Inspired by Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si', in 2018 the Jesuits in Britain began planning for a research institute dedicated to facilitating transdisciplinary research, inclusive of religious traditions, to promote socio-ecological change in response to the cry of the earth and the poor. By late summer of 2019, the Laudato Si’ Research Institute (LSRI) was established at Campion Hall, University of Oxford. Back then, the fledgling Institute was supported by just a two-person team – Celia Deane-Drummond, Director, and Becky Artinian-Kaiser, Associate Director – who undertook the monumental task of laying the foundations for bringing its vision to life. Despite the challenges of COVID-19 through most of 2020 and into 2021, the Institute remained far from idle, using the time to develop its structural and strategic processes.
Three years later, the LSRI has more than quadrupled in size, having made key appointments including Séverine Deneulin, Director of International Development, Carlos Zepeda, Assistant Director in Policy and Practice, and Tim Howles, Assistant Director of Research Programming. The Institute is steadily establishing itself as a global centre of research, hosting over 20 virtual seminars, symposia, workshops, and public lectures this academic year. Of particular success is the recent international conference, “Women, Solidarity, and Ecology”, which brought together a global audience and speakers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to discuss the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation on women.
Research in Action
While the Institute’s academic activities are growing, so too are its endeavours to make tangible contributions toward socio-ecological change.
In March, the Institute published a report on biodiversity loss and ecological conversion, which called for the immediate action from scientists, policy makers, and, particularly, the Roman Catholic Church. The report aimed to provide Catholic actors greater insight into the socio-ecological crisis of biodiversity loss and recommend how to advocate for the protection of the biosphere in light of Catholic Social Teaching.
The Institute is in the final stage of curating an open access collection of key texts in the field of integral ecology. This project is the response to a survey conducted by the Institute in late 2020 to explore global access to integral ecology and theology resources. The results showed significant restrictions on access among the majority of respondents, particularly academics from lower to middle income countries, with three quarters stating the restriction significantly limited their research. Once complete, the new “Integral Ecology Open Access Book Collection” will be available online to academics, students, activists, church leaders, and the wider public.
Joining with Muslim partners, the Institute is co-supporting an interfaith book-project entitled ‘Al-Ḥamduli’Llāh Praise to God’: A Presentation of Qur’anic Ecology through Its Resonances with Laudato Si’. The book presents the ecological wisdom of the Islamic Holy Book through the numerous Qur’anic verses that resonate with the message of the Laudato Si’. Highlighting integral ecological benchmarks in the Qur’an, the book will show how these might add to the case for integral ecology made in the encyclical. The author is Farhana Mayer, a former lecturer and published author in Qur’anic Studies, currently at the Faculty of Oriental Studies for doctoral research. The project is coordinated at the Institute by Séverine Deneulin.
The Institute is a collaborator on the Guardians of Creation project, an initiative of the Diocese of Salford aimed to help Catholic dioceses in England and Wales reduce their carbon footprint. Co-led by Edward de Quay, Carbon Transition Officer, the project recently published a decarbonisation strategy guide on how to reduce the operational emissions of diocesan building stock.
Looking to the Future
On 23 June 2021, the LSRI held a celebration event to mark its activity so far and to announce its intentions for the future to a broader audience. Its theme, “A Realistic Hope”, explored the different forms of hope needed to tackle the challenges of the future: “active” hope to overcome paralysis in the face of the scale of the social-ecological crises; “deeper” hope in God as the ultimate source of hope; “urgent” hope that calls for immediate action; and “compassionate” hope that teaches us empathy and care for others.
These motifs of hope encompass the LSRI’s values and its vision to generate innovative intellectual work that integrates insight from theology, philosophy, and the humanities, alongside solidarity with the poorest communities in the world and those actively engaged in eco-social change.
Nick Austin, SJ, Master of Campion Hall, described in his closing speech: “I believe the Laudato Si’ Research Institute, while an academic research institution, is primarily itself an act of hope, driven by the oxygen of moral effort that we call hope.”
Looking ahead, a major initiative in the pipeline is the development of the Global Laudato Si’ Research Network (GLSRN). Its core mission is to advance collaborative research in global socio-ecological problems through developing global multidisciplinary projects that are attentive to religious perspectives. By working closely with scholars and practitioners, including those in the Global South, the GLSRN aims to both inform and amplify the impact of these projects to address the challenges revealed by the global socio-ecological crisis.
The Institute is planning a number of events for the next academic year, including a public seminar series exploring the integration of marginalised groups within higher education and academic research this October, and an international conference on land and agriculture next May. For those interested in the events and work of the Institute, please visit the LSRI website and join the mailing list.
