The idea of nature as a holy part of creation is pretty common. Catholicism's St. Francis of Assisi, who died in 1226, is the patron saint of animals. It goes back to St. Francis and before that it goes back to the divinity of nature and nature as God's handiwork. Judiasm, Islam, and other world religions also embrace the notion of the holiness of the earth, and man's need for stewardship over it. Though honoring nature is an old thought, Weiskel said different traditions are still waking up to what honoring the environment means in today's context.
Conservation movements exist in various churches, but they are largely grassroots movements.
Most schools of theology today, he said, focus their training on religious tradition and practice, leaving individual ministers to educate themselves on issues such as the environment. The pew is saying to the pulpit to get with it. Environmental awareness is nothing new at Harvard. Many schools have in-depth programs on the environment, from Harvard College's undergraduate concentration in environmental science and public policy to the John F. Kennedy School of Government's concentration in the environment and natural resources. To coordinate the University's environmental efforts, Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine created a University Committee on the Environment in 1991.