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Environmental Consciousness and Authentic Spiritual Practice
Environmental Consciousness and Authentic Spiritual Practice
Aug 27, 2025 3:15 PM

Beware of “environmental consciousness” masquerading as authentic spiritual practice, says Fr. Michael Butler and Prof. Andrew Morriss in this week’s Acton Commentary:

It is important to clarify the Church’s teaching on asceticism because many voices in the environmental movement encourage a kind of ascetical lifestyle in the name of “ethical consumption.” Orthodox writers on the environment are not immune to the temptation of putting the ascetical tradition of the Church in the service of another agenda. For example, the conclusion of the Inter-Orthodox Conference on Environmental Protection, held in Crete in 1991, states: “Humanity needs a simpler way of life, a renewed asceticism, for the sake of creation.”

The full text of their essay can be found here. Subscribe to the free, weekly Acton News & Commentary and other publications here.

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