National Religious Partnership for the Environment

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Overview and Mission

The National Religious Partnership for the Environment is a formal alliance of major faith groups and denominations of Jewish and Christian communities and organizations within the United States. The Partnership integrates care for God's creation throughout religious life: theology, worship, social teaching, education, congregational life, and public policy initiative.

History

The National Religious Partnership for the Environment was formed 1993. It was formed with the intent to help religious communities in the United States respond to the global environmental crisis. The partnership was founded in the early 1990's when religious leaders across the board began to call for environmental consciousness. In 1991, Pope John Paul II wrote:

Even men and women without any particular religious conviction, but with an acute sense of their responsibilities for the common good, recognize their obligation to contribute to the restoration of a healthy environment. All the more should men and women who believe in God the Creator, and who are thus convinced that there is a well-defined unity and order in the world, feel called to address the problem... As a result, they are conscious of a vast field of ecumenical and interreligious cooperation opening up before them. -(http://nrpe.org/whatisthepartnership/founding_intro01.htm)

Partners

The Partnership is made up of four different religious associations; the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Council of Churches of Christ, and the Evangelical Environmental Network. These four organizations work together in the Partnership to help encourage and support the work of people of faith in their care and respect for God's creation.

Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life

"Protecting Creation, Generation to Generation"

COEJL was founded also founded in 1993, and has since been the leading Jewish environmental organization in the United States. COEJL is also the only Jewish member of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. This organization puts environmental protection on the agenda of the Jewish community, believing that protecting the environmnet is both a moral and a religious obligation. The Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life was founded by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, with the intent of enacting a distinctively Jewish policy response to environmental crises.

Evangelical Environmental Network

Sources for NRPE page