic environmental NGO.

The Reverend Dr John Chryssavgis, Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, has taught in Sydney and Boston. He is theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the “green patriarch,” on environmental issues. His books include Beyond the Shattered Image: Insights into an Orthodox Christian Ecological Worldview (2nd ed. 2007), In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers (2nd revised ed. 2008), On Earth as in Heaven (2012). He lives in Maine.

Rabbi Soetendorp is an award winning human rights advocate, lecturer, writer, environmental activist and champion of civil society worldwide who is active in a wide variety of progressive, humanitarian and interfaith organizations and initiatives. He is a founding member of Green Cross International and serves as an Earth Charter commissioner and a Millennium Development Ambassador. Rabbi Soetendorp is a founding member of the Islam and the West dialogue group of the World Economic Forum.

His Excellency Kallistos Ware is the Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Diokleia. As an Orthodox monk, he spent many years at monasteries in Greece. A highly respected theologian, he lectured in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Oxford University for 31 years and is now a Fellow of Pembroke College. His best-known work is "The Orthodox Church". Together with colleagues he has translated into English 4 of the 5 volumes of the Philokalia, an important collection of sacred writings in the Orthodox tradition.

Rabbi David Rosen is the former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, is AJC's International Director of Interreligious Affairs and director of AJC’s Heilbrunn Institute for International Interreligious Understanding. He is an International President of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (www.religionsforpeace.org), Honorary President of the International Council of Christians and Jews (www.iccj.org), and the only Jewish member of the Board of Directors of the King Abdullah International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (www.kaiciid.org). In 2005, Rabbi Rosen received a knighthood from the Pope and in 2010 he was awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II.

Martin Palmer is President of FaithInvest an international organisation assisting the faiths in moving their investments into environmental and sustainable investments in partnership with the UN. He is also Special Advisor to WWF International’s Beliefs and Values Initiative and Co-Chair of the International Network on Conservation and Religion. In all three spheres he works especially on food related issues. He is a regular contributor to the BBC especially Radio 4 and author of over 30 books. He is a translator of Classical Chinese books such as the Shang Shu and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and is a renowned expert on Chinese religions

Andrew is Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics (www.oxfordanimalethics.com) and a member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford. He is also Honorary Professor at the University of Winchester and Professor of Animal Ethics at the Graduate Theological Foundation in Indiana, USA. He has written more than 20 books, including Why Animal Suffering Matters published by Oxford University Press.

Dr Manazir Ahsan has been Director General of the Islamic Foundation since 1985 and edits the Muslim World Book Review. He has authored over half a dozen books and many articles on aspects of Islam. He is Co-Chair of the Interfaith Network and Chair of the Inter Faith Relations Committee of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). Dr Ahsan was awarded an MBE in the Year 2000 in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in recognition of his contribution to Interfaith and Community activities.

Bishop Dominic is President of the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals and an honorary Vice President of the RSPCA. He protested against live animal exports and contributed to the book, Siege on Shoreham. He has a passionate concern for animal welfare and how it relates to the welfare of people and the environment. He believes that Christians need to take seriously their role as stewards of God’s creation and how we use the world’s resources.

Bishop John read Law at St Peter’s College Oxford and Theology at Cambridge and Durham. A former Archdeacon of Canterbury, he was appointed Bishop of Oxford in 2007. He has written 15 books on Christian belief and practice. He chairs the Church of England Board of Education and the SPCK and is a Governor of St George’s House, Windsor. His interests include education, world development, environment and media and he enjoys armchair sport, the arts, walking, travel and recovering.

Trinley Thaye Dorje is the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Karmapas are considered to be great bodhisattvas (enlightened beings) who manifest for the benefit of all sentient beings and retain and transmit the teachings. Trinley Thaye Dorje, was born in Lhasa (Tibet) in 1983. He lives in India but teaches all over the world. He is known for his great fondness of animals and his concern to protect them from all forms of cruelty.

Tony Campolo is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University and the founder and president of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education and he supports programs for “at-risk” children. He regularly comments in the media on religious, social and political matters and speaks at about 350 meetings a year. He is a Patron of the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals. He writes a blog and has written 38 books, including Choose Love Not Power (Regal 2010).

Bishop Llewellin practised as a solicitor before entering the ministry and studying at Cambridge. His 3 years as a priest in Johannesburg Cathedral came to an end when he was expelled by the then South African Government in 1971. He served as Bishop of Dover and, from 1999-2003, as Bishop at Lambeth and Head of Staff to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is Chairman of the Anglican Society for the Welfare of Animals. He has led ecumenical pilgrimages to Israel/Palestine.

The Reverend Gidi is Director of the South African Council of Churches. He is known for his campaign to prevent the eviction of shanty town dwellers but wishes to be known only as an environmental and human rights activist. Calling for a transformation of society, Reverend Gidi proposes a theology of humility and admission of our failure to protect the earth and its creatures. He says we must now ensure justice for all and promote the wellbeing of the earth and all creatures.

