Theological and Ethical Perspectives on Climate Engineering

Forrest Clingerman is associate professor of philosophy and religion at Ohio Northern University.Kevin J. O’Brien is associate professor of religion at Pacific Lutheran University.

• IntroductionForrest Clingerman & Kevin J. O’BrienAcknowledgmentsPart I: Climate Engineering and ReligionChapter 1Playing God: Why Religion Belongs in the Climate Engineering DebateForrest Clingerman & Kevin J. O’BrienChapter 2From the Garden of Eden to Eden’s Gardener? Experiences from Dialogues with Religious Groups on Climate Engineering and Possible Implications for TransdisciplinarityThomas Bruhn, Stefan Schäfer, & Mark G. Lawrence Part II: Philosophical and Theological Responses to Climate Engineering Chapter 3 The Temptations of Climate EngineeringDane ScottChapter 4Real Presence: Process Theological Perspectives on Geoengineering the Body of God Marit TrelstadChapter 5Time’s Arrow and Narratives of Climate EngineeringForrest Clingerman Chapter 6Rewriting Mortality: A Theological Critique of Geoengineering and De-Extinction Stefan SkrimshirePart III: Religious Resources for Moral Discernment Chapter 7 Healing the Climate? Christian Ethics and Medical Models for Climate Engineering Laura M. HartmanChapter 8 Stewards of Irony: Planetary Stewardship, Climate Engineering, and Religious EthicsWillis JenkinsChapter 9Ritual Responses to Climate EngineeringSarah E. Fredericks Chapter 10 “First Be Reconciled”: The Priority of Repentance in the Climate Engineering DebateKevin J. O’Brien AppendixReligion and Climate Engineering: Points of Consensus from ClaremontThomas Bruhn, Forrest Clingerman, Sarah Fredericks, Laura Hartman, Kevin J. O’Brien, Dane Scott, and Marit TrelstadContributors

Theologians, religious ethicists, and other religious studies scholars can play a key role in mediating reflection on scientific and technological options in light of core narratives and values that shape our understanding of climate change, and that orient ethical action. Other audiences that could benefit from this book include Christian communities that are engaged in environmental issues as well as scientists, engineers, policymakers, and others who are committed to deliberative public discourse on this topic…. A strength of this collection is the balance between theological and ethical perspectives, reflecting the importance of religious thought in both shaping our understanding of climate change and orienting our actions in response to it…. The book as a whole—especially its emphasis on narratives and storytelling—clearly demonstrates that climate engineering is not solely a scientific issue. The collection is illuminating and inviting; it deepens reflection on this precarious moment in history, and challenges us to be deliberative as the conversation surrounding climate engineering unfolds…. Clingerman and O’Brien’s Theological and Ethical Perspectives on Climate Engineering will enrich and deepen interdisciplinary and public reflection on these increasingly prominent proposals.