The Academy for Sustainable Futures is partnering with The UK Consortium on Sustainability Research (UK-CSR) to bring about a Symposium that focuses on the contributions that spirituality and religion may make towards building sustainable futures. The Symposium Sustainability and Spirituality: Building Ecologies of Hope will take place at CCCU, Verena Holmes, 11-12 September 2025, opening our new academic year with mighty questions and reflections. Presenters also have the opportunity to contribute to a book of same name, published by Springer Nature as part of the World Sustainability Series, the leading peer-reviewed book series on sustainability in a higher education context. 

We have received a rich variety of abstracts so far, exploring sustainability and spirituality connections from insightful and very diverse angles, from authors across the globe.  However, the focus of the Symposium is to provide a unique live experience that brings together academics, researchers and people interested in faith and spirituality in the context of the wellbeing of people and planet.  As well as offering a formal academic programme and experiential workshops, which will be very stimulating and foster discussion, we aim to create opportunities for conversations and a safe space for the exchange of ideas and for self-reflection. 

Why a Symposium on Sustainability and Spirituality?

The environmental crisis is often seen as a reflection of a deeper spiritual crisis—one of disconnection from nature, consumerism, and loss of purpose. In many societies, economic growth has been pursued at the expense of environmental degradation.  A spiritual lens offers alternative narratives of prosperity—ones based on harmony with nature, simplicity, and sufficiency rather than consumption and extraction. Much may be gained by creating a space where practical solutions for environmental sustainability are informed by the deep, transformative power of spiritual and ethical teachings.

The Symposium is being organised by colleagues from varied backgrounds such as Revd Jeremy Law, CCCU Dean of Chapel, who will open the event with a Welcome Address entitled ‘Towards an Evolutionary Spirituality’ suggesting “there is an urgent need to discover a spirituality that overcomes the dangerous myth of human self-sufficiency and independence.”  Other members of the steering group as well as myself, are Dr Ivan Khovacs, Humanities and Educational Studies; Dr Simon Wilson, Theology, Religion, Philosophy and Ethics; Dr Maria Diemling, Reader in Jewish-Christian Relations; Dr Dennis Nigbur, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, from Canterbury Christ Church University and Prof Walter Leal, Manchester Met and Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.

We have also already secured very special events and keynote speakers:

Canterbury Cathedral staff will lead a sustainability-themed candlelit pilgrimage for our participants on the evening of Thursday 11 September 2025. We hope the Symposium will attract an international group of committed persons from a range of different spiritual traditions, and the Cathedral will be a spectacular place for us to come together in common cause in a way that complements academic engagement.

Dr Ruth Valerio (Programmes, Partnerships & Advocacy Director, Embrace the Middle East https://ruthvalerio.net/ will “inspire and equip people to a whole-life response to poverty and environmental breakdown, helping build a movement that brings about lasting change for the poorest and most vulnerable.”  Ruth, who has a theology degree from Cambridge and a doctorate from Kings College London, pioneered the Eco Church programme and longs to see the culture of the Church change so that caring for God’s earth becomes an integral part of church life, rather than an optional extra. 

Emma Slade (Ani Pema Deki, Buddhist Nun and Inspirational Teacher www.emmaslade.com) will offer a workshop “on a combination of how spiritual beliefs and practices can foster sustainable behaviour and lifestyles, and on spiritual teachings around simplicity and their implications for sustainable consumption.” Ani Pema Deki became the first and only Western woman to date ever to be fully ordained in the Himalayas in 2022. A former banker, she combines a unique perspective of West and East in her perspective and teachings.

We believe in the relevance and urgency of this Symposium as it aims to explore the profound interconnections between environmental sustainability and spiritual dimensions. By creating a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue, we seek to foster a deeper understanding of how spiritual and ethical values can inform and drive sustainable practices, ultimately building communities rooted in hope and resilience.

How may I take part? 

If you’re interested in contributing to the event, send an abstract of 200 words to info@iccip.net. Include the title of the contribution and your full contact details. 

Deadlines and Publishing opportunity 

• Submission of abstracts: 30 May 2025
• Full papers: 30 September 2025

If you are interested in registering to attend the event, for fees and more information please contact info@iccip.net.  Further details can be seen at: Symposium on Sustainability and Spirituality: Building Ecologies of Hope

By Dr Adriana Consorte-McCrea, Lead for Education in the Academy for Sustainable Futures

Cover image: Detail, painting by MAHKU collective, Brazil