Motivated by their faith, many religious institutions across Connecticut are working toward environmental goals by completing green challenges, participating in advocacy and growing gardens.

“God has given us this amazing Earth with so much abundance and life. We’re charged with being good stewards of that, and we should use that power wisely,” said Laura Baird of Asylum Hill Congregational Church’s Climate Action Group.

In downtown Hartford, Connecticut, AHCC is one of many churches participating in the Green Congregation Challenge, led by the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ.

The program — “a step-by-step approach that helps churches take small, but consequential, steps toward protecting God’s Creation,” as its website explains — provides a roadmap for religious congregations of any size, location or affiliation to become more environmentally conscious.

Each level of the challenge includes action items in five categories: educate, organize, reduce/recycle/rethink, connect and advocate.

Baird and Pieter Werner, co-chair of the Climate Action Group, have helped AHCC reach level two and are close to achieving level three. As part of the challenge, the group has organized speakers, advocated for food waste composting, started a pollinator garden, grown produce for the community in garden plots, encouraged voter registration with climate in mind and explored solar panels for the church.

Minutes away from AHCC, Immanuel Congregational Church has also participated in the Green Congregation Challenge and reached level four. The church installed a solar water heater, improved insulation, runs an interfaith eco-kids program and participates in various forms of advocacy.

Karim Ahmed, a member of Immanuel’s Creation Care/Environmental Committee, is working with the UCC’s Southern New England Conference to develop a fifth level of the challenge.

“I believe that climate change is the greatest moral issue of our age,” Ahmed said. “It’s not just an environmental or economic issue. It’s a moral issue. It’s a matter of choice. Do we care about saving our planet? Do we care about humanity? Do we care about our species? And so, it becomes a moral question, and religious communities are in a better position to address it on that level.”

Noting the general religiosity in the United States, he added, “One way to influence people is through our church structures, engaging their consciences on issues, whether it’s waste disposal or climate change.”

Ahmed — a prominent scientist who serves as a senior advisor at the Global Council for Science and the Environment and as an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut Health Center — is also on the advisory board of the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network (IREJN), a nonprofit dedicated to helping religious communities in Connecticut protect the Earth.

In addition to its own Green Houses of Worship program, IREJN offers small grants for houses of worship to establish pollinator or vegetable gardens and improve energy efficiency.

“We’ve really focused on how climate change intersects with other forms of inequity because we wanted to reach communities in new ways,” IREJN Executive Director Teresa Eickel told Religion Unplugged. “One of the best ways to do that was to examine how climate change is impacting other aspects of their lives and the services they’re providing to their communities. We landed on energy efficiency.”

Eickel highlighted the public health benefits of energy efficiency, which also plays a critical role in reducing carbon emissions. “It’s a great starting point for congregations that might be new to the concept,” she added.

Energy efficiency is also particularly important for reducing operating costs in churches across Connecticut. “Our houses of worship here are some of our most beautiful but also some of our oldest buildings,” Eickel said.

One IREJN member congregation, Temple Beth El in Stamford, installed 845 solar panels in 2013, which are estimated to eliminate 265 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually and supply the majority of the synagogue’s power.

Steven Lander, the temple’s executive director, explained that the installation was motivated by the Jewish concept of tikkun olam.

“Tikkun olam in Hebrew means ‘repairing the world,’ and it’s a core belief in Judaism and a central part of our mission. Our synagogue believes that we have a responsibility to make the world a better place,” he told Religion Unplugged.

According to data from Pew Research published in 2022, evangelical Protestants are more likely to trust clergy on climate issues than any other source.

However, Eickel noted that religious leaders are often hesitant to address topics they don’t feel fully informed about. To address this, IREJN has organized training events on environmental justice for religious leaders to help them feel more confident in discussing related issues.

Additionally, the Hartford International University for Religion and Peace offers a graduate certificate in eco-spirituality, which includes master’s-level coursework in ecological chaplaincy, eco-spirituality, environmental ethics and contemplative prayer.

Lisa Dahill, director of the Center for Transformative Spirituality at HIU, explained that the certificate program explores the intersection of science, religious traditions and the leadership required in response to climate change and ecological loss.

Drawing on the sacramental aspects of her Lutheran tradition, Dahill connects the core practice of Communion to the Earth: the bread and wine, which “make the divine presence real and tangible and physically available,” are the “gifts of the Earth.”

She added that within the Lutheran tradition, there is a deep desire to “live out our faith in the world. It’s not just an otherworldly branch of Christianity.”

“These environmental crises are unprecedented in human history, and our religions haven’t always been adequate in empowering people to confront them directly and take meaningful action,” she said. “People from all religions and backgrounds are facing these questions together.”

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