Eco-Theology and Sustainable Development: Religious Perspectives on Poverty Reduction in Climate-Affected Communities

Abstract

The vulnerable communities are impacted by climate change in a disproportionate manner, which increases poverty and compromises the sustainable development initiatives. With the eco theology approach, religious institutions provide distinctive moral and practical approaches to environmental degradation and social welfare. The paper will look at the importance of religious attitudes in reducing poverty among climate-vulcanized societies, and how faith values will lead to sustainable development programs. The research design applied is a qualitative research design, in which case studies in Sub-Saharan Africa will be analyzed, based on semi-structured interviews carried out on religious leaders, community members, and development practitioners. The results indicate that the eco-theological lessons can create environmental stewardship, resilience, and community solidarity, applying the spiritual values to the ground-based poverty eradication measures. Religious organizations can also be involved in bridging the global sustainability agendas and needs of the local communities, and they do so by offering moral authority and social networks to expand the adaptive capacity. Moreover, the paper relates policy gaps in the integration of the policy, observes that the promise of faith-based methodologies is also not fully exploited within the official systems of climate adaptation. This study will add to the interdisciplinary discourse of sustainable development, climate justice, and community resilience by connecting theology, ethics and development practice. The paper proposes closer coordination between the religious institutions, policymakers and development agencies to make the best use of the eco-theology in reducing poverty in climate susceptible areas in a sustainable manner.