Jonathan Crane, PhD, is the Raymond F. Schinazi Junior Scholar in Bioethics and Jewish Thought at Emory University. An ordained rabbi, Crane sits on the advisory board of FarmForward.org, and currently serves as the President of the Society of Jewish Ethics. Co-editor with Elliot Dorff of The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics, his most recent book is Narratives and Jewish Bioethics. He is working on an edited volume, Beastly Morality, and is authoring a book on eating ethics.

Shi Changhui is the executive director of the China Buddhist Association, the deputy director of Hebei Buddhist Association and director of the Hebei Buddhist Charity Foundation, which helps poor children, especially with their schooling. He is the abbot of the Shijiazhuang Hongyi Buddhist Center and the Baoding Longtan Temple.

Michael Reiss is Pro-Director: Research and Development and Professor of Science Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, Chief Executive of Science Learning Centre London, Vice President and Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association, Honorary Visiting Professor at the Universities of Birmingham and York and the Royal Veterinary College, and a member of the Farm Animal Welfare Committee.

William is associate professor of Philosophical Theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. His research and teaching focuses upon the intersection of contemporary culture with Christian theology and ethics, with special attention to modern rationality, creation care, and love for all creatures. Recent publications include, "Karl Barth and 'Love for all Creatures'," in Issues in Ethics and Animal Rights (Regency Publications, 2011) and "Life Sacred," in God's Earth is Sacred (Phillips and Carmichael, eds., Washington, D.C., National Council of Churches, 2012).

Abdal Hakim Murad is dean of the Cambridge Muslim College, which trains imams for British mosques. His most recent book is Commentary on the Eleventh Contentions (2012). He regularly leads prayers at the Cambridge central mosque, and has preached in major mosques across the world. His articles have appeared in The Independent, the Daily Telegraph, The Times, the Catholic Herald, Islamica, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and Prospect. He is also a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day.

Pankaj Jain is the author of the award-wining Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities: Sustenance and Sustainability (Ashgate, 2011). He is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Philosophy & Religion at the University of North Texas and teaches courses on religions, cultures, ecologies, and films of India and Asia. He received the Fulbright-Nehru Environmental Leadership Fellowship in 2012, has published widely and works to “green” Hindu and Jain temples in North America.

Gopal is the Director of the Bhumi Project, based at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. The Project works with Hindu communities globally to encourage good environmental practice, based on Hinduism’s core teachings. In particular the Project encourages Hindu temples and pilgrimage sites to become greener. The Project also facilitates partnerships between Hindu and non-Hindu groups which have a common purpose to protect the environment.

Father Charles is a Catholic priest, working for the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops in Nairobi. He is the National Executive Secretary for the Pastoral and Lay Apostolate, Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue. He also the Chair of the Kenya Interfaith Network of Action on the Environment. He earned his PhD in Rome and has written several books on faith and conservation and raises awareness with religious leaders of all faiths about the illegal wildlife trade and the need to protect the environment.

Rabbi Yonatan Neril founded and directs The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD). Yonatan completed an M.A. from Stanford University and received rabbinical ordination in Israel. He speaks internationally on religion and the environment, including at the Parliament of World Religions. As part of ICSD's Faith Inspired Renewable Energy Project, he has helped develop commercial scale solar fields on church lands in Africa. He is the lead author and editor of two books, including Uplifting People and Planet: 18 Essential Jewish Teachings on the Environment. He is a member of the United Nations Environment Program's Faith-based Advisory Council, and of the Pontifical University's Alliance for Laudato Si' Advisory Council.

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk, scholar, and translator of Buddhist texts from the original Pali into English. He holds a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate University (1972). He was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka in 1973. He edited the Buddhist Publication Society in Kandy, and was its president from 1988 until 2010. He is currently the president of the Buddhist Association of the United States (BAUS), based at Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, New York. In 2008, together with several of his students, Ven. Bodhi founded Buddhist Global Relief, a non-profit organisation supporting hunger and poverty relief for communities suffering from chronic hunger and malnutrition.

Lindsay Meader is an Anglican priest, serving as the Lead Theatre Chaplain for the Diocese of London and Senior Chaplain of Theatre Chaplaincy UK. Prior to this she served for 14 years as Associate Rector of St James’s Piccadilly - the first inner-city place of worship and Grade 1 listed building to be awarded the Eco-Church Gold Award. Lindsay became vegetarian at the age of 13 having grown up in Petersfield, the town where CIWF had its first office.

Kathleen Duffy is Professor Emerita of Physics at Chestnut Hill College where she directs the Institute for Religion and Science. She writes widely on the philosopher Teilhard de Chardin, edits Teilhard Studies and serves on the Advisory Boards of the American Teilhard Association and Cosmos and Creation. She has published Teilhard’s Mysticism: Seeing the Inner Face of Evolution (Orbis Books, 2014), Teilhard’s Struggle: Embracing the Work of Evolution (2019), an edited volume of essays entitled Rediscovering Teilhard’s Fire (St. Joseph’s University Press, 2010), as well as several book chapters and articles on how Teilhard’s religious essays connect with modern science. Kathleen also guides retreats on topics related to Teilhard’s life and work.