About the Webinar Series:

In the search for solutions to the growing ecological, economic, and religious challenges of our age, what happens if we put all of them in conversation? How are ecology and economics linked? Are there connections between what exploits the planet and what exploits people? And how does Christianity figure in? Is it condemned to condoning the exploitation of people and planet, as is often suspected? Or does it have something to offer in the search for more sustainable life on the planet that is supported by alternative economic relationships that benefit the many rather than the few? 

Religion and economics have been put in conversation for some time, as have religion and ecology. Rarely have all three been engaged together. Yet if what exploits the planet is what exploits people, using religion for its own purposes in the process, the time has come to push these conversations to the next levels.

This webinar series will be investigating matters from various perspectives and is interested not only in fresh analyses but also in fresh solutions: what agency and what solidarity emerges between exploited people, ecologies, and religion? As one prominent observer noted, labor is the father and nature the mother of wealth—let’s call it planetary flourishing—and perhaps religion can take on more productive functions as well.

Tune in to one or all of our series of webinars and join a group of scholars and activists from around the globe and contribute to a different future.

Be sure to also check out the Interventions forum featuring written contributions from our panelists. Read the forum here.

Watch Entire Webinar Series Here

Webinar #1:

INTERSECTIONS OF ECONOMY, ECOLOGY AND RELIGION
WITH Joerg Rieger, Jeremy Posadas, and Elaine Nogueira-Godsey

In this webinar, Profs. Rieger, Posadas and Nogueira-Godsey will begin to investigate the related exploitation of people and the planet, and how Christianity has often been part of the problem, with an eye towards the solutions. If those who are most affected by the pressures of our age are not just the victims but also the agents who point the way, how can we move forward together?

Webinar #2:

The Commons and Consumption in a Global Perspective WITH George Zachariah
and Terra Schwerin Rowe, moderated by Joerg Rieger

In this webinar, we explore the relationship between the fight for the commons and capitalism's shaping of consumption. What resonances are there between democratic struggles for the commons and theological inquiries that imagine new kinds of consumption that differ from the extractive and exploitative model of humans and of nature? Religion, it turns out, can play a crucial role expanding our economic and ecological imaginations of the commons and consumption.

Webinar #3:

DEEP SOLIDARITY ROOTED IN THE WEB OF LIFE with JEREMY POSADAS, TIM EBERHART,
and ANNIKA RIEGER, moderated by Joerg Rieger

A twisted theo-logic undergirds our current capitalist order: working people everywhere--especially women and people of color--are ruthlessly dominated by an extractivist political, cultural, and economic order that privileges the elite few. We will explore alternatives to capitalism and emerging forms of solidarity that expand the vision of liberation beyond the human species, extending to all of the eco-sphere. People of faith not only have theological reasons for dealing with the idolatry of capitalism, but are indeed called to collaborate in cosmos-wide alternatives to capitalism. Such a task requires intersectional analysis. It requires deep solidarity rooted in the web of life.

Webinar #4:

Decapitalizing the Means of Thriving, with Gabriella Littini
and Tim Van Meter with Jeremy Posadas Moderating

On September 29, at 11:00AM CST we'll continue this series by considering how capitalist structures seek to force diverse communities to live only in ways that increase the power of those who control capital. In this next webinar, titled "Decapitalizing the Means of Thriving," Dr. Gabriella Lettini and Dr. Tim Van Meter will address these power-dynamics, including issues such as the slow food movement and cooperative economic models. Dr. Jeremy Posadas will moderate the conversation.

Webinar #5:

Dirtifying Ecology, Economy, & Religion: How Matter Matters
With Whitney Bauman and Upolu Vaai with Joerg Rieger Moderating

On October 22, at 2:00PM CST, the Wendland-Cook Program will continue its Liberating People and the Planet webinar series with our latest installment: Dirtifying Ecology, Economy and Religion: How Matter Matters. As economy and religion become increasingly detached from the everyday lives of people and the planet, alternatives are emerging that demand our attention. Eco-relational developments in places as far apart as the Pacific islands, Europe, and the Americas draw life back to the fundamentals of earth, food, productive and reproductive work, and social movements.

In this webinar, we will consider particular examples of much-needed and material transformations of ecology, economy, and religion. Panelists include: Dr. Whitney Bauman and Dr. Upolu Vaai, moderated by Dr. Joerg Rieger.

Webinar #6:

RELIGION, LABOR, AND ECOLOGY: Featuring JOerg Rieger, Jeremy Posadas,
and Rosetta Ross, with Aaron Stauffer Moderating

In this webinar, on February 11, 2021 and as part of the Compass Conference: A New Green Economy, Dr. Joerg Rieger, Dr. Jeremy Posadas of Austin College, Dr. Rosetta Ross of Spellman College, and with Aaron Stauffer moderating, panelists explore the connection between the suffering or liberation of working people and the planet, the biggest obstacles to working for liberation, and how Christian thinking about the economy, Earth, and solidarity needs to be transformed in order to foster deep solidarity with the new green economy.

Resources Mentioned in Webinar

Want to follow up on any of the resources and organizations mentioned in the webinar? Be sure to click on the images below and explore some more. As always, check out our Blogs where these topics are explored in greater detail, especially:

Joerg Rieger: “The Ugly Truth of a Pandemic and the Logic of Downturn.”

Jeremy Posadas: “Essential For What?” and “Beyond the Essential-Yet-Disposable Paradox”

Participants in the Liberating People and the Planet Project

Contributors

(click images to read bios)