TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental education and eco-theology
T2 - insights from Franciscan schools in Indonesia
AU - Cholil, Suhadi
AU - Parker, Lyn
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - This paper examines how the eco-theology of St Francis of Assisi is translated into practice in Franciscan schools in Jakarta, Indonesia. We also investigate if the environmental conclusions of the Pope’s Encyclical, Laudato Si’, are understood by students. An ethnographic approach, using participant observation, interviews and focus group discussions with the friars and nuns, teachers and students, was used. We found that Franciscan religious practise Francis’s teachings, but it is difficult to bridge the gap between his teachings and the contemporary context. Students generally identify as environmentalists and respect the environment, but their environmental practice is highly dependent on home life. Both schools and students have to contend with a broader socio-economic context which is pro-Development, with scant regard for the environment. Student understanding of complex global environmental problems, and their causes, is minimal. Nevertheless, we argue the relevance of St Francis’s eco-theology in a world searching for environmental sustainability.
AB - This paper examines how the eco-theology of St Francis of Assisi is translated into practice in Franciscan schools in Jakarta, Indonesia. We also investigate if the environmental conclusions of the Pope’s Encyclical, Laudato Si’, are understood by students. An ethnographic approach, using participant observation, interviews and focus group discussions with the friars and nuns, teachers and students, was used. We found that Franciscan religious practise Francis’s teachings, but it is difficult to bridge the gap between his teachings and the contemporary context. Students generally identify as environmentalists and respect the environment, but their environmental practice is highly dependent on home life. Both schools and students have to contend with a broader socio-economic context which is pro-Development, with scant regard for the environment. Student understanding of complex global environmental problems, and their causes, is minimal. Nevertheless, we argue the relevance of St Francis’s eco-theology in a world searching for environmental sustainability.
KW - Indonesia
KW - St Francis
KW - eco-theology
KW - environmental education
KW - schools
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114800354&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13504622.2021.1968349
DO - 10.1080/13504622.2021.1968349
M3 - Article
SN - 1469-5871
VL - 27
SP - 1759
EP - 1782
JO - Environmental Education Research
JF - Environmental Education Research
IS - 12
ER -