Green Diapraxis

Earth Day has been observed on April 22 since 1970. The observance of Earth Day emerged from the movement of the environment in the 60s. The theme of this year for Earth Day is Invest in our Planet. As more than 50 years passed, the risks related to climate change have increased. Climate change has affected the pattern of life and natural resources including water, food and quality of air in different regions. The situation is becoming worse and demands a vital response.

The risks posed due to climate change are real and going to be long-term in this region and particularly in Pakistan. The Global Risks Report (World Economic Forum: Jan 2022) has enlisted five major risks related to Climate Change for 2030. Interestingly, Pakistan is contributing only 1% of world pollution and is yet to be affected the worst. As per World Bank Report 2022, Pakistan will most likely loss between 6.5 and 9 percent of its GDP by 2050 due to climate change. Pakistan is among the top 10 countries most affected by climate change yet seeking Climate Justice for last year’s heavy rains and floods in most of the areas in the country.

One of the responses to the issues is engagement of the society. As Pakistan has a vibrant religious life, the engagement of faith communities in the process is a significant step. One of the approaches being heard globally is approaching environmental issues through interreligious dialogue. Interreligious dialogue in the form of social action helps the communities to share their insight, tradition and values, particularly their motivation to engage in the issue. The inclusion of religion for the cause also brings the question of ethics towards the issue so it becomes more of a practice issue. In looking at climate change, Mike Hulme emphasizes that it should be studied not just by meteorologists, ecologists and economists but also by sociologists, anthropologists, philosophers and, importantly, by theologians and religious scholars.

Studying the interreligious dialogue into action, a Danish theologian Lissi Rasmussen proposed a new term for a more practical focused dialogue; diapraxis. She developed the term based on her experiences with Christian-Muslim relations in Africa and Europe. Einar Tjelle sees green diapraxis, and has the potential to be unifying in a time of polarization. Tjelle notes that environmental issues also came to take up more space in faith communities and sees a shift from dialogue to diapraxis particularly towards green diapraxis.

Diapraxis in Pakistan can be seen both as a challenge and an opportunity. The role of religion in the life of the people is very vibrant and the same as their religious identities. As diapraxis focuses on non-religious identities, it comes as a challenge to motivate people to participate in social action with their non-religious identity. However, if it works, it helps to avoid clashes based on religious identity. The environmental issue, as an example of a non-religious common issue, does not affect the sensitivity of any religion. One of the efforts that can be made through it, is the sensitization of equal citizenship. The people of both communities may engage in the issue as citizens though carrying their religious motivation for the cause, it can help to see each other as a citizen rather than comparing in the framework of They vs Us.

Dialogue is currently going on mainly within two perspectives, one is dialogue based on theology (though it is more of apologetics rather than dialogue) and the other one is dialogue concerned with rights, particularly minority rights. Both ways though help to interact with communities but with some limitations. The mistrust and miscommunication still stand among the communities.

As religious life is not private and dialogue takes place in many places, giving the dialogue to the cause/social action may help communities to engage in a more meaningful way. The dialogue in Greek is Dia-Logos which means through discourse, a form where one goes through his discourse on certain issues and another does so. The faith communities may go through their religious practices and share the ethical values associated with the creation and its stewardship so the people of faith as residents of the earth may contribute towards a better world.  The understanding of caring for the earth is essential and people can be sensitized at religious worship places and educational institutions.

The engagements of faith communities in social action for the environment and promotion of some small steps, like saving water, managing our waste properly, using and promoting organic food, reducing and avoiding the use of plastic bags, switching off extra lights and devices and planting trees may help a lot in making our world a better place for us and our future generation.