Relevant Faith Community Statements in Canada
Interfaith Declaration on Faith and Poverty: A Time for Inspired Leadership and Action
A call to people of all faiths to commit themselves to raising awareness of the persistence of poverty in Canada, and a call upon the national government to partner with faith groups and other levels of government to come up with a plan for “comprehensive, coordinated and collaborative action” aimed at reducing poverty in Canada.
Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change
A statement by a number of Canadian faith communities recognising that “moral and spiritual resources of the world’s religious traditions,” can help contribute to the solution of climate change, and a call to Canadian politicians and government to pursue policies consonant with those morals and values.
A Time for Inspired Leadership and Action: G8 G20 World Religions Summit in Winnipeg
80 senior leaders of Aboriginal, Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Shinto, and Sikh religious traditions present a joint statement committing themselves and calling on the G8 and G20 leaders to address poverty by dedicating resources towards fulfilling their commitments to the millennium development goals, care for the earth by developing “new economic paradigms and policies that are compatible with the Earth’s regenerative abilities,” and investing in peace by reducing military expenditure and reducing the small arms trade.
Expression of Reconciliation, The Canadian Council of Churches
A statement of repentance on the role the Christian churches played within the project of colonization generally, and in the case of the Indian Residential School System specifically; along with a commitment to live that repentance by “make[ing] the changes in actions and attitudes that are necessary to create and promote a genuine partnership with […] Indigenous Peoples in Canada.”
Report on the Kairos Delegation to the Athabasca Tar Sands
A report by the leaders of the ecumenical delegation organized by Kairos, which “came to Alberta to listen and learn from the people who live and work in the tar sands, Indigenous people who live downstream from them, church and community groups, the industry itself, unions, government, and environmental groups.” While the first part of this report is a reflection from the delegate representing the Society of Friends, attached at the end of the report is the delegations itinerary, and agreed statement.
ELCIC Resolution on Climate Justice
A resolution adopted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada in which it affirms the Statement on Climate Justice (see below) of The Lutheran World Federation, and suggests practical ways in which its members and the Canadian government can help pursue climate justice.
Global Leadership by Leaders of Faith Communities
A Patriarchal Message for the Induction by the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox churches, which locates the destruction of creation in contemporary culture’s consumerism, and proposes a remedy in “the ethos of asceticism, namely an ethos of self-sufficiency to what is needed.”
Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ of the Holy Father FRANCIS on Care for Our Common Home
A document of Catholic social teaching in which Pope Francis posits consumerism and irresponsible development as sources of climate change and environmental destruction. While most encyclicals assume a Catholic audience, this document calls on all the people of the world to unite for a positive change in human relations towards creation and each other.
The World is Our Host: A Call to Urgent Action For Climate Justice
An agreed statement by bishops representing every content within the Anglican Communion, in which “the problem [of climate change] is [asserted to be] spiritual […] because the roadblock to effective action relates to basic existential issues of how human life is framed and valued[.]” Further all Christians are called to prayer and action to remedy the crisis, especially as victims most impacted by climate disasters are the worlds poorest and most vulnerable.
International Islamic Climate Change Symposium Statement
A declaration drafted by a group of top academics placing the concerns of climate change within the context of Islamic theology that teaches the imperative of faithful stewardship of creation. The declaration then turns to a call to corporations, governments, and individual citizens and leaders (Muslim and non-Muslim) to work towards remedying climate change.
Statement on Climate Justice – World Lutheran Federation [WLF]
A public statement adopted by WLF in June 2014, in which climate change is noted as a pressing social concern of “utmost seriousness.” This statement “provide[s] background information about the engagement of the LWF with climate justice, present[s] the position of the LWF regarding Climate Change, and propose[s] ideas for the work of LWF on this issue up to 2016.