Episode #51: Philip Clayton on the Intersection of Faith, Environmentalism and Social Change

The Discomfort Practice

In this episode, I chat with Philip Clayton, the President of the Institute for Ecological Civilization (EcoCiv.org), which works internationally to support multi-sector innovations toward a sustainable society through collaborations between governments, businesses, policy experts, and NGOs. He’s also president of the Institute for the Postmodern Development of China, which works with universities and government officials to promote the concept of ecological civilization through conferences, publications, educational projects, and ecovillages. Philip works at the fascinating (and not un-controversial) intersection of philosophy, theology, and science.

He has increasingly focused on where climate science, ethics, religion, social philosophy, and ecotheology intersect, along with the tricky questions those intersections often raise. Philip holds the Ingraham Chair at the Claremont School of Theology where he directs the Ph.D. program in comparative theologies and philosophies, as well as being affiliated faculty at Claremont Graduate University. A graduate of Yale University, he has also taught at Williams College, California State University, the University of Munich, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard University.

He has published two dozen books and some 350 articles. Philip and I had a rich, dynamic, and truly fascinating conversation around the value of sitting with personal discomfort rather than suppressing it so we can collectively contribute to bettering our lives and the world as a whole. We also dive into how common themes across religion and science can be leveraged to build a global movement of passionate changemakers who together create a shift toward a more compassionate and sustainable world. You really won’t wanna miss this episode, which is a dance between a theologian trained in improv and a campaigner trained in mindfulness. See you on the other side...

Key Points Discussed:

• The moment that totally shifted his focus in life (06:06)
• Why he contributed to creating the Institute for Ecological Civilization (10:15)
• The everyday magic of movement activism (14:25)
• Advocating for wellbeing economics to ensure the delivery of human and ecological well being (17:11)
• Living at the intersection of science and faith (20:55)
• Why some religions have an easier time aligning with science while others don’t (25:32)
• Holding two different views at different times: How science and faith can come together more (28:57)
• How to build a movement of people from different religions who are also motivated by very different things (36:37)
• Climate Justice: The number one overarching justice issue for the planet (39:12)
• Embracing literal discomfort in order to cut back our carbon footprint and live in a more sustainable way (43:14)
• Learning how to win by practising discomfort (49:30)
• Analyzing the growing consciousness of connection in the world (55:28)

Connect with Philip Clayton:

• Philip’s Website
• Philip on Facebook
• The Institute for Ecological Civilization

Connect with Betsy:

• Betsy on Instagram
• Betsy on Twitter
• Betsy on Linkedin

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