Perceptions of Soil in the Catholic Ethic

In times of climate change, population growth, and international land speculation, soil conservation has a special importance for sustainable development. It is a central field of enquiry for contemporary responsibility for creation, because of the indispensable provisions that fertile farmland has not only for human nutrition but also for the whole network of living processes and biodiversity — functions that are endangered worldwide by a creeping process of soil degradation.

In the January 2021 edition of the Nexus Seminar Series, organised jointly by UNU-FLORES and TU Dresden, Prof. Markus Vogt, Chair of Christian Social Ethic at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, will discuss a possible shift towards nature-compatible agriculture and area planning, a shift that touches on aspects of agricultural policy, development cooperation, and consumption habits. This debate exhibits a substantial religious and cultural dimension, and touches on the surplus value of Christian theology of creation compared with the secular ethics of nature. The presentation sketches “ten commandments” of Christian environmental ethics for soil protection.

For more, or to register to attend, see the Nexus Seminar No. 50 announcement on the UNU-FLORES website.