For those who believe, religious belief is something that impacts all aspects of life, including how one views the environment. But how has religious belief shaped modern views toward sustainability? And in this time of multiple environmental crises, could religion play a role in potentially solving them? 

That’s what my two guests today Philipp Öhlmann and Severine Deneulin have been looking at in their joint research project funded by the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership. 

Philipp Öhlmann is a researcher based at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and researches questions of religion and sustainability, with a focus on African Christianity. And Severine Deneulin is based at the University of Oxford where she has been working on the relationship between religion and development. We discuss how religious belief within Christianity and Islam has impacted how we have come to treat the natural world, as well as influenced the modern move toward sustainability.

Dr Séverine Deneulin, Director of International Development at the Laudato Si’ Research Institute and Associate Fellow at the Oxford Department of International Development 

Dr Philipp Öhlmann, Head of the Research Programme on Religious Communities and Sustainable Development, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin