A new spiritual movement designed to help people deal with negative feelings about the planet being threatened by climate change is gaining popularity, NPR reports.
Called “eco-chaplains,” these new spiritual leaders are being trained to meet a growing need to address the “grief, anxiety and burnout” felt over environmental issues.
“Today, there are pastors across the US, UK, Australia and Canada working at the intersection of climate, grief and spirituality. Most are addressing this issue in their own way, from one-on-one therapy sessions to online climate grief circles to in-person support groups.” NPR reported.
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According to NPR, people worried about climate change are turning to “eco pastors” to help cope with their anxieties. (Barbara Alper/Getty Images)
The report notes that ecochaplaincy is a 21st century invention, with fewer than 100 people practicing it in the Western world. Several organizations have begun training individuals in some forms of ecotherapy “from Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and secular perspectives.”
NPR spoke with the Rev. Allison Cornish, chaplaincy coordinator for Portland, Maine, who argued that ecochaplains are needed because there's a “demand to address climate-related grief, anxiety and burnout.”
Climate anxiety is reported to be a problem for many people, so much so that in 2017 the American Psychological Association (APA) acknowledged its existence, classifying it as “a chronic fear of environmental catastrophe.”
2021 APA Entry “The Earth is experiencing rapid changes unprecedented in human history, and as psychologists are increasingly recognizing, these changes can cause significant stress and psychological distress for all of us living through these challenging times,” he said.
As NPR noted, the APA found that two-thirds of Americans experience climate anxiety.
Cornish said the BTS Center, a nonprofit organization that focuses on spiritual responses to climate change, has seen 80 pastors sign up for one of its climate discussion programs in 2023, eight times more than expected.
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A spiritual leader told NPR that these inquisitive pastors are “asking how to deal with regret, complicity, mourning, and leaving one's tribe. They're creating rituals that honor all of that.”
The media reported on how eco-chaplains serve people of different generations.
“One is older people who are facing job losses, aging friends, and declining health and abilities. Many may also be grieving what they perceive as a largely failed effort to protect the environment over the decades.”
“The second group are young people who are worried about the possibility of inheriting a planet battered by wildfires, floods and other devastating effects of climate change,” NPR adds.
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The article also details how these spiritual therapy sessions work, describing one of the Sustaining Climate Activists' monthly meetings, in which locals gather at the Talent Public Library in Oregon, where they meet with Liz Olson, a certified hospital chaplain and Buddhist, who leads discussions and meditation training.
During the conference, Olson taught participants how to use breathing exercises to cope with climate anxiety and also gave them the opportunity to share “anything that is bothering them,” the outlet reported.
“Participants sipped coffee, munched on homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, spun tissue boxes and explored a color wheel in which color names were replaced with emotions like fear, anger, loneliness and anxiety,” NPR reported.
“Not only were they a group committed to the same broad environmental concerns, but they were also united by the pain of realizing that decades of work to protect the planet were apparently having little effect,” the report said.
Another part of the article reports that the Sustaining Climate Activist group was founded by climate activists in response to the election of former President Trump.
“Trump's election scared everyone, and the group's members wanted a way to address their fears and anxieties about the climate and politics,” co-founder Alain Journet told the outlet.
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