Building bridges: communicating between ecologists and faith communities

“You can't do both – be a scientist and follow a religious calling. You have to choose.” My undergraduate advisor's words shocked me and catalyzed a bridge‐building career path; decades later, I am doing both, as a Marianist Sister and a climate‐change ecologist. As director of the Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) and a scholar for faith and environment at the University of Dayton's Hanley Sustainability Institute (UD–HSI), I am engaged in dialogues, outreach, and public policy on science and justice issues. – LJ I've always been interested in science, faith, and communication. I am an aquatic ecologist and involved with the Massachusetts‐based Faith Science Alliance for Climate Leadership (https://faithsciencealliance.org). I served as lead author on a National Association of Evangelicals report to American evangelicals about the nexus of poverty and climate change (Boorse et al. 2011). Together, my and LJ's work represents a growing trend among scientists to bridge gaps between science and faith communities. – DB Faith communities have become increasingly active in environmental care over the past 30 years, and scientists are more explicitly communicating with religious organizations about global ecosystem changes. Religious groups provide avenues for the 80% of adults worldwide who identify with a religion to educate themselves and organize to address societal needs. Prominent international scientists recognized this fact in 1990 by writing an open letter to religious communities (Sagan et al. 1990) that sparked the formation of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE; www.nrpe.org). This collaboration between US Evangelical, Jewish, mainline Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic communities identified the common tenets of these major traditions as a unified platform for dialogue and public policy. Their values include caring for the Earth, protecting species, living simply and sustainably, and providing for the disadvantaged and future generations. Other major world religions including Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism have increasingly articulated environmental care as an essential value. Hitzhusen and Tucker (2013) summarized the growing potential of religion to achieve Earth stewardship. Pope Francis’ encyclical called all people to converse – regardless of personal belief or affiliation – to achieve an integral ecology (Francis 2015). Since then, bridge‐building vocational opportunities for ecologists have surged. Science partners can help faith communities in the preservation of sacred sites and in the focal